What the OHCHR’s Accountability & Remedy Project Adds to the Treaty Discussions

In June 2014, the Human Rights Council raised some eyebrows by creating not just one, but two parallel processes on corporate accountability in human rights-related cases.  The first process, set out in Resolution 26/9 called for the establishment...

Increasing Access to Business Practice is Key to Scaling Respect for Human Rights

Finding effective ways to talk about human rights with colleagues is a common challenge confronted by practitioners working in companies to drive implementation of respect for human rights. 

Whether these discussions happen within one’s immediate...

Do It Just: Has Nike Started a New Trend?

“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” 

These words, embossed over a close-up photograph of Colin Kaepernick, have already created debate over what many consider a controversial choice by sports company Nike to feature the...

Children’s Rights and Business – Stuck in the “Too Difficult” Box?

Businesses impact on the lives of children in a variety of direct and indirect ways.

Children are consumers of products and services, they are dependents of workers, and they might be young workers themselves or, at least, will be future workers...

2018 TIP Report: Despite Shortcomings, An Opportunity for Continued Advocacy in Southeast Asia

The United States Department of State released its 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on 28^th June, ranking 187 countries on their performance in preventing and addressing trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation.

The report was first...

Confronting Chaos and Confusion on Child and Migrant Rights

The US business community faces a tragedy at home.  

In the same week that the United States (US) government announced its withdrawal from the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty issued an...

Reflections from the 2018 Global Forum on Responsible Recruitment

The 2018 Global Forum on Responsible Recruitment and Employment took place on the 11th-12th June 2018 in Singapore.

Hosted by the Institute for Human Rights and Business and Consumer Goods Forum, with partners Humanity United, this second annual...

Eradicating Recruitment Fees is Crucial for Tackling Modern Slavery

Today, businesses, trade associations and organisations from around the world are coming together in Singapore for the 2018 Global Forum on Responsible Recruitment and Employment. They will discuss the importance of responsible recruitment of...

Speaking Up - A Growing Advocacy Dimension to Corporate Leadership on Human Rights

Not so very long ago, human rights were primarily viewed by businesses as risks to their operations and reputations that needed effective management. 

Today, we see growing recognition that risks to people must be addressed alongside risks to the...

Which Companies are Serious About Human Rights?

We are beginning to know which companies are serious about human rights as the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark issues its first Progress Report one year on from last year’s pilot.

There is evidence that the ranking is motivating change with a...

Progress on Embedding Human Rights within Commonwealth Sports Policy

Last month in Queensland, Australia, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games delivered the first multi-sport event to offer an equal number of medals for both men and women, and featured the largest integrated sports programme in Commonwealth Games...

Is Human Rights Advocacy Off Track?

Is the international human rights movement in crisis? Have leading human rights advocates focused too much on “naming and shaming” states into respecting civil and political liberties at the expense of strategies that could ensure greater social...

Human Rights and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative - A Conversation

Fiona Solomon is the CEO of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), a multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to creating a responsible aluminium value chain, from bauxite mines to computer cases.

She sat down with ASI Standards Committee...

Harm Free Sport - Aligning Sports Bodies, Sporting Values, and Human Rights

Several major sports governing bodies are making strides towards implementing their commitments to respect human rights throughout their operations.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen adoption of the International Olympic Committee’s new host city...

Reflections on the Pakistan Ruling Banning Network Shutdowns

In late February 2018, in a landmark judgment, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that shutting down telecom networks was illegal, rejecting the State’s rationale that security considerations made such shutdowns necessary.

Pakistan has a history...

Facebook and Cambridge Analytica - Where Lies Privacy?

It is the cardinal rule of the Internet that anything you say in cyberspace lives in perpetuity, and there is no such thing as complete privacy.

Users can use cryptographic tools to protect their communications, change their passwords repeatedly,...

Charities Should be Held to the Same Human Rights Standards as Business

This blog originally appeared on Ethical Corporation.  

The revelations relating to UK-registered but global charity giant Oxfam have caught the attention of media worldwide. Allegations of sexual abuse have also surfaced over recent days involving...

Regulate First. Ask Questions Later.

There is a remarkable lack of concern on the part of policy makers about the dearth of evidence for the effectiveness of the international standards they push at business.

So it was with some anticipation that I read Roel Nieuwenkamp’s recent IHRB...

How to Build an Evidence Base for Policies on Corporate Responsibility

Last December I was asked to speak to the European Parliament to discuss trends in policies on responsible business conduct. I presented the state of play of the various soft law (not legally binding) instruments that exist on human rights and...

New Framework Agreement - Significant Progress in Protecting the Rights of Migrant Construction Workers in Qatar

The construction industry in Qatar is an important part of the country’s economic development and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The sector relies on migrant workers who everywhere in the world are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.