The Costs of Green Conflict

Social resistance to renewable energy projects is becoming the greatest threat to achieving net-zero
Two-year research project to quantify the operational and opportunity costs of conflict between companies delivering renewable energy projects and the workers, communities, indigenous groups, or other stakeholders affected by the project
The research will address the urgent need to convey to the renewable energy industry the costs of “getting it wrong” versus the value of “getting it right”
The research will cover different renewables activities: mining of transition minerals; renewables infrastructure and production rollout; grid improvements/expansion
This research aims to be a useful tool for renewables companies, national governments, investors and the financial sector, and civil society groups to guide new renewables projects

Header image: A wind energy project in Colombia in the process of being closed down. Credit: CREER

Valparaíso Visioning Workshop

On 12 December 2023, as a part of IHRB’s global project 'Building for Today and the Future: Advancing the Just Transition in the Built Environment', stakeholders across different sectors of the built environment gathered at Parque Cultural de Valparaiso. The workshop, organised by IHRB and local researchers, aimed to create a shared vision for socially inclusive climate action in Valparaiso's built environment.

Diversity was the hallmark of the workshop. The event was able to successfully gather government officials, civil society representatives, academics, architects, urban designers, engineers, and the private sector. This variety of actors brought a wealth of perspectives, fostering open dialogue and communication between them. Such diversity also allowed participants to have a holistic approach to thinking about inclusive climate actions in Valparaiso.

The project combines research methods and visioning in eight cities worldwide (Lagos, Prague, Lisbon, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Jakarta, Athens, and Valparaiso), to create evidence-based arguments for local and global advocacy for human rights in the built environment. The project focuses on four key areas: the right to housing; the rights of construction workers; meaningful participation; and non-discrimination and spatial justice.

Participants from the workshop included representatives from:

Academia (Universidad de Valparaíso and Centro de Desarrollo Urbano DUC)
Valparaiso Civil Society Council (COSOC)
Members of civil society and social movements (Movimiento de Defensa de Parques del Barrio O'Higgins, Arquitectos por Chile Digno and MENCH)
Workers Unions (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores)
The Regional Ministerial Secretariat of the Environment
The Professional Association of Architects of Valparaiso (Colegio de Arquitectos de Valparaíso)
Built environment industry organisations (Chile Green Building Council, Sur Andes)

Key Insights from the Visioning Session:

The workshop in Valparaiso unveiled crucial insights into the city's challenges and opportunities. One notable observation was the initial resistance of participants to dare to think about change, with a prevailing belief that urban transformation was either impossible or exceedingly difficult (given current limitations in the social, economic, and political spheres). However, a shift in tone occurred as representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), shared their perspectives. Their positive and hopeful contributions, not only inspired the envisioning process but also, encouraged others to embrace a more optimistic outlook for the future of Valparaiso’s built environment. The diversity of participants, in terms of sectors, but also in age, level of experience, backgrounds, and enthusiasm offered a balance between realism and idealism, a key combination for pragmatic and positive outlooks of the future.

Key Challenges and Opportunities:

Several challenges and opportunities emerged during the discussions. One notable challenge was the clash between different scales and dynamics in Valparaiso, particularly the tension between neighbourhood co-existence and broader intra-city interactions. Concerns were raised about the lack of effective citizen participation, exemplified by superficial consultations that did not genuinely consider public opinions. The need for cultural change, fostering civic appropriation and responsibility, and instilling pride in the city also surfaced as a significant challenge. On the positive side, participants envisioned a "Valpo Verde, Integrado e Innovador" (Green, Integrated, and Innovative Valparaiso) by 2030. Proposals included comprehensive resource distribution among the neighbourhoods in the city's hills, improved transportation infrastructure, and the development of sub centres and cultural hubs. The workshop highlighted the potential for Valparaiso to become a green and integrated city, emphasising support for local manufacturing, social and affordable housing, and the transformation of the port into a locally-inclusive productive hub –that does not bypass economic and social benefits for Valparaiso. The challenges related to workers’ organisation, leadership, and coordination were also identified, necessitating strategic planning and collaboration to overcome them.

The Valparaiso Visioning Workshop marked a pivotal step in creating a roadmap that prioritises human rights and sets the stage for a just transition in the city's built environment. The insights and discussions from this multi-stakeholder workshop combined with continued collaboration and action, and helped bring together a unified vision for a more equitable and sustainable built environment.

Participants workshopped what they would like to see “more of” and “less of” to facilitate the process towards a just transition in Valparaiso’s built environment.

This visioning workshop was organised, and this summary written by Rodrigo Caimanque, Belen Segura, and Sebastian Smart (independent research consultants for IHRB's Built Environment Programme in Valparaiso, Chile) and Alejandra Rivera, IHRB Global Programme Manager.

Athens Visioning Workshop

As part of the ‘Building for Today and Tomorrow’ project, on 25th January 2024 representatives from academia, government, civil society, NGOs and the private sector gathered at the Higgs incubator in Athens to envision pathways for a just transition in Athens' built environment.

The project combines research and visioning in eight cities worldwide, linking to regional and global advocacy to ensure that climate action regarding buildings and infrastructure is just and respects human rights. It particularly focuses on four areas: affordable housing, the rights of construction workers, meaningful participation, and non-discrimination/ spatial justice.

Participants included:

Academia: National Technical University of Athens and Metropolitan College of Athens.
Government: the Municipality of Chalandri; UN Habitat; SynAthina, the Municipality of Athens’ pioneering digital civic engagement platform; and the Greek National Centre for Social Research, which is part of Ministry of Development and Investments.
Civil society: No Auctions, a CSO campaigning against evictions of people falling behind on their mortgage payments; the European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing and to the City; the UrbanDig Project, a CSO working on participatory urban development; CoHab Athens, an organisation researching cohousing and collective ownership models; Steps, a charity providing support to homeless people; and EKPOIZO, a consumer union carrying out studies on the energy sector and energy upgrades of housing.
NGOs: C40 Cities; ICLEI; The Green Tank, an environmental policy research think-tank; IFOAM Organics International, a coalition for organic agriculture, biodiversity, food security, soil health and action against climate change; and Eteron Institute for Research and Social Change.
Private sector: Hellenic Properties, a real estate developer and investor; Iraisynn Attinom Architects, an award-winning Greek architecture firm; and Future Needs, a consultancy to support innovation in sustainable SMEs

Key insights from the Athens visioning workshop included:

Participants noted the lack of participatory spaces in Athens, in line with the general lack of opportunities for citizens’ engagement in decision-making. To this end, they were very positive about the format of the session, the networking opportunities it provided, and the insights into work conducted by IHRB and ICLEI. In terms of participation policies, the creation of the SynAthina platform was mentioned as one of the flagship measures of previous local governments to increase citizen engagement and participation in Athens.
While participants could agree on key problems, there was vigorous debate about how to address challenges. In particular, there was a widespread sense that problems in Athens have been discussed for decades without meaningful action having been taken. This included issues with the ageing housing stock of the city centre, underinvestment in public transport and pavements, and poorly coordinated decision-making when issues relate to multiple public bodies that may not communicate well.
The impact of the financial crisis was emphasised, with participants commenting that the city’s politics and economy have been ‘frozen’ for 15 years due to austerity and economic contraction. Participants also felt that the high levels of economic growth in Greece since 2021 have not improved the lives of ordinary people, with concerns about how inclusive growth is in Greece and also the rate of inflation, which is one of the EU’s highest
Participants were largely sceptical about new plans and strategies to address the impacts of climate change, referencing ongoing issues with poor transparency in the allocation of EU funds and inconsistent evaluation of spending. It was interesting that these issues were raised without prompts, given they echo criticisms made in the academic literature on this issue.
Likewise, the poor communications and lack of accountability of public bodies were noted. For instance, participants working in urban planning stated that they did not know how to contact the Decentralised Administration of Attica, which coordinates urban planning policies across Greater Athens. Likewise, it was noted that emails and phone calls to other public bodies typically go unanswered. Participants hoped that the digitisation of government services could help address this problem.
The EXOIKONOMO scheme to upgrade the energy efficiency of housing was raised by some participating organisations, and it sparked debate given the perception that it leads to increased rents and house prices that displace poorer households, with no alternative affordable or social housing available. The difficulty of meeting EU energy efficiency standards in Athens’ ageing building stock was also mentioned during the session. However, EXOIKONOMO was generally unknown to most attendees, and there was low awareness of other decarbonisation policies in the built environment in Greece.
Despite worker rights protection being central to ensuring a just transition, and the outreach efforts made to include this perspective, there was no union participation in the workshop, which showed the challenge of engaging with workers’ representatives in the city.

Participants also discussed what they would like to see “more of” and “less of” from the public sector, private sector and other actors.

This visioning workshop was organised, and this summary written by Liam O’Farrell, Dr. Vicky Kaisidou and Dimitrios Tsomokos (independent research consultants for IHRB's Built Environment Programme in Athens, Greece) and Marta Ribera, IHRB Europe Programme Manager, and Giulio Ferrini, IHRB Head of Built Environment.

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

As part of IHRB's Building for Today and the Future project to advance a just transition in the built environment, we commissioned local artists in Lagos, Lisbon, Jakarta, Prague, Copenhagen and Melbourne to bring to life the visioning workshop findings for each city.

Each visual art piece imagines a fairer, greener future for our cities.

The works below were showcased at COP28 and will continue to be exhibited at future global events.

Terezie Unzeitigová, Prague, Czechia

Taiwo Adebayo, Lagos, Nigeria

Mafalda Filipe, Lisbon, Portugal

Syifa Hykmanto, Jakarta, Indonesia

Sasha Heath, Melbourne, Australia

Vivian Monteiro Malta, Copenhagen, Denmark

About ‘Building for Today and the Future’

These research summaries are part of The Building for Today and the Future project, which benefits from guidance and insights from its thematic partners including ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Building and Woodworkers International, and the International Union of Tenants.

The Building for Today and the Future project is made possible with support from Laudes Foundation and Ove Arup Foundation.

Jakarta Visioning Workshop

Jakarta is one of the 8 cities of IHRB’s Built Environment research and visioning project “Building for today and the Future: Advancing a Just Transition in the Built Environment”. The IHRB research team conducted a three-month fieldwork mission in Jakarta from July to September 2023 to investigate the status of the just transition in the city and co-create, with local stakeholders, potential pathways to strengthen social justice in climate action in the built environment, through a human rights approach.

