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China Deals Must Not Come at the Cost of Human Rights
This op-Ed was originally published on News.Sky.com.
Economic growth and prosperity have lifted millions of people out of poverty since China reformed its economy four decades ago. A peaceful, stable, and prosperous China is in the interest of the...
27 June 2011
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
Human Rights - The Case for Regulation
This op-Ed was originally published on L4bb.org.
It is not unknown for business leaders to call for increased or better regulation in relation to environmental or social issues. In 2002, Mark Moody-Stuart (the former CEO of Shell and Chair of...
26 June 2011
By John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
UN Adopts Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - What Comes Next?
The unfolding business and human rights story reached an important threshold this week with the unanimous endorsement by the United Nations Human Rights Council of Guiding Principles for the implementation of the UN’s Protect, Respect, Remedy policy...
17 June 2011
By Scott Jerbi, Senior Advisor, Policy & Outreach, IHRB
The Elephant in the Room: Addressing International Investment Conditions to Improve Human Rights
Over the past two decades, international investor-State dispute arbitration has exploded alongside a surge in Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) ratifications.
The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is cited...
14 June 2011
By Haley St. Dennis, Head of Just Transitions, IHRB
What do GRI’s latest Guidelines say about Human Rights?
In 2008, the three organizations partnered for the project Human Rights – A Call to Action. Two publications and three years later, the research and activity instigated for the project has fed into an update of GRI’s third generation of...
24 May 2011
By Marjolein Baghuis
The Reshaping of Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights Work
As Amnesty International celebrates its 50th anniversary, its involvement in the field of business and human rights is taken for granted. But this wasn’t always the case. For the first 30 years of Amnesty’s existence, the human rights impacts of...
18 May 2011
By Peter Frankental, Economic Affairs Programme Director, Amnesty International
From Red to Green Flags
How can a company ensure respect for human rights in countries where the government is failing in its own obligations? This question lies at the heart of a new report published today by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
02 May 2011
By Nick Killick, Research Fellow, IHRB
Caught in the Crossfire: What should companies do to protect workers in an armed conflict?
Armed conflict often forces companies to suspend their operations. But what happens to their workers?
Foreign companies operating in Libya had to face this question in the early days of the popular uprising against the Gaddafi regime. The problem...
29 April 2011
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
A Personal Tribute to Sir Geoffrey Chandler
Many people will write tributes to this great man, with memories of his warm friendship, his unerring courtesy, his delight in debate, his terrier-like pursuit of a just cause and his bluntness of expression when someone or some organisation he...
11 April 2011
By Chris Marsden, Patron, IHRB; former Head of Community Affairs, BP
Ignore the Naysayers, Restrictions on DRC Conflict Minerals Remain Vital
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
US legislation to encourage transparency in the trade of precious resources might mean a loss of income for Congo's artisanal miners, but the alternative is prolonged conflict
A string of...
10 April 2011
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Protecting Human Rights and Environmental Defenders
Human rights defender is a term used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights.i Some individuals and groups are working to protect the human right to a healthy and safe environment, and also defend...
05 April 2011
Are Companies Ready to Implement UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights?
The much anticipated Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights prepared by United Nations Special Representative John Ruggie to implement the UN 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework on business and human rights were released in final form...
31 March 2011
By Scott Jerbi, Senior Advisor, Policy & Outreach, IHRB
Will We Learn Lessons from Japan?
Anyone writing about a disaster has to be extremely cautious to avoid being insensitive and arrogant and so it is with extreme humility and sympathy for the suffering of those affected by the combined earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in...
24 March 2011
By Auret van Heerden, CEO, Fair Labor Association
What Does Water for All in Kenya imply for Business?
Kenya, in addition to being a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has a new constitution, which expressly recognizes the right to water. Article 43 (1) (d) provides that every person has a right to clean...
22 March 2011
By Maina Mutuaruhiu
Conflict no excuse for business to act irresponsibly
As violence in Libya continues, tens of thousands of people of different nationalities, many of them migrant workers from countries ranging from China to India, Ethiopia to Nigeria, await ferries that can take them to safety across the...
15 March 2011
By Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders; Patron, IHRB
Land, Water and Food: Advancing Human Rights Due Diligence
Earlier this month, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) in partnership with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) brought together representatives from governments, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) (Uganda,...
28 February 2011
How Businesses Have Responded in Egypt
Sustained criticism online and from human rights groups has had some effect on Vodafone: the company is listening. Late last week, the company announced that it will not disconnect the accounts of customers in Egypt who are in arrears, and continue...
07 February 2011
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
How should Internet and Phone Companies respond in Egypt?
The explanation Vodafone offered for its decision to switch off its mobile telephone network in Egypt last Friday - that it had no other choice except to comply with the governmental demand - was straight from the text-book. The problem is, human...
01 February 2011
By Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Slavery in Supply Chains: What Companies Can Do
The word slavery conjures up images of a history we thought we put away. But slavery exists, in substantial numbers, in the supply chains of companies that sell goods to wealthy consumers around the world.
Most companies refer to the problem as...
06 December 2010
Page 20 of 22 pages.
Cleaning Up Recruitment and Return Practices to Protect Migrant Workers
This op-Ed was originally published on TheDailyStar.net.
As tens of thousands of Bangladeshi workers fled the conflict in Libya, their plight exposed the vulnerability of migrant labour. It also laid bare the gaps in protecting the human rights of...
28 June 2011
By Irene Khan