What the WCIT could mean for business and human rights
Over the next two weeks at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will review a treaty called the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) for the first...
04 December 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by Dominique Lazanski
The Dark Side of Free Speech
This op-Ed was originally published on Yaleglobal.yale.edu.
"Policymakers are faced with difficult choices: whether some aspects of internet content should be censored, including self-censorship by content providers, and what rules and processes...
12 November 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
Tapping and Phone Hacking in Eastern Europe
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
"Government interference in communications can be extensive and often arbitrary in many countries – including in countries that aren't authoritarian. Governments have interfered by imposing...
09 November 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by Lucy Purdon, Founder of Courage Everywhere
Views on Kiobel vs. Shell
Last week the United States Supreme Court once again considered the case of Esther Kiobel vs. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Detailed background of the case here). It is too soon to say what the Court’s verdict will be, but whichever way the judges decide,...
09 October 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Human Rights Challenges Amidst Myanmar’s Gold Rush
This commentary was originally published in the Business Times on September 28, 2012.
At first blush, Myanmar appears to be on a path towards democratization. President Thein Sein’s administration has instituted a series of political reforms after...
09 October 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
Business Must do More to Protect the World’s Most Vulnerable Workers
This op-Ed was originally published on TheGuardian.com.
IHRB, together with the Anti-Slavery International, has called for greater protection for workers in this sector through the Staff Wanted Initiative and for hotels to undertake greater due...
05 October 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, IHRB
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 | Commentary
Commentary 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 | Commentary
Commentary 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 | Commentary
Commentary 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 | Commentary
Commentary 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 | Commentary
Commentary by John Morrison, Chief Executive, IHRB
Page 29 of 37 pages.
Engaging Business in Human Rights
This op-Ed was originally published on Forumblog.org.
International Human Rights Day marks the anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations on 10 December 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first international proclamation...
10 December 2012 | Commentary
Commentary by Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders; Patron, IHRB