This project focuses in four main areas:

The right to adequate housing, including security of tenure, affordability and habitability
Construction workers’ rights, on site and through supply chains
Non-discrimination and social justice on the territory
Meaningful participation, so that all residents have opportunities to shape decisions that impact their lives.

As part of this process, IHRB partnered with ICLEI Indonesia to host and facilitate a “visioning workshop” in Jakarta on September 5th. The workshop brought together a uniquely diverse group of more than 50 built environment stakeholders including national and local government, private sector, NGOs, universities and research centers, and civil society organisations. Participants worked collectively and in smaller groups to develop a unified vision for a just and sustainable Jakarta for 2050.

Participants sat in groups and envisioned the desirable picture of Jakarta in 2030. Each group consisted of participants from various backgrounds (public and non-public sectors).

This visioning workshop in Jakarta created six colourful, vivid, and inspiring visions (one per work group). These all share many elements and aspirations, highlighting a shared understanding of justice and sustainability. The main characteristics of the emergent visions were a city that:

addresses head-on the sinking issue through a proper overhaul of the city’s water system, especially in North Jakarta
has clean air by reducing the pollution from industry and vehicles
has many and large green public spaces such as parks and pedestrian areas
has decent and affordable housing for everyone
includes a child-friendly built environment
has a metropolitan governance decision-making agency

Jakarta 2030 Vision by the participants

Participants also worked together to identify, brainstorm and discuss the challenges and opportunities to achieve their desired future for Jakarta.

Key challenges and opportunities

Public sector actors

Challenges: policy making and development is lacking alignment between national and local government, lacking research process, data, and scientific method, and lacking integration between sectors as well as between metro core and periphery areas.
Opportunities: a new metropolitan authority body is seen as an opportunity to integrate policy and development with the national government, across sectors, and between metro core and periphery areas. The momentum of new legislative framework development to determine the vision of Jakarta after the capital relocation can be seized to create this new authority and integrate the development.

Private sector actors

Challenges: lack of awareness from the private sector especially on environment and human rights.
Opportunities: the private sector has more flexibility to develop programs and allocate resources, however they need certainty and guidance from the government as a mutual collaboration between the two sectors.

Third sector actors

Challenges: lack of alignment between research and other activities with the development agenda and dependency on donor organisations who fund the activities.
Opportunities: third sector actors have a direct ability to interact with the communities, they are therefore able to provide bottom-up insights to both public and private sectors. While they could be a development partner to formulate the right policy and programs, third sector actors need to improve their accountability to be trusted in that role.

The workshop also led to an immaterial result: the creation of a community of practice of 50 leaders from different sectors who are truly interested and able to shape the future of Jakarta, and implement the vision of a just and sustainable city.

IHRB keeps working with local partners in Indonesia such as ICLEI, C40, Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI), Center for Regulation, Policy, and Governance (CRPG), and the Foundation for International Human Rights Standards (FIHRRST) to refine the main challenges and opportunities with the “Just Transition leaders” in Jakarta, prioritise shared priorities, and strengthen the pathways towards social justice in the built environment.

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

We commissioned young artists in Jakarta, Lagos, Lisbon, Prague, Copenhagen and Melbourne to bring the visions of a fairer, greener future for each city to life through visual art pieces that can serve as a unifying vision for a locally-grounded, fairer transitions.

Syifa Hykmanto, Jakarta, Indonesia

Copenhagen Visioning Workshop

On 12 September 2023, as a part of the 'Building for Today and the Future' project, stakeholders across different sectors gathered at Demokrati Garage in Copenhagen. The workshop, organised by IHRB & Rambøll Management, aimed to create a shared vision for socially inclusive climate action in Copenhagen's built environment.

The project combines research and visioning in eight cities worldwide, linking to regional and global advocacy to ensure that climate action regarding buildings and infrastructure is just and respects human rights. It focuses on four key areas: affordable housing; the rights of construction workers; meaningful participation; and non-discrimination and spatial justice.

Key Insights from the Visioning Session

Macro-Sharing and Regional Integration: A broader perspective is essential, looking beyond the city centre to the suburbs. The idea is to balance resources between city centres and suburbs, preventing atomisation and sub-optimisation. Using infrastructure as a proxy for the building and real estate market, the aim is to learn from past challenges and successes.
Governance and Inclusion: The governance structure surrounding urban development needs to be more inclusive, with a critical look at pricing. There's a call for a governance structure that enforces visions, ensuring developer compliance.
Housing and Social Justice: Housing is a fundamental human right. The vision emphasises diverse housing options and acknowledges areas that require more assistance. The city should be accessible to everyone, not just the affluent.
Relationship Building and Multigenerational Use: The city should optimise space, repurpose existing buildings, and focus on shared living. There's a need for new ownership models and a city that embraces diversity.

Key Challenges and Opportunities

Public Sector Actors

Challenges: Overcoming path-dependencies, favouritism, outdated regulations, and atomisation. Addressing tax burdens on potential tenant benefits and legal challenges to new forms of ownership or tenancy. A lack of data and a shared understanding of relevant social indicators is also a significant challenge.
Opportunities: Enhancing infrastructure, better incentives, and long-term planning. Promoting equality for migrant workers, incentives for green transition, and reflecting the welfare state in housing to create ‘wellness’ for all. The upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) from the EU presents an opportunity to embed social indicators into project implementation.

Private Sector Actors

Challenges: Eliminating siloing, favouritism, market rules, and short-sighted decisions. Fostering creativity and respect for nature and people, addressing the lack of diversity in representation, and the absence of socially inclusive financial models.
Opportunities: Encouraging collaboration, post-completion accountability, joint vision, and political leadership. Innovating in building materials, fostering more equitable markets, ensuring representation of diverse groups, and providing socially inclusive financial models.

Other Actors (Civil Society, Academia, Media)

Challenges: Overcoming ambivalence, focus on wealthy citizens, and lack of empowerment. Developing more methods for social engagement and addressing the lack of insurance.
Opportunities: Raising awareness, ensuring equal attention to issues, better funding, and meaningful engagement. Valuing lived experience and understanding sub-local level perspectives of change pathways.

The Copenhagen Visioning Workshop was a pivotal step in creating a roadmap for Copenhagen's built environment, emphasising human rights and promoting a just transition. The insights and discussions from this workshop, coupled with the opportunities arising from new regulations and a focus on greater transparency and inclusivity, will undoubtedly contribute to the broader global initiative, ensuring that our cities are built for today and the future.

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

We commissioned young artists in Lagos, Lisbon, Jakarta, Prague, Copenhagen and Melbourne to bring the visions of a fairer, greener future for each city to life through visual art pieces that can serve as a unifying vision for a locally-grounded, fairer transitions.

Vivian Monteiro Malta, Copenhagen, Denmark

Lisbon Visioning Workshop

As part of the ‘Building for Today and Tomorrow’ project, on April 29 2023, delegates from civil society, the private sector, and the government convened at the Centro Ciência Viva, Knowledge Pavilion in Lisbon to workshop and discuss pathways for a just transition in Lisbon's built environment.

The project combines research and visioning in eight cities worldwide, linking to regional and global advocacy to ensure that climate action regarding buildings and infrastructure is just and respects human rights. It particularly focuses on four areas: affordable housing; the rights of construction workers; meaningful participation; and non-discrimination / spatial justice.

Analysing the intersection of Affordable Housing and Nature-Based Solutions across the Public Sector, Private Sector, and Civil Society & Academia, several notable conclusions emerge from this session:

Meaningful Participation and Collaboration: All sectors should prioritise meaningful participation in addressing climate change, housing issues, and the implementation of nature-based solutions. In the public sector, this involves integrating social partners into decision-making processes and incentivising public participation. The private sector should go beyond financial investment to solve housing problems and participate actively in nature-based solutions. Civil society and academia need to improve communication and collaborate more effectively among different organisations.
Respecting Worker Rights and Inclusion in Decision-Making: The private sector must emphasise improving workers' wages, rights, and safety, and include them in decision-making processes. Simultaneously, reducing exploitation and poor treatment of workers, and increasing accountability in subcontracting is essential.
Investment in Sustainable Solutions and Research: The public sector needs to invest in social and not-for-profit housing with a sustainability focus and apply funds like the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) to address housing issues. Meanwhile, the private sector should invest in research, development, and more sustainable building projects, adapting legislation to suit all sizes and types of companies.
Education and Counteracting Misinformation: Civil society and academia should collaborate with different organisations to facilitate knowledge sharing and the use of data to support policy advocacy. Active collaboration and joint communications among different organisations can help stop the spread of fake news and sensationalism, and unhealthy competition for the same space, as well as unlock funding opportunities.

Attendees brainstormed what they would like to see "more of" and "less of" from the public sector, private sector, civil society, and academia to bolster the pathways to a just transition in Lisbon's built environment and what was their imagined future/vision for the city.

Key insights from the visioning session included:

A call for meaningful involvement in addressing climate change and housing issues, a reduction in poor planning, and less rigid programs from governmental bodies.
The need to focus on increased worker rights and safety, collaboration with other entities, and less emphasis on immediate profit and exploitation of workers in the private sector and construction industry.
Civil society and academia need to improve communication and collaborate more effectively with different organisations, this can help unlock funding, share knowledge and decrease the spread of misinformation.

The session was a significant step towards creating a roadmap for Lisbon's built environment that respects human rights and encourages a just transition on the road to net zero.

Download the summary report for Lisbon

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

We commissioned young artists in Lisbon, Lagos, Jakarta, Prague, Copenhagen and Melbourne to bring the visions of a fairer, greener future for each city to life through visual art pieces that can serve as a unifying vision for a locally-grounded, fairer transitions.

Mafalda Filipe, Lisbon, Portugal

Melbourne Visioning Workshop

As part of the “Building for Today and the Future” project, on 29 May 2023 representatives of the academia, civil society, local and state government, NGOs, and the private sector gathered at a visioning workshop to envision pathways for a just transition in Melbourne’ built environment. The event took place at the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) at the University of Melbourne, and it was co-hosted by IHRB and MSD.

Participants included:

RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research
Monash University’s Urban Lab
Renters and Housing Union Victoria (RAHU)
Melbourne School of Design (MSD)
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Former Secretary General
City of Melbourne
Lord Mayors Corporate Foundation
ICLEI Oceania Office
Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL)
Master Builders Association of Victoria (MBAV)
Development Victoria
Homes Victoria
Industry (architecture, engineering and research firms): Hatch, Landlease, Aurecon, Fender Katsalidis, Baracco Wright, Kristen Thompson Architects, Hodyl & Co., Edge Environment, Office Architects, MGS Architects

The project combines research and visioning in eight cities globally, connected up to regional and international advocacy to ensure that climate action relating to buildings and infrastructure is just and respects human rights. It has a particular emphasis on four areas: the right to housing; the rights of construction workers; meaningful participation; and non-discrimination / spatial justice.

