Commentary

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Bulldozer Injustice: how a company’s product is being used to violate rights in India

Bulldozers have been linked to human rights violations for many years, at least since 2003 when the US activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a Caterpillar bulldozer while protesting against the demolition of a Palestinian home with a family...

07 March 2024

By Peter Frankental, Economic Affairs Programme Director, Amnesty International

The state of just transitions in the cocoa sector

The mounting impacts of the climate crisis are seen starkly in the lives of agricultural workers, most often in developing countries. Discussions around just transitions understandably focus on energy, but agriculture and deforestation are also huge...

29 February 2024

By Tatiana Kurancheva, Commodities Programme, IHRB

Red Sea attacks: response must focus on seafarer rights

The dangerous security situation unfolding in the Red Sea over recent weeks, in which commercial ships have come under attacks from Houthi militia groups, is forcing shipping companies to take extraordinary measures in order to address significant...

09 February 2024

By Steven Jones, CEO, Sustainable Shipping Initiative

Governments must consider the risks of sending migrant workers to conflict zones

This month, officials from India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana (which neighbours Delhi) are hosting a delegation of Israeli businesses seeking workers from the two states for jobs in Israel. The Israel Builders Association requested...

26 January 2024

By Rakesh Ranjan, South Asia Regional Coordinator, IHRB, Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Can Davos talk help move climate finance in the right direction?

The dark clouds gathering over Davos at the end of the World Economic Forum are not just of the snow-bearing variety (although it is due to be a very chilly minus 17C tonight). The heaviness comes from a growing sense of an unravelling international...

22 January 2024

By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB

The DEI backlash is growing, but Corporate America must stand firm

It is remarkable how quickly the controversy around what constitutes permissible campus speech has turned into a full-frontal attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the United States.

Most recently, what started as robust criticism of...

19 January 2024

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Three criticisms of human rights that should be challenged

75 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt and the other members of the drafting committee presented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) to the still very young United Nations meeting in war-torn Europe at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.

Human...

09 December 2023

By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB

Achieving a living wage for garment workers needs price-squeezing to stop

Grossly inadequate wages, workers protesting for increased pay, and harsh retaliation by employers are not new in the garment industry in Bangladesh, the world's second biggest producer of fast fashion.

In recent weeks, negotiations over a new...

06 December 2023

By Dr Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, Public Policy and Human Rights Expert; Lecturer; Research Fellow, IHRB

When does conflict become a company’s business?

When an armed conflict as divisive and destructive as the one ongoing in the Middle East dominates public debate, what is the impact on business? Does the private sector have any role to play in such situations?

Arguably, a business leader could...

02 November 2023

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Recruitment fees are holding back sustainable development - how can this practice be stopped?

Migrant workers sending money to home countries and communities can be an enormous driver of development. But ongoing exploitation of migrant workers during recruitment places severe limits on the benefits of migration.

In 2023, remittances - money...

20 October 2023

By Rakesh Ranjan, South Asia Regional Coordinator, IHRB

What human rights responsibilities do media companies bear during conflict?

Two weeks ago, Hamas extremists staged a surprise raid into Israel, in which more than 1,000 people were killed, and over 200 hostages were taken.  Israel’s response has so far reportedly killed over 3,000 people in Gaza. A grave crisis is...

19 October 2023

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Slavery is ever present - the UK must step up

Last week saw the much-delayed appointment of the 3rd UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner, a position that has been  vacant since April 2022. The appointment of Eleanor Lyons, a former Government Advisor, is timely. 

On Anti-Slavery Day, the UK and many...

18 October 2023

By Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, IHRB

Respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities can advance the energy transition

In Norway this past spring, headlines showed protesters demanding the removal of wind turbines at the state’s Fosen wind park. The renewable energy project caused disruption to the reindeer grazing grounds of the Indigenous Sámi population and was...

25 September 2023

By Grace Brennan, Programme Associate, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Existential risk or tool for inclusive prosperity? AI’s future needs human rights

Headlines are currently dominated by record-breaking heatwaves, catastrophic flooding, massive wildfires, and other extreme weather patterns in many regions. Responding to the climate crisis requires unprecedented actions and new forms of...

28 July 2023

By Scott Jerbi, Senior Advisor, Policy & Outreach, IHRB

Human rights is essential teaching in every business school

We have come a long way from the time when companies argued that protecting human rights were only issues of state obligations, and corporations did not have any responsibilities or legal duties.

After years of civil society campaigning, reports by...

25 July 2023

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Diversity needs defending - can companies rise to the challenge?

Companies that pursue diversity, equality, and inclusion programmes as part of their hiring and staff development strategies will likely face new scrutiny in the wake of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action policies in...

07 July 2023

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

Pride 2023: A turning point for companies

Historically, companies have had to respond to activists denouncing their inaction related to the human rights of minorities in the countries in which they operate. 

This year the discussion suddenly reversed.

June is Pride Month globally, and...

16 June 2023

By Fabrice Houdart, Founder of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors

Air pollution – the human costs are too great to be ignored

In 2010, I spoke at a conference on business and human rights to a corporate audience. At the end of my presentation, someone asked: “where’s the list of the human rights we need to consider?”

I responded, noting, the (soon to be) UN Guiding...

15 June 2023

By Désirée Abrahams , Senior Programme Manager at Global Action Plan

It’s time to mainstream the Just Transition

If there is a reason for why our next energy transition needs to be ‘just’, think no further than the 1980s in the UK. The country’s transition out of the coal industry divided communities and left regions and their people stranded and...

20 April 2023

By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB

Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law: it’s time for business to speak up

There have been steady signs of progress in advancing LGBT rights over the past five years with countries decriminalising same sex relationships and some countries legalising same sex marriages. Many companies have embraced LGBT rights...

23 March 2023

By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB

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