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Burma: First Steps for Investment of Western Capital
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
IHRB is working with the Danish Institute for Human Rights on a new initiative to develop a resource centre with partners in Burma to help business, government, civil society and trade unions...
05 October 2012
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
From Sandline to Saracen - Time to hold the private security industry to its human rights commitments
Over a decade after the sanctions busting scandals around the British private military company Sandline, some might argue little has changed.
In July 2012 a UN Monitoring Group alleged that another private military and security company (‘PMSC’)...
25 September 2012
By James Cockayne
London 2012 Olympics: What Legacy for Business and Human Rights?
As the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic experience draws to a close, and the dust starts to settle on Her Majesty the Queen’s James Bond cameo, British-Somali immigrant Mo Farah’s double gold-winning middle-distance running success, and London’s...
11 September 2012
By Lucy Amis, Child Rights and Sport Specialist, Unicef UK; Reseach Fellow, IHRB
Lonmin Tragedy: Time to Take Human Rights Due Diligence Seriously
Earlier this week, only days after South African police opened fire killing 34 striking workers at a mine operated by UK based company Lonmin (which operates several mines for precious metals including platinum), company executives ordered 3,000...
23 August 2012
By Kendyl Salcito, Executive Director, NomoGaia
Business Reponsibility for its Social Impacts - Moving Beyond CSR
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been based largely on the assumption that the business case always aligns with the societal case as long as enough philanthropy is dispensed. The...
25 June 2012
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
The UN Guiding Principles – Opportunities, Challenges - One Year Later
The framework developed by John Ruggie and his team and the adoption one year ago of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs) was a turning point in the debate on the responsibilities of business to society. The credibility of...
19 June 2012
By Jim Baker
Aung San Suu Kyi Signals Change in Burma, but Investors Should Proceed with Caution
This op-Ed was originally published on Csmonitor.com.
The recent decision by the Obama administration to ease economic sanctions on Myanmar (also known as Burma) presents an important opportunity to reintegrate that country into the international...
19 June 2012
By John Ruggie, Patron Emeritus, IHRB; Author, UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights
A Glass Filling Up - Reflections on the first year anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Things did not look good. Last summer, in the immediate aftermath of the UN Human Rights Council’s strong endorsement of the Guiding Principles on business and human rights (GPs), there was a definite pause.
After six years of John Ruggie’s...
18 June 2012
By Mark Taylor, International Advisory Council, IHRB
Effective monitoring of domestic supply chains key to ending forced labour
Most debates on business involvement in human rights abuses focus on the role of global multinationals operating overseas. But new research supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds problems much closer to home, in particular among agency...
12 June 2012
The Staff Wanted Initiative - The Hospitality Industry will only earn respect by respecting those who work within it
Over the summer, London’s annual influx of tourists will swell still further by visitors coming for the Olympic and Paralympic games. The city’s instantly recognisable, traditional yet energetically global image continues to be a major selling point...
21 May 2012
By Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, IHRB
What Should Companies do when States Offer Prime Land on a Platter?
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
Companies investing in land in Africa and elsewhere need guidelines to ensure the human rights and dignity of local communities are protected
During a recent visit to Kampala, Uganda, we...
06 May 2012
By Wambui Kimathi, Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
The Hidden Impacts of Large Infrastructure Projects on Children
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
People swarm towards big infrastructure projects like bees to honey, but the interests of children are often overlooked
Though conjuring up images of Winnie the Pooh, the honeypot effect...
03 May 2012
By Margaret Wachenfeld, IHRB Senior Research Fellow, Managing Director, Themis Research
Uneven Road to Doing Business in Burma
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
Foreign businesses face formidable challenges in making sure their investments in Burma are not only profitable but also based on internationally accepted principles
Businesses are...
19 April 2012
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Water security – a different perspective
Last month, the U.S. Intelligence Community, at the request of the U.S. State Department, published a global water security assessment addressing the question: “How will water problems (shortages, poor water quality, or floods) impact U.S. national...
12 April 2012
By Daniel Yeo
Myanmar: Investing in the Future of Democracy and Human Rights
The results of Sunday’s historic elections in Myanmar appear to have given Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy (NLD) overwhelming support in the 45 constituencies for which by-elections were held. Early indications suggest that even...
02 April 2012
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Children’s Rights Finally Getting the Attention they Deserve
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
Recognition of children as important in the broader human rights and business discussion has been a long time coming
Children's rights are finally getting the attention they deserve on the...
30 March 2012
By Margaret Wachenfeld, IHRB Senior Research Fellow, Managing Director, Themis Research
Slaves in the Food Chain: When Compliance isn’t Enough
A new law in the U.S. state of California which took effect in January of this year – the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act - requires companies over a certain size with any retail or manufacturing presence in the state to post on their...
12 March 2012
By Diane Osgood
Developing Practical Tools for Business on Land and Human Rights
Earlier this week, my colleagues Salil Tripathi and Wambui Kimathi wrote in the Guardian about the difficult ongoing challenges surrounding land acquisition and use in many countries around the world. A key dimension of addressing the many negative...
08 March 2012
By Kelly Davina Scott, Regional Liaison Manager, IHRB
Is the Organisation Investigating Apple’s Factories Good Enough?
This op-Ed was originally published on Forbes.com.
Under pressure, Apple has opened the doors of its troubled Chinese factories to inspection by labor investigators. Now not only Apple but its proposed monitor, the Fair Labor Association, are...
05 March 2012
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB, Christine Bader, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Kenan Institute for Ethics
Page 18 of 22 pages.
Business Must do More to Protect the World’s Most Vulnerable Workers
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
05 October 2012
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB, Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, IHRB