Key elements of the participants’ vision of a just transition in Melbourne included:

People affected have to be at the table, need to change business practice towards transparency and accountability, and finance to facilitate the process and outcomes. The big challenge: how do we change the business model? We have the technology and the money, but need will power
Good governance (working together with cooperatives, and having updated and effective guidelines and regulations) and finance
Alternative business models in between government funding and community funding
Use of existing resources in the community like sharing and commons-based initiatives through a bottom-up approach, as well as the encourage initiatives that aim to renegotiate the boundaries between public and private realms
Prioritisation of biodiversity corridors in the city: Involve more the wetlands, nature, and animals in urban planning, and have softer edges between the built and natural environments. Follow principles of Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD).
We must demonstrate the other values in the city (besides economic value): health, environmental, and social value of the above proposals/challenges so they are worthy to be strived for.

Participants workshopped what they would like to see “more of” and “less of” from the public sector and the private sector in order to strengthen the pathways to a just transition in Melbourne’s built environment:

Download the summary report for Melbourne

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

We commissioned young artists in Melbourne, Lagos, Lisbon, Jakarta, Prague and Copenhagen to bring the visions of a fairer, greener future for each city to life through visual art pieces that can serve as a unifying vision for a locally-grounded, fairer transitions.

Sasha Heath, Melbourne, Australia

Prague Visioning Workshop

As part of the “Building for Today and the Future” project, on 19 January 2023 representatives of civil society, business and government gathered at the Prague Innovation Institute to envision pathways for a just transition in Prague’s built environment.

The project combines research and visioning in eight cities globally, connected up to regional and international advocacy to ensure that climate action relating to buildings and infrastructure is just and respects human rights. It has a particular emphasis on four areas: the right to housing; the rights of construction workers; meaningful participation; and non-discrimination / spatial justice.

Key insights from the visioning session included:

The importance of a bolder, more cohesive approach across government agencies on building decarbonisation, including its social dimensions, with a shared vision, knowledge and language
The need for greater responsibility and accountability from business, including in its lobbying practices
The fact that some of the more transformative changes are taking place in secondary cities and regions, rather than primary cities such as Prague, and yet the former face barriers to accessing finance.

Download the summary report for Prague

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

We commissioned young artists in Prague, Lagos, Lisbon, Jakarta, Copenhagen and Melbourne to bring the visions of a fairer, greener future for each city to life through visual art pieces that can serve as a unifying vision for a locally-grounded, fairer transitions.

Terezie Unzeitigová, Prague, Czechia

Lagos Visioning Workshop

As part of the “Building for Today and the Future” project, on 3 November 2022 representatives of the built environment industry, NGOs, businesses, academia, and government gathered at an IHRB-hosted online workshop to envision pathways for a just transition in Lagos’ built environment.

Key participants included:

National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria
Green Building Council Nigeria
NGOs: Futuresavers Sustainable Development Initiative, IJIKOO, Spaces for Change
MTN Foundation, MTN Nigeria Telecommunication Plc
University of Lagos, Research Management Office

Key insights from the visioning workshop in Lagos included:

Given that 40% of Nigeria’s households own and use petrol-generating sets every day, there is a shared understanding of the need to shift to more sustainable energy-generating methods and to do so in a just way (with shared responsibility between the government, businesses, and households)
Due to lack of effective urban planning and public investment in the built environment, people have resourced to the ‘self-help’ approach (building houses themselves incrementally as financial means allow), which at the moment is an uncontrolled, unsustainable and unjust process
Built environment decision-making power is too concentrated at the state level, there is a need to examine the benefits of decentralised governance with adequate accountability and transparency mechanisms.

Want to see more: inter-sectoral synergies, inclusive and responsible governance, green urban design including non-motorised urban environments and the promotion of more renewable sources of energy.
Want to see less: working in silos, imported policies, lack of political will to govern in the interest of the people, energy from carbon sources, and motorised/polluting mobility and its serving infrastructure.

Download the summary report for Lagos

How do we make the vision a reality?

Table for workshopping specific barriers and opportunities

Cities of the future: Visions for a just and climate-resilient built environment

Taiwo Adebayo, Lagos, Nigeria

Commodities Explainer Guides

Commodity traders face significant challenges in carrying out human rights due diligence (HRDD). From sourcing in conflict, high-risk or environmentally or culturally vulnerable zones, to child or forced labour in the supply chain, forced community resettlement, there are a multitude of human rights risks all through the supply chain.

The movement of commodities is another area where trading activities may be associated with human rights abuses – for example the rights of workers in shipping or warehousing.

Storage infrastructure for commodities, such as tank terminals, may also be associated with adverse impacts, such as fuel leaking from storage tanks adversely impacting public health.

However commodity traders may feel quite distant from the high risk areas of commodity sourcing, and, in the case of spot trading for example, their connection with the commodity in question may be very short. This does not mean that commodity traders are exempt from their responsibility to respect human rights across commodity supply chains.

In 2018 the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) oversaw the publication of guidance to help representatives of commodity trading firms to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in their own systems and company cultures.

IHRB has produced a series of explainers downloadable as PDFs, which spotlight elements of the guidance on HRDD:

These explainers provide insight and pointers on each of the above issues and are designed to encourage further research and implementation of the wider process of HRDD through the trading company.

An online version of this guidance is available at www.commodity-trading.org. This website, recently updated to include latest developments in legislation and business and human rights thinking, provides a step-by-step guide for commodity traders on implementing HRDD.

Topic Briefings

The Ocean Platform has produced a series of topic briefings covering the business and human rights aspects of all ocean industries, from deep seabed mining to ocean tourism.

For each topic, the briefings provide an overview of the issues, whose rights are impacted, and which businesses should pay attention.

The briefings also provide topic-specific pointers and resources for how businesses can ensure respect for human rights in their work, as well as information about the financial implications.

For other Ocean Platform publications and selected external reports, see our Resources page.

Ocean and Human Rights Platform Resources

This section contains various reports, guidances, briefings, and meeting reports published by the Ocean and Human Rights Platform.

It also contains selected publications from external sources covering ocean and human rights issues. Publications from external organisations are labelled (Ext) and following those links will take you away from the Ocean Platform website.

To have your publication listed here, please contact Francesca Fairbairn.

The Ocean Platform has also produced a series of topic briefings covering the business and human rights aspects of all ocean industries - these can be found on the Topic Briefings page.

Building for Today and the Future

Advancing a Just Transition in the Built Environment

Decisions about what gets built, where and how have major implications for people’s lives now and for many years to come.

Buildings and construction contribute 37% of global energy-related carbon emissions. At the same time, the built environment is where many people directly experience the impacts of climate change in their daily lives, as well as energy access and affordability. IHRB is working with partners on a two-year project to strengthen pathways to just climate action in the built environment, combining deep dives in eight cities with international-level advocacy.

The project focuses on measures to reduce emissions from buildings and construction, and to strengthen resilience in ways that ensure:

The right to adequate housing, which encompasses elements such as security of tenure, affordability and habitability
Construction workers’ rights, on site and through supply chains
Non-discrimination and spatial justice, so that climate action in the built environment reduces rather than deepens existing inequality
Meaningful participation, so that all residents have opportunities to shape decisions that impact their lives

Download: What’s needed for a just transition in the built environment?

Notes on terminology

Built environment: Buildings, infrastructure and the places that connect them

Just transition: “A Just Transition involves maximizing the social and economic opportunities of climate action, while minimizing and carefully managing any challenges” (ILO). Drawing on this definition, the project seeks to define and inspire climate action in the built environment that brings people along, expands opportunity, respects human rights and avoids harm.

The project recognises that the phrase “just transition” is context specific, and is often not understood at all: the project aims to engage with local language, narrative and perspectives while also building international momentum for change.

Aquaculture and Fishing

Since 2019, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights and IHRB have been gathering relevant industry experts and stakeholders to improve respect for human rights across the seafood industries. This work sits under the banner of the Ocean and Human Rights Platform, a joint Rafto and IHRB initiative. Outputs include:

In December 2019, Rafto, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and IHRB gathered 25 stakeholders, including companies from the salmon farming and aquaculture feed industries and financial organisations, to discuss the human rights impacts of the salmon farming industry. Read the meeting report.
In March 2021 FUTURE PROOF, a Rafto initiative, brought together relevant experts to discuss human rights in the seafood industry (recording in Norwegian).
In December 2021, FUTURE-PROOF, together with DIHR and Ethical Trade Norway co-hosted a webinar about human rights in the Norwegian salmon industry. This webinar built on DIHR's Sector-Wide Impact Assessment on human rights in the salmon industry in Chile, published in October 2021.

Since 2022 Ocean Platform Regional Partner, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), produced a Toolkit for Ocean Human Rights Defenders. The guidance, which can be adapted for human rights defenders in any field, provides a step by step guide to effective community mobilisation, advocacy and defence of human rights for community peoples and grass roots activists.

Coastal Renewables

The growth of wind energy globally is essential in the transition to net zero but the ‘green rush’ for financing and approving new projects means that the risk of serious human rights violations of local communities is stark.

To date, however, consultation by energy companies and investors with locally affected communities, whose livelihoods may be harmed if not destroyed by new wind installations, is largely inadequate (as underscored by the work of the Renewable Energy and Human Rights Benchmark).

First Nations have lived for thousands of years without fossil fuels. It is appropriate that they lead the way out of dependency and addiction to fossil fuels and to rely on the power of the elements, the sun, the wind and the sea, once again.

Chief Gordon Planes. T'Sou-ke First Nation

If we are to avoid the situation that arose with local communities being marginalised and excluded from the benefits of locally sourced fossil fuels, we must ensure a just transition into the low carbon economy. This means giving agency to local and indigenous communities - both through Free, Prior and Informed Consent, and through financial equity and partnership - on renewable energy projects in and around their land and homes.

The Ocean and Human Rights Platform is a place to foster dialogue with energy producers, financial institutions, leaders of indigenous communities and government representatives to raise awareness of issues around community equity, moving from a victim-compensation model to one of long-term dialogue and partnership.

Here we spotlight indigenous and local community partnerships in renewable energy in nine countries (Canada, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, US).

Regional partner CREER will lead on the 'Fair Wind' project on responsible wind energy with Wayuu communities in La Guajira, Colombia.

