UN-BHR

UN Group Seeks Spread of BHR "Due Diligence" Laws

April 05, 2017

The UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) issues has released a statement welcoming a new French law requiring companies to show they are performing "due diligence" to identify and address human rights impacts in their operations and supply chains and calling on other governments to follow France's lead in broadly implementing the BHR agenda.
Workshop Pushes for Strong CoE Guidelines on BHR

April 05, 2017

A recent workshop hosted by the Danish Institute for Human Rights gathered representatives from governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, and other institutions to generate proposals for a wide-ranging business and human rights (BHR) recommendation at a high-level seminar to be hosted by the Council of Europe (CoE) in June.
UN, NGOs Expand Efforts Toward BHR Remedies

April 04, 2017

A briefing from law firm Clifford Chance and nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Business Initiative on Human Rights calls on businesses to become more involved in discussions with governments, the UN, and NGOs over the formation of future global business and human rights (BHR) grievance mechanisms under the UN Guiding Principles on BHR.
Lawyers Advocate Global BHR Arbitration Rules

April 03, 2017

A group of lawyers has published an article calling for the development of global Business and Human Rights (BHR) Arbitration Rules, a system in which multinational corporations would agree to BHR terms in their contracts, and require them in those of their suppliers, forcing them to arbitrate disputes with alleged victims of their human rights impacts around the world.
NGO Criticizes US Contractors on BHR "Due Diligence"

March 31, 2017

The nongovernmental organization NomoGaia has published an article criticizing contractors of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for failing to communicate how they are complying with the business and human rights (BHR) agenda by performing "due diligence" regarding the potential rights impacts of their support of DHS border operations.
NGO Praises Progress of Binding BHR Treaty

March 30, 2017

The coalition Friends of the Earth International has outlined the presentation of a report from the intergovernmental working group tasked with developing a binding UN business and human rights (BHR) treaty and has praised the progress of the BHR treaty effort, which it predicts will culminate in an instrument requiring global protection of "human rights defenders."
IBA Launches BHR Handbook, Training for Lawyers

March 30, 2017

The International Bar Association (IBA) has announced that it will publish an online handbook on implementing the business and human rights (BHR) agenda in the legal profession and a training program through which it will teach attorneys how to advise businesses to prevent BHR violations in their operations.
Activists Call on G20 to Enforce BHR “Due Diligence”

March 30, 2017

Human Rights Watch has published an open letter calling on the German government, as the current president of the Group of 20 (G20) countries, to push for all G20 members to commit to requiring all businesses to perform “due diligence” to ensure the implementation of the business and human rights (BHR) agenda in their global supply chains.
Governments, NGOs Draft BHR Policy for Africa

March 29, 2017

A recent consultation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of representatives from African governments, the African Union (AU), businesses, academia, and global nongovernmental organizations has led to the drafting of an AU Policy on Business and Human Rights (BHR) that will seek to implement the BHR and environmental agendas across the continent.
UN Group Pushes G20 to Act on BHR in Supply Chains

March 29, 2017

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (BHR) published an open letter calling on Group of 20 (G20) leaders to address human rights impacts of companies and state-owned enterprises in their complex global supply chains in line with the UN Guiding Principles on BHR and the "sustainable development" agenda.