Business & Human Rights

Paper Outlines US Corporate Lobbying on Human Rights

January 06, 2016

In a working paper, Professor Emilie Hafner-Burton and Heidi McNamara of the University of California, San Diego, highlight how US corporations are responding to increased pressure by global organizations and activists on the business and human rights ("BHR") agenda by feeding more funding into lobbying on human-rights legislation at the federal level.
HRW Issues Guidelines for Construction Companies in Gulf

January 05, 2016

According to U.S. News and World Report, Human Rights Watch has issued guidelines for construction companies operating in Gulf Arab states to protect the human rights, including maximum working hours, overtime pay, and payment of recruiting fees, of migrant workers in the region.
UN Working Group: Brazil Lags in BHR Implementation

January 05, 2016

At the conclusion of its recent visit to Brazil, the UN Working Group on business and human rights ("BHR") expressed concerns that Brazilian businesses generally were not aware of the UN's BHR agenda and that infrastructure projects were affecting the human rights of locals, calling in response for the government to proceed with plans to develop a BHR action plan.
NGOs Issue Demands for World Bank Human-Rights Framework

January 05, 2016

A group of nongovernmental organizations operating in Nigeria has issued a series of demands for the World Bank Group to revise its Environmental and Social Framework to better implement activists' human-rights agendas, including through "grievance mechanisms" and human rights impact assessments often seen in UN reports on business and human rights.
UN Ramps up BHR Pressure on Australian Companies

January 04, 2016

A recent report details the proceedings of an event hosted by the UN Global Compact Network Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission that sought to explain to businesses how best to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR") and that pressed for the development of an Australian national action plan on BHR issues.