The Danish Insitute for Human Rights has also published a case study of the Isla Huapi electrification project in Chile as an example of good practice of collaboration between state, company and Indigenous community (external link).

Ports

Ports are key nodes or junctions between cities and international commerce, and their operations entail a whole community of workers, logistics networks, and the local communities they are embedded into. Respect for human rights in port-city relations and within port cities is an essential - often forgotten - dimension of social sustainability. The fact that many port authorities have foundations and CSR portfolios already shows an interest to respect the social and natural environments in which ports operate. However, it is necessary to incorporate that commitment into ports’ daily operations and growth strategies. To fill this gap, IHRB’s Built Environment and and Oceans Programmes aim to help ports develop their ‘integral social sustainability’ to:

embed a human rights approach in day-to-day port operations and expansion plans;
minimise risks associated with social, political, and economic instability in the territories they operate;
enhance the city-port relationship by assessing and accounting for the impact of port development and expansion on local communities, and the socio-spatial distribution of benefits from commercial activities; and
guarantee welfare and wellbeing for all workers including dockworkers and seafarers.

Guidance and tools that IHRB has developed include:

‘Dignity by Design’ Framework: helps businesses, governments and other stakeholders ensure respect for human rights in port development and expansion projects. It provides clear guiding questions on how to uphold human, labour, and indigenous peoples’ rights in each of the six stages of the built environment lifecycle: land acquisition, planning & finance, design, construction, use & maintenance, and re-development.
Code of Conduct for shipowners and operators to ensure respect for seafarers’ rights, developed in collaboration with the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) and the Rafto Foundation.
Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity: a practical guide of ten principles that companies should follow in regards to migrant workers. The global applicability of this set of principles is also of key relevance for all workers under a port authority.

Our ports work is carried out in partnership with the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights on the Ocean and Human Rights Platform.

Ocean Platform - Regional Partners

Building a global network of regional partners lies at the core of the Ocean Platform’s work. Regional partners, involved in many varied aspects of the ocean economy from fishing to renewable energy to port development, engage with the Ocean Platform both to share knowledge and learn from others, to build alliances, take successful innovations to scale and to advocate collectively for improved corporate policy, practice, and accountability in regard to human rights in the blue economy. The founding organisations aim over time to increase the number and geographic scope of partnerships in all regions of the world.

Ocean Platform - Outline and Strategy

Led by two international human rights organisations, working alongside a global network of business, government, human rights defenders, civil society partners, academia and national human rights institutions, the Oceans and Human Rights Platform (Ocean Platform) is a collaborative initiative to raise awareness to prevent and address adverse human rights impacts across ocean industries.

The work of the Ocean Platform is underpinned by international standards, in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Maritime Labour Convention.

Ocean and Human Rights Platform

Industrial activities in the world’s oceans (commonly referred to as the ‘blue economy’) can have significant societal and environmental benefits. But if not managed responsibly, they can also have adverse impacts - on local communities, on workers in direct operations and in value chains, and on at-risk groups, including Indigenous Peoples, women and girls, and human rights and environmental defenders. The blue economy encompasses multiple industry sectors and human rights permeate them all in various ways.

The Ocean and Human Rights Platform (Ocean Platform) has been created by Rafto and IHRB as a collaborative initiative to raise awareness to prevent and address adverse human rights impacts across ocean industries. We collaborate with regional partners, particularly in the global south, working with human rights challenges linked to ocean industries. The Ocean Platform addresses the ocean equity action agenda of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Find out more about the Ocean Platform’s Outline and Strategy

Current focus is on shipping, on ports and shipyards (connected to our Built Environment programme), on coastal wind energy (connected to IHRB's Just Transitions programme), all with a particular focus on impacts of business activities on livelihoods and working conditions. We have also worked on aquaculture and fishing.

The Ocean Platform has published a series of topic briefings covering the business and human rights aspects of all ocean industries; and also provides a list of useful resources for those interested in oceans and human rights.

Safeguarding Thank You

We have received your message and one of IHRB’s Safeguarding Leads will review this as soon as possible.

Safeguarding

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) takes a zero-tolerance approach to any form of bullying, harassment, physical, emotional or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, and strive to ensure the same in all of our work with vulnerable adults in the global communities where IHRB operates.

We are committed to ensuring that anyone working or associated with IHRB in any capacity does not harm, abuse or exploit any at risk child or adult, and acts upon any such allegation or incident to ensure the minimum risk to vulnerable people within IHRB’s scope.

Safeguarding is integrated into IHRB's relevant policies, and these commitments are outlined fully in our Safeguarding Policy. A copy of this policy is available on request by emailing [email protected].

We treat all safeguarding related concerns as an urgent priority. You can email us on: [email protected]

Or you can submit a safeguarding related concern anonymously via the online form below. Emails to this account or submissions via the form will be forwarded immediately to our Safeguarding Leads Vanessa Bissessur, Chief Operating Officer, and Julia Batho, Deputy Chief Executive.

What not to report

Please note that this is not intended as a mechanism to raise complaints or grievances about general safeguarding issues in the world of human rights and business that are not directly connected to IHRB as an organisation. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources or expertise to take on specific/ individual cases or give advice to people who want to report human rights violations. In order to ensure we are able to respond urgently to safeguarding concerns, we politely request that general enquiries related to safeguarding or broader human rights issues be be sent via the general contact form https://www.ihrb.org/contact-us/

The Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas

The Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas was launched by IHRB in 2022 following extensive regional stakeholder engagement to understand the current state of play within North America regarding action by civil society, business, and government to advance the responsible recruitment of migrant workers.

What emerged was a dynamic landscape of efforts and achievements to ensure the protection for and respect of migrant workers being recruited throughout the region. Yet stakeholders agreed that increased collaboration and coordination was a need within the region that could serve to increase the solidity and impact of ongoing efforts.

Born out of the tremendous work undertaken by a range of stakeholders from across the region to address ethical and fair recruitment of migrant workers, the Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas is a collaborative space to engage, share, and build regional capacity for multistakeholder action across sectors and the region.

Aims of the Network

The objective of the Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas is to increase the collective leverage of all stakeholders to drive positive change in the way that internal and international migrant workers are recruited across recruitment corridors in the Americas.

It will aim to do this through:

Information sharing and knowledge-building
Partnership building
Increasing regional capacity and leverage

Who can join the Network?

The Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas is for any organisation or individual who works to address responsible recruitment of external and internal migrants.

Members include:

Workers
Unions
UN agencies
CSOs
Government entities and representatives
Grassroots organizations
Employers, recruiters, and business
Finance sector
Trade associations

Network Activities and Ways to Get Involved

The Network will offer regular opportunities to engage with partners in the region and expand opportunities for collaboration.

These will include:

Bi-annual conference calls
Bi-annual webinars
Quarterly newsletter, highlighting key policy and programme developments, and future opportunities for engagement.
Access to the global Labour Migration Listserve
Additional special events and roundtables throughout the year
Additional special reports/written documents as opportunity arises

Join the Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas

News

Explainers

Events

Thank You For Joining Us

Thank you for joining the Just Transitions live broadcast

To read and download the report click here

Learn more about the Just Transitions programme here

website

Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights

Charterers are increasingly under scrutiny for their supply chains, yet currently lack access to sufficient information on how labour and human rights risks are addressed – including on the vessels that carry their cargo. Such information is key to inform both chartering-related decisions and due diligence processes.

On 5th November 2020, IHRB together with the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) and its members announced a new project to deliver on seafarers’ rights. The project will address a widely-recognised industry gap in the area of respecting and upholding seafarers’ labour and human rights, bringing to bear charterers’ leverage in holding the industry accountable through transparency.

Transparency on labour and human rights risks across supply chains will improve charterers’ ability to conduct due diligence and make informed decisions.

SSI Members involved:

The China Navigation Company
Forum for the Future
Louis Dreyfus Company
Oldendorff Carriers
RightShip
South32
Standard Chartered Bank
Wilhelmsen

Objectives

To improve respect of the labour and human rights of seafarers and provide safe and decent work for seafarers, leading to more sustainable supply chains
To identify mechanisms for seafarers to understand their labour and human rights, report abuse of them and access remedy
To improve transparency on actions taken to identify, mitigate and prevent labour and human rights risks within the shipping value chain
To improve the ability of charterers to conduct labour and human rights due diligence and make informed decisions
To catalyse collective action and leadership by charterers to advocate for more robust human rights protection within the industry

Work

Shining a light on ongoing efforts to respect and uphold seafarers’ rights, this project will see charterers play an active role in raising the bar through the development of an industry code of conduct for actors joined together across the shipping value chain. Based on international labour and human rights standards and principles, this work brings together charterers, shipowners and operators to bring to bear collective action, increase transparency and drive positive change.

Outputs

Industry code of conduct on labour and human rights risks
Contractual terms and chartering provisions incorporated in standard industry clauses

Built Environment Coalition

The Framework for Dignity in the Built Environment is a collaboration between four organisations with a global reach and with strong track records advancing human rights in multiple contexts, including among private sector actors: The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the Melbourne School of Design, Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

What's Next

Following global consultation, the Framework launched in late 2020. It includes three tiers: high-level outcomes, questions to prompt decision-making, and examples of tools, standards and innovation for scaling. As a living document, the Coalition will continue to update the Framework with new practice examples, further guidance, and other resources.
Building a cohort of leaders from each stage of the built environment lifecycle.
Implementation: Embedding good practice in procurement, investment frameworks, and industry standards; conducting strategic research and communications; and developing interdisciplinary pilot projects that integrate a human rights approach from the outset.

Building Dignity Pilot Projects

Real-Time Building with Human Rights at the Centre

Working in specific contexts, the Coalition for Dignity in the Built Environment is initiating “Building Dignity” pilot projects. Applying the Framework for Dignity in the Built Environment throughout the course of specific building and infrastructure projects, the pilots aim to mitigate risks to human rights and maximise positive social outcomes – such as health benefits, greater social inclusion, and job creation.

The pilots will create a dynamic community of practice - sharing practical lessons on challenges and opportunities, demonstrating the benefits of a human rights approach, and informing stronger policy making to scale outcomes.

Context

Any building project involves a complex web of decision-makers – investors, owners and developers, architects, construction managers and contractors – with varying degrees of participation from end-users and local communities. The distribution of power between these actors largely determines the nature of the built environment - and whether it responds only to narrow financial interests or also to the needs of users, communities and workers, particularly the most vulnerable.

