IHRB at the UN Business and Human Rights Forum 2026
The annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights takes place 23–25 November at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
2026 marks 15 years since the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and this year’s theme is “UNGPs at 15: Building on Gains, Confronting Gaps, Reimagining the Future.”
IHRB colleagues will be participating in a series of engagements throughout the week, including IHRB’s private roundtable: Horizons: Emerging Issues, Early Insights.
IHRB colleagues attending the Forum are Julia Batho, CEO; Giulio Ferrini, Head of Responsible Building and Value Chains and Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues.
If you’re attending the Forum, connect with IHRB. Browse the events we’re contributing to below.
Horizons: Emerging issues, Early insights
IHRB, with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is hosting a roundtable on the margins of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights.
The agenda opens with an early preview of IHRB’s Top 10 Business and Human Rights Issues for 2027, followed by discussion of two particularly timely dilemmas:
- AI and human rights: Where do business responsibilities begin and end?
- When expectations collide: What next for supply chain due diligence and assurance?
Details:
🗓️ Tuesday 24 November
⏱️ 8.30 - 11.00 (CET)
📍 Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United nations
This private roundtable is invitation only.
Human rights and accountability as an issue for the boardroom – corporate governance and the UNGPs
Fifteen years after the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) were endorsed, a stubborn gap remains between what companies commit to and what happens to people on the ground.
This session draws on the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights’ 2026 report to the General Assembly, Corporate governance, business and human rights (A/81/180). It will explore how boards and senior executives can embed human rights into corporate governance in ways that are practical, accountable and consistent with the UNGPs.
IHRB CEO Julia Batho will speak on the panel.
Details:
🗓️ Tuesday 24 November
⏱️ 11.40 - 13.00 (CET)
📍 Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations, Geneva
The Housing Crisis: What is the Role of Business?
IHRB is hosting a multi-stakeholder discussion on responsible business and the right to adequate housing.
Today, an estimated 1.8 billion people lack adequate housing, with rising housing consuming an ever-larger share of household income. In OECD countries, housing has become 16% more expensive relative to incomes – we're facing a housing crisis.
The conversation will start by highlighting the “gap” that exists between corporate practice and housing rights, the risks to rights-holders, and where states have stepped in.
This will be followed by a presentation on emerging trends and innovative approaches that seek to align with the corporate duty to respect human rights. Through a backcasting exercise, participants will then lean on the collective expertise and perspectives of attendees to discuss potential interventions and solutions.
Details:
🗓️ Tuesday 24 November
⏱️ 12.30 - 13.30 (CET)
📍 Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations, Geneva
