Business & Human Rights

Paper: Tax Debate Leads to Unrealistic Expectations

November 04, 2015

The Center for Global Development has published a paper concluding that the "polarised" debate between businesses and human-rights activists has led to "exaggerated" expectations of how much corporate taxes can contribute to the development agendas of poor countries and calling for a collaborative dialogue on how to improve tax transparency.
Summary: Binding BHR Treaty May Be Counterproductive

November 04, 2015

An article from Donald Robertson at the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills summarizes past and upcoming work on developing a binding treaty on business and human rights ("BHR") issues and discusses concerns from some observers that such a treaty could be more difficult to implement than the current, nonbinding UN Guiding Principles on BHR.
NGOs Seek Footholds for Climate Litigation

November 04, 2015

An article based on discussions with environmental litigation NGO ClientEarth and a member of staff of the UN's Principles for Responsible Investment explains how litigation may be used to stymie companies in the energy industry from contributing to climate change, including through human-rights lawsuits and complaints regarding fossil-fuel investment decisions.
NGO Pressures Apparel Industry on Supply-Chain Conditions

November 04, 2015

As pressure ramps up on businesses to prove that their suppliers do not use labor that is underpaid or lacks certain social rights, the nongovernmental organization Sedex has announced the creation of a project that will provide centralized standards for the measurement of labor conditions in the supply chains of the apparel and footwear sector.
Microsoft Releases "Citizenship Report" for 2015

November 04, 2015

Technology company Microsoft's 2015 "Citizenship Report" explains how it is implementing the global UN and activist agendas on climate change, business and human rights, and corporate social responsibility.