UN-BHR

UN Group Releases Proposed Elements of BHR Treaty

November 30, 2017

The Chairmanship of the UN Working Group charged with negotiating the development of a binding UN treaty on business and human rights (BHR) has published a broad set of proposed elements of such a BHR treaty that places international obligations on signatories to enforce the BHR agenda and provide access to remedies.
NGOs Call for Increased Remedy Access in BHR Treaty

November 29, 2017

A group of nongovernmental organizations recently published a letter to the Ecuadorian chair of a UN working group charged with negotiating the development of a binding UN treaty on business and human rights (BHR) pushing for the inclusion in the treaty of, among other things, an effective international oversight body and expanded access to courts for BHR violations.
UN Body Develops Rights Framework for Trade Deals

November 20, 2017

Dr. Diane Desierto of the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law explains how a recent General Comment from the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights seeks to embed international human rights law "in every step of States’ regulation of the conduct of business activities, trade, and investment," including in the negotiation of trade deals.
UN Working Group Forms Blog on BHR Remedies

November 20, 2017

In the run-up to its Business and Human Rights (BHR) Forum in Geneva at the end of November, the UN Working Group on BHR has launched a Forum blog series on the website of the BHR Journal to promote discussion among nongovernmental organizations and other contributors of how the UN body should bolster the right to remedy for BHR violations.
NGO Opposes "Voluntary" German BHR Policies

November 20, 2017

An article from Human Rights Watch on Germany's business and human rights (BHR) policies illustrates the growing opposition among activist groups to "voluntary" codes of BHR conduct for businesses in favor of a robust regulatory agenda that would require all businesses to perform BHR due diligence on their supply chains.
Lawyers Advance BHR Arbitration Proposal

November 15, 2017

In a review of a proposal by an international "working group" pushing for the development of a global arbitration system for business and human rights (BHR) disputes, law firm Hogan Lovells considers how to overcome potential obstacles in such a a system, including by publicizing the arbitration proceedings and pressing businesses to submit to arbitration.
NGOs Push Companies to Link Human Rights, SDGs

November 15, 2017

An open letter published by a group of nongovernmental organizations on the eve of the September UN Private Sector Forum to discuss financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the links activists are making between achieving the SDGs and forcing businesses to abide by the global business and human rights agenda.
Kenya Publishes "Baseline Assessment" on BHR

November 14, 2017

The government of Kenya has developed a "baseline assessment" of its current laws and policies promoting the global business and human rights (BHR) agenda as it prepares to publish a "national action plan" announcing how it will force businesses operating in the country to implement the UN Guiding Principles on BHR.
UN Group Pushes Expansive Right to BHR Remedy

November 13, 2017

The UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) issues has published a guidance document calling on countries around the world to adopt an "all roads to remedy" approach to alleged BHR violations that would expand access to people claiming such violations to a "bouquet of remedies" dependent on the nature of the violation.
UN Talks Aim to Limit Corporate Liability Defenses

November 01, 2017

Daniel Uribe and Kinda Mohamadieh of the think tank South Centre explain how recent negotiations in Geneva over a binding UN treaty on business and human rights (BHR) worked to establish mechanisms through which alleged victims of BHR violations can circumvent legal limitations on corporate liability to obtain remedies.