What Ken Saro-Wiwa Taught the World

In his final statement before his execution for fabricated charges of abetting murder, Ken Saro-Wiwa declared that:

"I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial and it is as...

What Ken Saro-Wiwa Taught Me

Today, 20 years ago, I stood in front of a friend’s hotel door, afraid to knock. I was there to tell him his father had been hanged by the military dictatorship in Nigeria because his father had the temerity to fight for the human rights of his...

New Opportunities to Integrate Human Rights Considerations into EU Public Procurement

In 2014, three new European Union (EU) Directives governing the way EU Member States purchase goods, works and services came into force.

Public procurement makes up a substantial share of world trade flows, amounting to €1000 billion per year.  In...

Can Mega-sporting events get back on track?

Mega-Sports Events (MSEs) and the sporting federations that organise them are once again under intense scrutiny. Switzerland’s OECD National Contact Point has just approved for further investigation a complaint lodged by the Building and Wood...

Practical and Principled Prioritization of Supply Chain Human Rights Risks

Over the past few years, respect for human rights has taken center stage on the corporate responsibility agenda. It is a development which has been animated and accelerated by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding...

How to make the SDGs a reality? Create more pre-competitive space

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be endorsed by world leaders in New York this week, represent a unique opportunity for greater global prosperity – but only if businesses and governments know when to stop competing and...

Focus on Qatar: Why Human Rights Research Matters

Earlier this week in Qatar, authorities finally released researchers Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev, who were detained for eight days while in the country for the Norway-based Global Network for Rights and Development. Their story is but the...

In Iran, Anti-Baha’i Actions Hurt People and Business

The airwaves are still buzzing with news of the historic nuclear deal between six major world powers and Iran. As foreign corporations begin to consider the opportunities to do business in Iran, it is important to address pressing moral and economic...

Can the Construction Industry Build Itself a Slavery-Free Future?

In recent years the issues of forced labour and human trafficking have risen higher on the political agenda than ever before. As awareness has grown, the world has come to learn such exploitation is far more common than was previously known and...

A Proposal for an International Arbitration Tribunal on Business and Human Rights

We have attended many forums, conferences and seminars where participants are desperately asking why, after years of endless high-level rhetoric, there is no access to justice for victims of corporate abuse of human rights – a disgrace to society.

Business and the SDGs: How Can We Deepen Scale and Impact?

This article was originally published on BusinessFightsPoverty.org

The role of the private sector in realizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is widely recognized. What remains unclear is how exactly business should contribute most...

Towards Mandatory Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence at the EU Level?

How a French Bill could make European business and human rights hard law

The French parliament is currently discussing a Bill that could considerably affect the global business and human rights regulatory landscape. The French Bill aims to make...