Business’s Role

The DEI backlash is growing, but Corporate America must stand firm

It is remarkable how quickly the controversy around what constitutes permissible campus speech has turned into a full-frontal attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the United States.

Most recently, what started as robust criticism of...

Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law: it’s time for business to speak up

There have been steady signs of progress in advancing LGBT rights over the past five years with countries decriminalising same sex relationships and some countries legalising same sex marriages. Many companies have embraced LGBT rights...

Taking a Stand – How Can Business Respond to Women’s Rights and Reproductive Health Threats

The reverberations from the US Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v Wade, which for nearly 50 years protected women’s reproductive rights, have been swift and dramatic. Eight states in the US had abortion bans in their laws which became effective...

10 July 2022 | Commentary

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Moving Beyond Voluntarism: Looking to the Future of the Voluntary Principles Initiative on Security and Human Rights

This year’s annual meeting of the Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI), (the multistakeholder platform set up in 2000 to help extractive industries ensure their security operations respect human rights), considered an issue that, perhaps...

How Businesses Can Step Up for Human Rights During this Global Crisis

The link between business and human rights is not new. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were adopted unanimously by governments over a decade ago — but the roots of the movement go much deeper still.

From Europe...

Why Convert Twitter into a Public Trust – A Radical Idea

Elon Musk has set Twitter on fire by proposing to buy-out existing shareholders of the popular social media platform and to take it private. To put it bluntly, placing a global public square (as Twitter fashions itself to be) in the hands of a...

Can Sanctions, Boycotts and Divestment Achieve Human Rights Outcomes?

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters a second painful month, more questions are being asked about the extent to which sanctions, boycotts and divestment campaigns can change the behaviour of Russian leaders, and what the wider human rights...

P&O Ferries in Deep Water: Labour Outsourcing is Not an Escape from Human Rights Responsibilities

The decision by UK shipping company P&O Ferries to fire 800 staff without notice and to replace them with agency workers is the latest example of how outsourcing is increasingly used as a business strategy to reduce labour costs and secure the...

Tech Companies Have Crucial Responsibilities in the Attack on Ukraine – Misinformation, Virtual Warfare and Arbitrating Truth

Companies are distancing themselves from the unfolding invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation:

  • Major western oil companies such as BP, Shell, and Exxon Mobil have cut ties with Russian oil companies and joint ventures, decisions which...

Spotify and Misinformation: Are Streaming Platforms Carriers or Publishers?

Many people under 30 may not know who Neil Young is, and many people over 60 may not know what Spotify is. And yet, their recent conflict has a bearing on freedom of expression and corporate accountability.

Young decided to withdraw his entire...

Why Fighting Discrimination is at the Heart of the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity


Throughout 2022, IHRB will be marking ten years of the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity with guest commentaries from representatives of business, trade unions, civil society organisations, and the UN system that reflect on the continuing...

The Elephant And The Mouse: How Corporate Giants Can Avoid Trampling On Their Stakeholders

In this age of emerging ESG priorities for business, one essential question is how those with the legal and financial responsibility for running a company (i.e. the board members) engage directly with those upon whom their company’s actions have...

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