UN-BHR

NGOs Call for Global BHR Tribunal

November 01, 2016

A group of nongovernmental organizations called the Global Campaign has submitted a series of principles for inclusion in a binding UN business and human rights treaty, including directly imposing human rights obligations on corporations, eliminating court costs for alleged BHR victims, and establishing a global tribunal to hear BHR claims.
NGOs: BHR Treaty Must Address Trade Deals

November 01, 2016

A group of nongovernmental organizations known as the Treaty Alliance has called on the working group charged with developing a binding UN business and human rights treaty to establish the primacy of the treaty over any international trade and investment agreements and to set up a mechanism to monitor the BHR impacts of such trade deals.
EU Joins BHR Treaty Meeting amid NGO Pressure

November 01, 2016

The nongovernmental organizations Friends of the Earth Europe and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice have published an article touting their role in pressuring the EU to participate in an upcoming UN summit in Geneva on the development of a binding business and human rights treaty.
UN Report Targets BHR Issues in Agriculture

October 28, 2016

The UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) issues has released a report examining the obligations the UN Guiding Principles on BHR place on "agro-industrial" businesses and governments to mitigate human rights impacts of agricultural operations on local communities.
NGOs Publish Principles of Ideal BHR Treaty

October 27, 2016

Basing its recommendations on a series of consultations with nongovernmental organizations promoting the global human rights agenda, a pair of human rights coalition groups have produced a set of legal principles for inclusion in a binding UN business and human rights treaty that would require countries to impose robust BHR requirements on their businesses.
Study Provides Global Guidelines on BHR "Due Diligence"

October 27, 2016

The law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law have published a study containing research on current corporate practice in assessing human rights impacts and making recommendations on how businesses can properly and legally perform "human rights due diligence."
NGO Pushes EU Involvement in BHR Treaty Talks

October 26, 2016

Aisha Dodwell of the nongovernmental organization Global Justice Now writes that the EU must participate in UN talks to create a binding international treaty that would force countries to implement the global business and human rights agenda and hold business leaders personally liable for their companies' BHR impacts.
Legal Observers Call for Lower EU Barriers to BHR Lawsuits

October 24, 2016

A set of proposals from legal academics and practitioners involved in the Human Rights in Business research project calls for legal reforms in the EU and its member states to make it easier for alleged victims of business and human rights violations to sue European companies for their BHR impacts and those of their subsidiaries.
Swiss NGOs Call for BHR Constitutional Amendment

October 24, 2016

A coalition of Swiss nongovernmental organizations report that they have gathered 120,000 signatures in favor of their Swiss Responsible Business Initiative, which proposes a constitutional amendment requiring Swiss companies to investigate their human rights and environmental impacts in line with the UN's business and human rights agenda.
Policy Brief Seeks BHR Treaty Role in Remedy

October 20, 2016

A policy brief published by the South Centre describes potential options in a binding UN treaty on business and human rights for bolstering remedies available to alleged victims of BHR violations, including by mandating national legislation on corporate liability and providing for certain BHR-related extraterritorial obligations of governments.