Ingredients for action

Every building and infrastructure project is unique. But some of key features for embedding social equity include:

Commitment by the project owner, whether a municipal government, cultural institution, or private company. Leverage over project outcomes decreases throughout the project lifecycle, so having the actor that holds the purse strings and determines the priorities of the project committed to social outcomes early on is important, and greatly increases the ability of designers, builders, and engineers to take a rights-based approach later in the lifecycle.

Acting early in the project lifecycle, which means that social outcomes can be included in project requirements, tenders, and contracts – they are much harder to retroactively implement at the later stages. This also involves ensuring that local communities and end users have a say on the project and can help shape outcomes from the earliest stage of the project. Overlooking meaningful consultation increases the risk of harm to human rights, project delays, or even the project being cancelled, as well as the risk of missing key opportunities to generate positive outcomes.

A spirit of collaboration and openness to cultural change: The built environment industries are often characterised by tight budgets and timeframes. This makes it challenging to ensure respect for human rights and to harness opportunities for social outcomes. While integrating social standards into project documents is an important approach, equally important is ensuring strong collaboration between people at different stages of the lifecycle, breaking out of siloed decision-making, shifting power imbalances, and enabling a culture where concerns can be raised and new strategies explored.

What’s involved

The Building Dignity pilots will involve building in a way that is deeply connected to:

WHERE the project takes place – including any systemic inequities, and opportunities for addressing them
WHO is involved and impacted - including end-users, local communities, and workers, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable
HOW decisions are made, with the aim of shifting power imbalances and strengthening collaboration between actors.

Practical steps include:

Establishing the pilot team and accountability mechanism
Mapping and engaging stakeholders meaningfully from the outset and throughout
Conducting due diligence, identifying social outcomes and creating an action plan
Integrating these findings into project processes
Adapting, learning, and adjusting along the way
Documenting and sharing learnings

Featuring: Bergen Inclusion Center, Norway

HLM Arkitektur/ 3RW Arkitekter

The first Building Dignity Pilot Project is underway in Bergen, Norway. The city is home to a growing refugee and migrant population, and has also committed to be a “human rights city”. The pilot – due for completion in December 2023 - involves the conversion of a former school building into a center that both provides a language school and other services for newly-arrived refugees and migrants, as well as facilities open to the neighboring community. The pilot project team, led by Bergen City Architects, is working to implement the Dignity in the Built Environment Framework throughout the building project lifecycle. Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) has featured the Bergen inclusion center as a best-practice example in its “National Roadmap for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

Embedding the framework from the outset has informed the following decisions:

Co-locating the various services which may be needed by newly arrived refugees, providing a one-stop shop that is easily accessible
Designing the canteen, restrooms, public and prayer spaces taking into account the cultural background and lived experience of different users
Creating an activity square that invites people from the surrounding area
The choice of materials: maximising reuse and minimising the length of supply chains to ensure transparency and accountability - simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint.

The Bergen Inclusion Centre is now approaching completion and plans to open in spring 2024

Read more:

Project page (Norwegian)
First status report (English) June 2019 - March 2020
Second status report (English) April 2020 - February 2021
Third Status Report (English) March 2021 - June 2023

Interested?

Get in touch to find out more: [email protected]

Voices - Past Episodes

Voices Podcasts

Welcome to Voices, a podcast by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
In this series we're seeking to elevate the range of perspectives on the role of business in the world, and in peoples' everyday lives.

Privacy Redirect

Privacy Policy

(Last updated 1^stNovember 2018)

Introduction

This privacy policy sets out how IHRB collects and processes personal information. IHRB handles a small amount of personal data and does so in compliance with the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018. (The GDPR applies to personal data of all citizens in the European Economic Area, regardless of where the data controller or data processor operates.) We will not use your data for any other than the purposes set out below.

What Data We Collect And How

IHRB may collect and process the following personal data:

Technical data (e.g. IP address, geo-location);
Identity and contact data (e.g. first and last name, professional role, address, phone, email, social media handle).

You may share your personal data with IHRB through:

visiting our website (cookies - click here to change settings);
completing online forms;
signing up to our e-newsletter;
directly contacting IHRB;
accessing our social media;
or otherwise communicating with us or having a professional connection with our work.

What We Do With The Data We Collect

Using Your Data To Contact You

IHRB largely uses personal data to enable communications with individuals and organisations that are interested or involved in human rights as part of the legitimate interests of the company (where those interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights), or where required by legal or regulatory obligations.

IHRB sends a quarterly e-newsletter to its database of contacts (managed through MailChimp). IHRB does not add contacts to this database - the list is self-subscription only. IHRB sends occasional invites, reports, and updates to sections of its contacts database that we believe will be interested in the event or work (including to e-newsletter recipients who have expressed an interest in particular programme areas).

If you receive communication from IHRB and would like your details removed from our contacts list, please email [email protected] and we will remove you immediately from all future communications.

Third Party Processors

We sometimes use third parties (data processers) to ‘process’ information collected or stored on our behalf. We explain below when and why we process data through third parties.

Google Analytics

IHRB uses Google Analytics (GA) to track site user interaction by means of cookies (see below). We use this data to determine the number of people using our site, to better understand how they find and use our web pages and to see their journey through the website. Although GA records data such as your geographical location, device, internet browser and operating system, none of this information personally identifies you to us. GA also records your computer’s IP address which could be used to personally identify you but Google does not grant us access to this. (To change your cookie settings for the IHRB site - click here. To manage your cookies more generally, adjust the settings on your browser: Safari > Preferences > Privacy; Chrome > Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy; Firefox > Tools Menu > Options > Privacy Settings.)

Social Media

The IHRB website uses AddThis which facilitates social sharing of its content (via the ‘Connect with Us' buttons on our site). In order to deliver this service AddThis creates cookies, which may collect information from visitors, this information does not directly identify an individual and is instead designed to identify the devices used by visitors. You can opt out at any time using the AddThis opt out form: http://www.addthis.com/privacy/opt-out.

IHRB also has Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts. Their privacy policies can be found on their websites.

Other Data Processors

In the course of running our website and the charity, we use a number of other data processing organisations, such as file hosting services, email providers, event co-hosts, social media managers, web hosts and developers, web traffic analysers, event invite software and newsletter providers (such as Mailchimp). For more information please contact us at [email protected].

There are certain other scenarios under which IHRB, its programmes, subsidiaries or other assets may share personal data:

if IHRB (or one of its programmes or assets) changes governance, becomes independent, or becomes part of another organisation;
to protect IHRB from fraud, breach of confidence, theft of proprietary materials and other financial or business crimes;
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and bring and defend legal claims.This may ultimately involve disclosure of your information to competent regulatory, prosecuting and other law enforcement and governmental agencies and legal firms.

Third Party Websites

The website and the IHRB e-newsletter may contain links to other websites which are outside our control and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. IHRB is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of these third party websites.

Retention And Deletion Of Your Information

We will delete the information that we hold about you when we no longer need it. Specific information about our record retention policies is available on request. Please contact us at [email protected].

Note that we may retain some limited information about you even when we know that you have left the organisation that you represent, so that we can maintain a continuous relationship with you if and when we are in contact with you again, representing a different organisation.

Your Individual Rights

The GDPR provides the following rights for individuals:

The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal information.
The right of access, this allows you to be aware of and verify the lawfulness of the processing.
The right to rectification, to have inaccurate personal data rectified, or completed if it is incomplete.
The right to erasure – this is the right to be forgotten, it is not absolute, and only applies in certain circumstances.
The right to restrict processing - it is not absolute, and only applies in certain circumstances.
The right to data portability – this allows you to obtain, reuse and move your personal data in a common format across different services.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, direct marketing and or processing for purposes of research and statistics. We confirm we do not engage in direct marketing.
Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling. We confirm we make no decisions on you using an automated process.

If you would like to exercise any of the above rights, please email us at [email protected] and we will enact the above free of charge.

Changes to this Policy

Any changes we make to this privacy statement in the future will be posted here and also available if you contact us at [email protected]. Please check back frequently to see any changes.

Information Commissioner's Office

Further information on your data privacy rights are available on the website of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office: www.ico.org.uk.

Cookie Controls

'Persistent' or analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information such as on its usage. This information might include your geographical location, device, internet browser and operating system - none of this information personally identifies you to us. Persistent cookies will remain stored on your computer until deleted, or until they reach a specified expiry date. You can choose to turn these off here:

Coalition Launches New Independent ‘Centre for Sport and Human Rights’

26 June 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Geneva, Switzerland, 26^th June 2018 - Today, a first of its kind centre to foster respect for human rights in the world of sport was launched in Geneva. The new Centre for Sport and Human Rights has been under development over the past two and half years by a diverse coalition including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Federation, and UEFA, as well as a broad range of intergovernmental organisations, governments, athletes, hosts, sponsors, broadcasters, civil society representatives, trade unions, employers associations, and national human rights institutions.

Administered by international think tank the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the Centre will be based in Geneva, Switzerland and operate globally, supporting all actors including host organising committees and sports bodies, and affected groups such as workers and unions, athletes, communities, journalists, volunteers and fans, to share knowledge, build capacity, and strengthen accountability.

The nearly 40 founding members of the Advisory Council of the new Centre met today for the Centre’s inaugural bi-annual strategic meeting. Marking the official launch, they were welcomed with remarks by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the Director-General of the ILO Guy Ryder, and the Centre’s founding Chair Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said at the launch: “We are aiming high. Our vision is a world of sport that fully respects human rights. I am convinced that the Centre for Sport and Human Rights will take up the challenge and promote better governance, accountability and sustainability when it comes to major sports’ events around the globe.”

“This independent Centre is an important step in scaling up our efforts to ensure that sports and mega sporting events are grounded in respect for the equal dignity and rights of every human being, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Mary Robinson, Chair of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, concluded: “The new Centre is the product of several years of development and collaboration by actors across the value chain of sport. Our collective vision is a world of sport that fully respects human rights. The Centre will be a public good, working with sports bodies, event hosts, affected groups, and others to share knowledge, build capacity, and strengthen accountability.”

ENDS

NOTES

Contact:

For questions contact: Haley St. Dennis, Communications Manager, IHRB: [email protected]/ +447508878015

Livestream to opening keynotes:

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkFlqhq3rxk

Includes speeches from: Mary Robinson (Chair of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights); Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights); Guy Ryder (the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO)); John Morrison (Chief Executive, Institute for Human Rights and Business).

