Surveillance Capitalism

OECD Members Support Guidelines on Responsible AI

May 22, 2019

Politico reports that the 36 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including the US, and others have agreed to a set of global guidelines pledging "responsible stewardship of trustworthy” artificial intelligence to ensure it complies with the international human rights agenda.
US Rejects Binding UN Deal on Plastic Waste

May 15, 2019

AP reports that the US government was one of the few in the world that declined to sign a legally binding UN deal committing countries “to monitor and track movements of plastic waste outside their borders” and thus places burdens on companies to ensure accountability for the global shipping of plastics.
Investors, NGOs Call for “Due Diligence” Laws

April 30, 2019

Institutional investors, prompted and supported by civil society activists, recently sent a statement to lawmakers, UN agencies, and the OECD calling for the global adoption of laws and regulations requiring investors to perform “due diligence” on the environmental, social, and governance risks of their portfolios.
US Judge: Officials Must Consider Climate Impacts of Drilling

April 29, 2019

The Guardian reports that a federal US judge has temporarily stopped drilling projects authorized on public land by the Trump Administration because officials failed to take into account the “climate change impacts of oil and gas leasing” in their analysis of the policy change.
Law Firm “Peer Learning Process” Seeks BHR Engagement

April 29, 2019

Law firms participating in the Law Firm Business and Human Rights (BHR) Peer Learning Process have published a summary report of their 2018 activities seeking increased engagement among law firms with BHR developments and demonstrating efforts to embed the BHR agenda into firms’ advice and operations.
IAAF Criticizes UNHRC Statement on Rules for Female Athletes

April 26, 2019

The BBC reports that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has criticized as “inaccurate” a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution characterizing rules restricting the participation of female athletes with high testosterone levels in certain competitions as a violation of international human rights standards.
BlackRock Launches Sustainability-Focused ETFs

April 26, 2019

IR Magazine reports that, as the UN and activists seek more transparency from financial companies on the “sustainability” impacts of investments, asset management giant BlackRock has launched six exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offering public data on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) implications of the assets contained in each fund.
UN Pushes Corporations to Advance Women’s “Empowerment”

April 23, 2019

Highlighting the UN system’s promotion of broad global standards on women’s “empowerment,” a group of UN bodies recently hosted a Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum at which it encouraged businesses to develop strategies to better empower women in the global workforce.
Corporate Initiative Requires Disclosure of Fashion Suppliers

April 23, 2019

Under pressure from activist organizations to do more to advance “human rights due diligence” among companies, the Fair Labor Association, a group of universities, NGOs, and businesses that pledge to adhere to global labor standards, has agreed to require adhering fashion brands to publicly disclose their list of suppliers.
NGO Seeks Court’s Respect for Global Environmental Rights

April 15, 2019

Illustrating the ways in which activist organizations have sought to embed human rights in the regulation of businesses’ environmental impacts, Human Rights Watch has called on the Supreme Court of Chile to respect international standards on the right to a “pollution-free environment” in deciding a case on air pollution.