What Have We Achieved So Far? Reflections on 2nd anniversary of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business

2015 is a big year for Myanmar, with Parliamentary elections due in November after which the next President will be chosen. Experts suggest we can expect the election process to be generally free and fair, albeit under the Constitution Daw Aung San...

Organisations Seek Stronger Labour Protections in Palm Oil Industry

Today an impressive coalition of diverse human rights and environmental organisations launched the Free and Fair Labor in Palm Oil Production: Principles and Implementation Guidance. Endorsed by more than 20 organizations from around the world, this...

Network Shutdowns in the DRC: ICT Companies Need Clear Rules

Recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) involving the government choosing to shut down Internet and SMS services nation wide in response to political unrest and violence are but another example of situations in which ICT...

Do Climate Negotiations Offer Lessons for UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights?

Last week, representatives from nearly 200 countries adopted a draft text on combating climate change, an important step toward a new global treaty world leaders hope to agree in Paris this December.

The 86-page text agreed in Geneva contains a...

Uber and Passenger Safety: Human Rights Aren’t an Optional App for Cab Rides

A woman in India recently sued Uber, the Internet-based ride-hailing service operating out of California, in a US court, seeking unspecified damages. The woman alleges a driver registered with Uber in India raped her and in her American suit she...

The Caravan toward Business Respect for Human Rights

The business and human rights agenda, long critiqued for its voluntary principles and soft standards, has made progress in strengthening accountability mechanisms that help prevent abuse of human rights.   Energy has intensified around governmental...

Why Does Business Still Undervalue Women?

A new report by ActionAid UK, Close the Gap!, finds that women’s wages and labour market participation relative to men’s cost women in developing countries an astounding US$9 trillion every year.

This despite unprecedented economic opportunities...

Rights, Safety at Risk Without Lawful Interception Rules

This piece was originally published in The Myanmar Times.

Myanmar is among the fastest-growing telecommunications markets in the world. However, a key part of Myanmar’s telecommunications legal framework has yet to be finalised: rules governing the...

ICT, Human Rights & Business: A Roundup of 2014 and Challenges for 2015

As 2015 begins, it is that time again to take stock of key developments over the past 12 months in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector and their links to international human rights principles and standards. The ICT sector...

Settlement Involving Niger Delta Fishermen Leaves Shell More Exposed Than Ever

It is paradoxical that a court action taken against Shell by Niger Delta fishermen is likely to have greater consequences than a ground-breaking United Nations report. There has been no real progress since the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)...

Time for a NAP: Five Recommendations for the U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct

Participants at this year’s UN Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights were abuzz about “National Action Plans” (NAPs) on business and human rights.

By definition, NAPs are government-led policy documents that should spell out priorities and...

Bhopal and the Elusive Quest for Justice

I write this from India, where thirty years ago, in the central Indian city of Bhopal, a cloud of poisonous chemical methyl isocyanate emerged from the fertilizer plant of Union Carbide Corporation, killing more than two thousand people almost...