About the Centre for Sport and Human Rights:

The Centre is Chaired by Mary Robinson, Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; former President of Ireland

The founding members of the Centre’s Advisory Council, who will advise on the Centre’s annual strategy, include:

adidas Group
Amnesty International
BT plc
Building and Woodworkers International
The Coca-Cola Company
The Committee to Protect Journalists
The Commonwealth Games Federation
The Commonwealth Secretariat
FIBA
FIFA
Football Supporters Europe
Government of Germany
Human Rights Watch
International Labour Organization
International Olympic Committee (pending)
International Organisation of Employers
International Trade Union Confederation
New Zealand Human Rights Commission
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Proctor & Gamble
Sky
Terre Des Hommes
Government of Slovenia
Government of Switzerland
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (Qatar)
Transparency International
The Organising Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games
UEFA
UNESCO
UNICEF
Government of the United Kingdom
Government of the United States of America
World Players Association, UNI Global Union
Visa

Newsletter Archive

Masters Course in Business & Human Rights

Business has significant impacts on human rights.

Companies are in a unique position to create the resources and infrastructure needed for people to realise their human rights. However, corporate conduct can also adversely affect the rights of workers, consumers, and communities.

This highly respected Masters-level course, taking place over four weekends between September and December 2024, explores the links between human rights violations and corporate activities.

The course will focus will be on the importance of international standards in strengthening respect and protection of human rights, as well as what corporate human rights due diligence means in practice for businesses.

Visit the University of Bergen website to apply.

For more details on the course, please contact Bendik E Basberg [[email protected]] at the UiB’s Department of Comparative Politics.

Why apply?

I left with a robust armoury of tools and ideas on how to better incorporate human rights into business decisions.

- Emily, Ethical Sourcing Specialist

I gained an invaluable insight into the practicalities of implementing [human rights] regulations from some of the world’s leading multinationals first hand.

- Joanne, Lawyer

The faculty was knowledgeable, diverse and extremely approachable.

- Magdalena, Lawyer

Course Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

demonstrate a specialised knowledge of human rights standards expected of companies and the challenges they face meeting them;
understand how to identify if business practices are consistent with human rights standards and evaluate challenges in detail;
develop sophisticated approaches based on due diligence assessment methods and tools that companies use in order to ensure respect for human rights;
communicate your expertise in human rights and business to companies, governments, institutions and other actors.

Course Content

This course will help you understand the interplay between business and human rights, including business impacts, positive and adverse, regardless of corporate intent.

Through expert guidance this course will help you learn about:

what companies can and cannot do through an introduction to international human rights standards such as the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, ethical norms and legal principles, and corporate duties;
the dilemmas of operating in spaces where local standards and rules may vary from and sometimes contradict global standards or policies;
how senior company executives address challenges and conduct due diligence;
existing initiatives and corporate strategies designed to deal with human rights and business and uphold international standards;
contemporary challenges in business and human rights including climate, just transitions, conflict, technology, and concerns including discrimination.

Course Details

The first and last course weekends will take place in person in Bergen, Norway, with two intervening weekends taking place virtually. 2024 course dates are below:

Week 1: September 12th - 15th

Week 2: October 4th - 6th

Week 3: October 25th - 27th

Week 4: November 22th - 24th.

Cost for 2024 to be confirmed. Cost for the course in 2023 (not including travel etc) was NOK 25,000.

The course is hosted by the Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen (UiB), the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).

Sessions will comprise a mixture of lectures, seminars, and group discussions. All lectures are streamed using Zoom.

All relevant materials, including lecture recordings, will be made available through the course pages at the student portal - MittUiB.

Course Faculty

Learn from individuals at the forefront of making human rights part of everyday business.

Maryam Al-Khawaja - Bahrainian Human Rights Defender, Rafto Laureate, Copenhagen

Bendik Basberg - University of Bergen, Norway

Vicky Bowman - Director, Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business; member of IHRB's International Advisory Committee, London

Khule Duma - Anglo American Corp, Johannesburg

Nnimmo Bassey - Mother Earth Foundation, Rafto Laureate, Nigeria

Sigrid Brynestad - Senior Executive, GIEK, Oslo

Carine Coudeville - VP Human Rights, Sustainability & Climate Division, TotalEnergies, Paris

Dominique Day - UN Working group for people of African descent, New York/San Francisco, US

Kathryn Dovey - OECD, London/Paris (via zoom)

Frode Elgesem - judge, advocate, Rafto board, Norway’s NCP chair, Oslo

Heidi Furustol - Executive Director, Ethical Trade Norway

Erika George - Faculty of Law, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Pia Rudolfsson Goyer - Ethical investment specialist, Rafto board, IHRB IAC, Oslo

Isabel Hilton - Founder, China Dialogue, IHRB IAC, London

Payal Jain - Sustainability Team, H&M, Sweden (on ZOOM)

Therese Jebsen - Rafto Foundation, Bergen

Scott Jerbi - Senior Adviser, IHRB

Harpreet Kaur - Business and Human Rights Adviser, UNDP Asia-Pacific Hub, Bangkok

Deanna Kemp - University of Queensland, IHRB IAC and Trustee, Australia

Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt - Rafto Foundation, Bergen

Morten Kristiansen - Corporate Attorney, Telenor

Rachel Kyte - Dean, Tufts University, Massachusetts, US

Reidun Blehr Lankan - Senior Adviser, Norway Govt dept of Trade and Industry, Oslo

Iain Levine - Human Rights Team, Meta (Facebook), New York (on ZOOM)

Rae Lindsay - Clifford Chance, IHRB IAC, London

Bonny Ling - Research Fellow, IHRB

Anton Mifsud Bonnici - Consultant, Malta

Frank Mugisha - Rafto Laureate, Executive Director, Sexual Minorities in Uganda, Kampala

John Morrison - IHRB, UK

Sidsela Nyebak - Sustainability Director, Statkraft, Oslo

Beena Pallical - National Commission for Dalit Human Rights, India

Michael Phoenix - Office of UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders, Dublin/Paris

Ron Popper - Chief Executive, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights, IHRB IAC and Trustee, Switzerland

Anita Ramasastry - Prof of Law, University of Washington, ex-UN Working Group for Business and Human Rights, IHRB IAC

Nick Robins - Grantham Institute, London School of Economics, London

Sanchita Banerjee Saxena - IHRB research fellow, University of California at Berkeley

Nina Schefte - Sustainability team, Hyro, Oslo

Zainab Hussain Siddiqui - VP Sustainability, Telenor

Deryne Sim - Same But Different, Singapore

Marte Johnsen Stensrud - Sustainability team, Equinor, Stavenger, Norway

Mark Taylor - Clooney Foundation for Justice, IHRB IAC, Oslo

Salil Tripathi - Senior Advisor, IHRB, New York

Owen Tudor - Deputy General Secretary, ITUC, Brussels

Requirements and Outputs

This course is available to master's students, professionals and anyone interested in business and human rights.

A bachelor's degree or equivalent and at least two years' work experience is required. The course is with 15 ECTS credit points.

Students will be required to complete a semester paper, assigned at the beginning of the semester, of not more than 4,500 words, to be submitted four weeks after the last weekend gathering (grading scale A-F).

For more details on the course, please contact Bendik E Basberg [[email protected]] at the UiB’s Department of Comparative Politics.

Visit the University of Bergen website to apply.

Meet the faculty:

Meet course alumni:

Governments and Private Sector Share Experience in Promoting Ethical Recruitment

16 October 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Geneva, 13th October 2017 – Representatives from governments, the private sector, UN agencies and civil society will meet during the margins of the sixth thematic session of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) today (13/10) to discuss how to better promote ethical recruitment and protect the rights of migrant workers.

The Ethical Recruitment in Global Labour Mobility side event is hosted by the Government of Sweden and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) – with support from IOM, the UN Migration Agency.

The event will be opened by Ola Henrikson, Director General, Migration and Asylum, Ministry of Justice of the Government of Sweden and Ambassador Laura Thompson, IOM Deputy Director General. Panellists include representatives from IKEA, the World Employment Confederation, the Philippine Overseas Labour Office and the UK Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

“From the Swedish Government’s point of view, labour migration is something fundamentally positive. If well managed, it can be a strong and important driver of economic growth and development,” said Henrikson.

“While fundamental aspects of international migration are, and must be, regulated by states, employers are often key stakeholders with the power to ensure positive effects of migration. Responsible employers can play an important role by ensuring good recruitment practices that benefit migrant workers, who are often exposed to additional vulnerabilities on the labour market. This is especially true in this day and age, where production is global, and manpower increasingly crosses borders,” added Henrikson.

“No one attending this event today would want to have to pay for their own jobs, we wouldn’t expect our children to have to pay, we wouldn’t want to sell our land, mortgage our house, give the equivalent of many months’ salary, just to secure employment. And yet everyday all around the world millions of workers are expected to do just that. That’s why we’re here, to end an economic model premised on the vulnerability of workers,” said John Morrison, Chief Executive, Institute for Human Rights and Business.

“We know from our own experience that the exploitation of migrant workers often begins at the recruitment stage when workers are forced to pay predatory recruitment fees or are misled about the job offer,” said Ambassador Thompson.

“While there is no doubt that the current international recruitment model disadvantages the worker, it also doesn’t serve the interests of business. IOM is pleased to be supporting this important side event, and the efforts of governments, civil society and the private sector to make international recruitment fair for everyone,” added Ambassador Thompson.

The GCM presents a unique opportunity for the international community to move away from reactive approaches to migration governance, and to determine the steps to be taken to reach a common future in which migration is safe, orderly and regular. It will aim to enhance international cooperation on the governance of migration, by establishing a framework to enhance the opportunities and address the challenges posed by human mobility.

For IOM press release, please click here.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Galindo, IOM HQ, Tel: +41227179111, Email: [email protected]

Haley St. Dennis, IHRB, Tel: +44 (0) 75 088 78015, Email: [email protected]

Kasja Aulin, Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations, Tel: +41 22 908 08 26, Email: [email protected]

GE, Mars Inc, Tesco, and Vinci join Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment

19 June 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE USE

Four international brands today join the roster of seven other global companies in the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment.

GE, Mars Inc., Tesco, and VINCI join The Coca-Cola Company, HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IKEA, M&S, Unilever, and Walmart in committing to the “Employer Pays Principle” and calling for collective action and bold leadership to achieve its vision of eradicating worker fees within the next 10 years.

The Employer Pays Principle states:

No worker should pay for a job, the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer.
The Employer Pays Principle

Payment of recruitment fees by migrant workers is a key cause of forced labour, creating cycles of debt and leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation.

