Business & Human Rights

Academic: Ease Rules on Suing Businesses in US Courts

August 29, 2017

Gwynne Skinner of Willamette University College of Law calls on the US Congress to pass a law providing that federal courts have "general personal jurisdiction" over corporations doing business in the US and to allow would-be plaintiffs in other countries to sue these companies in US courts for alleged human rights violations that occurred in other countries.
Italy Plans Expansion in BHR Criminal Liability

August 28, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights International Corner describes a planned measure in the Italian National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR) by providing for corporate criminal liability in the case of BHR violations when a company fails to perform proper "due diligence" on its global rights impacts.
Activist Criticizes Economic Case for Women's Rights

August 28, 2017

Sanyu Awori of International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific warns that rights activists must reject the economic case made by businesses and others for corporate engagement of women in the workforce, which mistakenly relies on "the neoliberal macroeconomic system" to empower women, in favor of government-centered women's rights efforts.
NGO Seeks Bolstered Australian NCP Mechanism

August 28, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Law Centre has submitted a statement to a mechanism reviewing the performance of the Australian OECD National Contact Point (NCP) arguing that the government must do more to empower the NCP, which investigates global corporate human rights violations, to take action against rights-violating businesses.
Companies Agree to Promote Unionizing in Garment Industry

August 28, 2017

A group of garment and retail companies and a global trade union federation called IndustriALL have launched a global compact providing for industry-wide collective bargaining to promote the payment of so-called "living wages" to workers across the garment production industry.