The announcement was made at the inaugural Annual Leadership Forum for Responsible Recruitment in Berlin, co-hosted by IHRB, the Leadership Group, and Humanity United. The Annual Leadership Forum brings together global brands, suppliers, recruitment agencies, governments, and NGOs to discuss and examine how to advance ethical recruitment and combat the exploitation of migrant workers in global supply chains.

The opening session of the Forum was livestreamed and featured representatives from M&S, the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, IHRB, and Humanity United.

Forced labor is a challenging and complicated problem that must be tackled with urgency through the joint efforts of governments, corporations, and civil society around the world. GE is proud to join this select group of companies looking for real and practical solutions to one of the core causes of this problem – unethical recruitment.
said Alex Dimitrief, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, General Electric Company

“We believe everyone touched by our business should be treated with fairness, dignity and respect. We’re here to learn with other leaders who are ready to move from conversation to collective action on responsible recruitment practices that will make a meaningful difference for vulnerable workers around the world.”
said Barry Parkin, Chief Sustainability and Health and Wellbeing Officer, Mars, Incorporated

“Our business sector must get involved on these vital issues. Working collectively and sharing best practices and tools is the best way to promote the Employer Pays Principle across the industry.
said Franck Mougin Executive Vice-President, Human Resources and Sustainable Development, VINCI

ENDS

CONTACT

For further information, please contact Haley St. Dennis at haley.st.dennis [at] ihrb.org

NOTES

About the Annual Leadership Forum:

More information about the Annual Leadership Forum for Responsible Recruitment in Berlin can be found at: https://www.ihrb.org/alf-2017/

About the Leadership Group:

The Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment is a collaboration between eleven global companies and expert organisations, led by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB – www.ihrb.org), and supported by Humanity United and GE Foundation.

Further information available at: www.employerpays.org

Member companies:

The Coca-Cola Company
GE
HP Inc.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
IKEA
M&S
Mars Inc.
Tesco
Unilever
VINCI
Walmart

Non-corporate expert members:

Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Organization for Migration
Verité

Business Leaders Advising Trump Urged to Reject Travel Ban, Promote Human Rights

01 February 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY, Wednesday, February 1^st, 2017 – Human rights groups and responsible investors including faith-based organizations today sent a letter to the 19 current and former CEOs comprising President Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum in advance of their upcoming meeting with the President this Friday. The Strategic and Policy Forum was convened by President Trump to provide input as the President and his administration implement his economic agenda. The group’s letter urges the CEOs to use Friday’s meeting to speak out strongly against the President’s Executive Order restricting entry into the U.S. for refugees, immigrants, and documented residents from selected counties.

Organized by the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and endorsed by 64 investor and advocacy organizations, the letter also called on the corporate leaders to ensure respect for the human rights of all workers, and to align corporate policies and practices with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“Members of the Strategic and Policy Forum must be ambassadors for American values. These values include respect for diversity, inclusion, and the dignity of every human being. We're watching if these CEOs and the corporations they represent stand up for these values, or stand idly by as they are quashed,”

said Amol Mehra, Executive Director of ICAR.

The groups warn that the travel ban undermines respect for human rights and the lives of workers and their families in the U.S. and beyond, and will disrupt economic activity and company operations. They call for respect for human rights and responsible business conduct, which they argue will benefit not only the American people, but will ensure an inclusive and prosperous global economy.

Said John Morrison of IHRB,

“The Executive Order hurts people and business. Companies must stand up for human rights, including the rights of those who are most vulnerable. If they do nothing, they will have to answer to investors, consumers, and workers at home and abroad.”

Specifically, the letter calls on the business leaders to take the following actions:

Speak out strongly against the President's Executive Order restricting entry into the U.S. for refugees, immigrants, and documented residents from selected countries;
Recommend that the President and his administration join with them and the global business community to ensure respect for the human rights of workers, regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, nationality, immigration status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, at home and in global value chains; and
Urge the U.S. government to work with other nations to align corporate policies and practices with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The groups will follow up with all the companies represented in the President’s Forum and look for public statements and policies that reflect the actions and commitments they have called for.

Said ICCR’s Josh Zinner,

“Now is a moment in history to make a stand against discrimination and in support of fundamental American values of tolerance and inclusion. As key representatives of corporate America, the business leaders advising the President have a critical responsibility to respect human rights and reject the thinly veiled bigotry and xenophobia that the travel ban evokes.”

About the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), a project of the Tides Center, is a civil society organization working to ensure that governments create, implement, and enforce laws and policies to protect against business-related human rights abuse.

About the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)

Founded in 2009, IHRB is the leading international think tank on business and human rights. IHRB’s mission is to shape policy, advance practice and strengthen accountability in order to make respect for human rights part of everyday business.

About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)

Celebrating its 46th year, ICCR is the pioneer coalition of shareholder advocates who view the management of their investments as a catalyst for social change. Its 300 member organizations comprise faith communities and other socially responsible investors who work in coalition to promote greater corporate accountability on issues of environmental and social importance.

Signatories to the February 1st 2017 Letter to the President's Strategic and Policy Forum

Amol Mehra, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
John Morrison, Institute for Human Rights and Business
Josh Zinner, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
John Streur, Calvert Research and Management
Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA
Mary Beth Gallagher, Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
Marty Roers, Justice Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of the St. Paul Province
Sonia Kowal, Zevin Asset Management
Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, American Baptist Home Mission Societies
Judy Byron, Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Phil Bloomer, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Michael Crosby, Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment
Cathy Rowan, Maryknoll Sisters
Shawna Bader-Blau, Solidarity Center
Joan Agro, Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt
Eric Lerner, Health Care Without Harm
Bashar Qasem, Azzad Asset Management
Judy Beals, Oxfam America
Bro. Jeremiah O'Leary, The Xaverian Brothers
Bennett Freeman, Global Witness
Jean Steffes, Congregation of St. Agnes
Ethel Howley, School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund 3
Seamus Finn, OIP Trust
Natalie Bridgeman Fields, Accountability Counsel
Kathleen Woods, Adrian Dominican Sisters
Nina Smith, GoodWeave International
Molly Murphy, Mercy Health
Patricia Zerega, Mercy Investment Services, Inc.
Sister Louise Gallahue, D.C. Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise
Jody Wise, Trinity Health
Diane Bardol, The Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart of Philadelphia, PA
Karen Watson, Congregation of St. Joseph
Terry Collingsworth, International Rights Advocates
Raymond W Baker, Global Financial Integrity
Sister Mary Brigid Clingman, OP, Dominican Sisters
Adam Kanzer, Domini Impact Investments LLC
Chip Pitts, Advocacy for Principled Action in Government
Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN-Burma
Luan Jenifer, Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.
Margaret Weber, Congregation of St. Basil
Catherine Cartier, Progressive Asset Management
Jo Marie Chrosniak, Region VI Coalition for Responsible Investment
Sister Kathryn Dougherty, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Mary Burns, Sisters of Charity, Halifax
Kyle Wright, Stardust
Mary Beth Hamm, Sisters of Bon Secours, USA
Betty Cawley, Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
Sister Maryann Agnes Mueller, Leadership Team of the Felician Sisters of North America
Geeta Aiyer, Boston Common Asset Management
Rob Fohr, Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
Richard Walters, The Pension Boards-UCC, Inc. 4
Michael Connor, Open Media and Information Companies Initiative
Michael Crosby, Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order
Sister Susan Mika, Benedictine Sisters
Sister Brenda Cousins, Sisters of the Holy Cross
Teri Hadro, Sisters of Charity, BVM
Sr. Rosemary Davis, Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, Immaculata, PA
Sister Margaret O'Brien, Sisters of Charity of New York
Linda Hincken, Sisters of St Dominic- Amityville
Susan Vickers, Dignity Health
Ugo Biggeri and Luca Mattiazzi, Etica Sgr
Jeffery W. Perkins, Friends Fiduciary Corporation
Barbara Jennings, Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Denise Bunk-Hatch, The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Top 10 Issues that will Frame Corporate Responsibility in 2017

10 December 2016

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), a global think tank, today published its eighth annual “Top 10” list of business and human rights issues for the coming year.

The human rights challenges anticipated for 2017 reflect a stark shift in social, political and economic drivers at the global level. At risk is the erosion of an international system upholding human rights protections and the rule of law within businesses and economies.

IHRB’s Top 10 Business and Human Rights Issues for 2017 are:

INEQUALITY: The business role
GIG ECONOMY: The rise of Internet-enabled work
REFUGEES: Setting strategies with business
TRADE DEALS: Upholding human rights in a new era
VALUE CHAINS: Leveling the playing field
INFORMED CONSENT: The realm of big data
ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS: Gathering momentum
FREE SPEECH: Responsibility in the age of social media
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: Building the world’s infrastructure
AUTOMATION: Preserving workers’ rights

IHRB’s annual list of priorities prompts businesses, governments and civil society organisations determine their strategies for responding to some of the biggest human rights challenges anticipated over the next 12 months.

Commenting on the launch of the 2017 list, IHRB’s Chief Executive, John Morrison, said:

“We have really all failed, those of us who have been working on human rights issues around business for the past 15 years, to communicate the relevance to wider society.

“This new era of growing nationalist, populist and protectionist politics has dramatically changed the rhetoric behind forthcoming economic, trade, and investment agreements between nations, behind leadership to level global value chains, behind refugee strategies, behind legal accountability mechanisms for business, and more.

“The rights implications are enormous. Basic protections for the workers and communities are at risk, which will be eroded if perceived as barriers to new jobs and reinvigorated economies.

“More fundamentally, the extreme inequality we see in the world today represents both a cause and a consequence of a global failure to uphold basic rights and human dignity. These rights impacts drive inequality. At the same time, unequal societies are more likely to pose challenges to rights protections.

“The human rights movement faces a perilous future, and it is up to all of us – civil society, governments as well as businesses – to champion the issues people care about and make human rights relevant to their daily lives.

The top ten list is selected by IHRB's expert staff, informed by a global online poll conducted by IHRB.

ENDS

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Who we are and what we do

Founded in 2009, IHRB is the leading international think tank on business and human rights.
IHRB’s mission is to shape policy, advance practice and strengthen accountability in order to make respect for human rights part of everyday business.
IHRB produces a range of research, meeting reports, policy submissions, podcasts, videos and commentaries on our main Focus Areas, as well as other topics relevant to the business and human rights agenda.
IHRB works across its Focus Areas with public and private sector partners in both developing and developed countries. In particular, IHRB has founded centres for responsible business in Myanmar, Kenya and Colombia that mirror its mission and activities at a local level.

See IHRB's About page for more detail.

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About IHRB

VISION AND OUTCOMES

IHRB's vision is a just, regenerative global economy where:

Workers and communities are free and able to use their voices effectively to ensure their rights are respected.
Businesses demonstrate respect for the rights of workers and communities, and the natural systems they depend on, in their purpose, operations, relationships, and value creation.
Financial actors use their leverage to increase the scale and performance of their partners’ commitments to human rights and the environment.
Governments actively implement a smart mix of measures that drive long-term, rights-respecting, and planet-aligned business practice.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

IHRB's mission is to make human rights part of everyday business by shaping policy, advancing practice, and strengthening accountability.

This includes the objectives of:

Shaping Policy: Local, regional, and international policies and legal systems reflect the learnings and recommendations from IHRB’s and partners’ research, engagement, and experience.
Advancing Practice: The actions of the businesses and governments IHRB and our partners engage reflect the rights-based approaches we advocate and work to strengthen over time.
Strengthening Accountability: IHRB’s and partners’ engagement with businesses and governments leads to greater responsibility for and action to address known human rights harms.

APPROACHES

IHRB deploys a mix of human rights-based research, engagement, and collaborative action with businesses, governments, financial actors, and representatives of civil society. We have developed a track record of independent analysis as well as constructive interventions and collaborative engagement with all constituencies, earning a reputation as a trusted organisation committed to working with all actors to identify practical solutions and approaches needed to effect positive change. These include:

Scanning the horizon to identify gaps and emerging issues
Developing evidence to advance global norms and standards
Driving dialogue and breaking down silos
Advocating for better laws and stronger forms of accountability
Dynamically communicating across diverse mediums
Teaching and training the next generation of leaders

FOCUS AREAS

IHRB addresses some of the most important and emerging human rights issues facing business. For the period 2023-2025, our core focus areas include: just transitions, dignity in the built environment, responsible commodities, migration with dignity, and sustainable oceans.

The human rights risks and opportunities within these areas are often interlinked. We seek to ensure our teams are as cross-functional and integrated as possible, while offering specific expertise within each area where our approaches can add most value in a given sector or context.

Just Transitions: Advancing rights-based approaches to key sectoral net-zero transformations, informed through place-based research and informing norms and standards development for greater global coherence, comparability, and accountability across the growing array of just transitions claims and commitments.
Dignity in the Built Environment: Innovating rights-based approaches at the project-level of the built environment to demonstrate social and economic value, while targeting broader systems change and building industry standards through government and investor policy reform.
Responsible Commodities: Catalysing actors throughout the commodities value chain – from extraction and trading companies to manufacturers, refiners, transporters and end users – to address adverse human rights impacts across global markets.
Migration with Dignity: Leveraging responsible business to protect, respect, and fulfil the rights of migrant workers in all industry sectors and locations, ensuring migrant workers everywhere are treated with dignity.
Sustainable Oceans: Equipping actors across the ocean-based industries to meet their human rights responsibilities, through outcome-focused dialogue and ecosystem building that centres the voices of the indigenous groups, communities, and workers at risk.

CROSS-CUTTING LEVERS

Across our core focus areas outlined above, IHRB works to understand and utilise a number of cross-cutting levers that are key enablers (or disablers) of progress on human rights.

Finance: Working with investors, banks, insurers, and other financial actors to ensure capital is allocated toward rights-respecting and planet-aligned economic activity.
Intersectionality: Working with business, finance, government, and civil society actors across sectors to take more holistic approaches to power dynamics and their implications for identity-based discrimination.
Law: Working to drive greater and more effective hard- and soft-law mechanisms on responsible business within local, national, regional, and international legal systems.
Technology: Working with ICT companies and other key actors to ensure technological advance and connectivity is delivered while respecting human rights.

OUR GLOBAL TEAM

IHRB has a globally distributed team of staff and representatives currently based in: Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, France, GCC, Germany, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The “IHRB family” now includes five independent organisations (IHRB, CREER, MCRB, CHRB, and CSHR) which all cooperate to achieve IHRB’s vision and mission. They have different legal structures which have been designed to suit the purpose of their work, the safety of their staff (in the case of Myanmar particularly), and to optimise funding arrangements.

IHRB's 2023-2025 Strategy

IHRB’s 2023-2025 Strategy is informed by over a decade of experience since our founding in 2009, and is shaped by the knowledge and expertise of our global network of leaders, practitioners, and activists across business, finance, government, and civil society.

It is a living document, capturing IHRB’s current thinking and approaches to making human rights part of everyday business around the world, but also expected to evolve over time.

This Strategy is also a directional document. It provides an overview of:

Our view of the global context in which our vision and long-term outcomes must be rooted
Our mission-driven objectives of shaping policy, advancing practice, and strengthening accountability
Our day-to-day approaches to delivering impact

Download the full IHRB 2023-2025 Strategy for more information about our view of the global context, the key assumptions and core principles we bring to our work, examples of IHRB in action over the years, our monitoring and evaluation efforts, and governance structures.

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The Institute for Human Rights and Business offers a range of training on issues across the business and human rights agenda. Drawing on its roster of international experts, IHRB Academy provides standard, advanced, or bespoke training to meet the needs of any organisation interested in:

increasing understanding of business and human rights issues;
refining skills to implement human rights due diligence;
developing internal competencies on specific topics;
addressing real world human rights dilemmas.

The IHRB Academy Faculty includes members of IHRB staff, Research Fellows and Advisory Council, as well as other global experts from the worlds of business, academia and civil society.

We provide business and human rights training for students, corporates and NGOs as outlined below.

Top 10 Issues

International Human Rights Day, December 10th, is a celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is the milestone document in the history of human rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th 1948 as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It set out, for the first time, the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 500 languages, and paved the way for the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties.

Every year to mark International Human Rights Day, IHRB releases its annual Top 10 list of key business and human rights issues. These are the issues IHRB staff forecast as critical obstacles or opportunities to advancing business respect for human rights. Each year's list is based on our analysis of the global context, topical developments, and under-explored challenges. The list is often comprised of a mix of sectoral and thematic focuses, and offers both a diagnosis of a key problem as well as steps business, government, and civil society can and should take to overcome it.

The Top 10 is not an exact science and has evolved over the years as we at IHRB have explored the best way to reflect on forthcoming shared priorities. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback to comms [at] ihrb.org.

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IHRB staff provide expertise and analysis on a number of topics related to human rights in business.

If you're seeking background information, would like to arrange an interview with a member of our team, or have any other media enquiry, please contact our Head of Communications: [email protected]

For non-media enquiries, please visit our Contact Us page, and for general news visit our homepage.

Who we are and what we do

Founded in 2009, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is the leading international think tank on human rights in business.
IHRB’s mission is to shape policy, advance practice and strengthen accountability in order to make respect for human rights part of everyday business.
IHRB produces a range of research, meeting reports, policy submissions, podcasts, videos and commentaries on our main Focus Areas, as well as other topics relevant to the business and human rights agenda.
IHRB works across its Focus Areas with public and private sector partners in both developing and developed countries. In particular, IHRB has founded centres for responsible business in Myanmar, Kenya and Colombia that mirror its mission and activities at a local level.

See IHRB's About page for more detail.

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IHRB relies on donations from a range of organisations and accepts funding from governments, private foundations, international organisations, and businesses, provided they demonstrate commitment to advancing respect for human rights and sustainable development.

IHRB is registered as a charity in the UK (with legal registration in Denmark and the USA) and is the founder of several other organisations focused on specific corporate responsibility challenges. You can find out more about our mission and work here.

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Donations from businesses must have no conditions or restrictions attached. IHRB does not provide paid-for services or consulting to any business, and does not undertake commissioned research or related activities on behalf of individual companies.

IHRB does not accept funding from businesses or governments that are in breach of international sanctions or businesses engaged in the tobacco or arms industries. All business donors must have made a public commitment to net-zero emissions at least by 2050. These criteria are reviewed on an annual basis. For all business donations, IHRB consults the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark ranking of businesses in high-risk sectors.

Donations will not be solicited or accepted from individuals, governments, businesses, or other organisations that IHRB believes might use a funding relationship to green/whitewash their own activities.

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Partnership is core to IHRB’s mission. This ranges from one-off topical convenings to multi-year applied research projects. We work directly with business leaders, government officials, international organisations, civil society and others to evaluate the effectiveness of policies, approaches and initiatives and to build the capacity of organisations committed to engagement on human rights challenges.

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Friends of IHRB are individuals who have played an active role in our work either as Advisory Board members or in other capacities and who we continue to look to for inspiration, advice and support.

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IHRB was founded in 2009 under the leadership of Mary Robinson, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland, who served as its inaugural Chair and since as its Patron. IHRB’s subsequent Chair was the late John Ruggie, author of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

IHRB’s current Chair is Margot Wallström, the former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Chair convenes IHRB’s International Advisory Council to review and reflect on IHRB’s strategic direction, programming, and the global context in which it operates.

IHRB’s International Advisory Council is composed of influential thinkers across business, government, finance, trade unions, civil society, and academia.

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IHRB has registered charitable entities in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the United States of America, but our work transcends local, national, and regional boundaries with partnerships and projects around the world. IHRB has a globally distributed team of staff and representatives currently based in: Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Myanmar, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

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The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) offers a range of training sessions as well as facilitated dialogue on business and human rights standards and their implementation within specific industry sectors and business functions.

Harnessing the experience and expertise of our well-regarded staff, alongside global human rights experts, IHRB can support any organisation interested in increasing understanding, refining skills, and developing internal competencies to enhance corporate and government performance on human rights.

To learn more about IHRB Academy and to discuss your organisation’s training and capacity building needs, please contact [email protected].

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IHRB’s mission is to shape policy, advance practice and strengthen accountability in order to make respect for human rights part of everyday business.

Human Rights Making Impact on Central Banks and Regulators After Financial Crisis, Says New Report

09 February 2016

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), a global think tank, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Inquiry on the Design of a Sustainable Financial System have published a joint report exploring the relationship between human rights and sustainable finance.

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, recognition has grown that the financial system must be not only sound and stable, but also sustainable. With this in mind, UNEP launched an ‘Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System’ in early 2014 to explore how to align the financial system with sustainable development.

Recognising that inclusivity and human rights considerations are important aspects of a sustainable financial system, the UNEP Inquiry asked IHRB to lead the Inquiry’s research on the relationship between finance and human rights, to complement the UNEP Inquiry Report, published in October 2015.

The IHRB-UNEP joint report explores emerging developments among Central Banks and other regulators in opening the door to considerations of how inequality and social risk impact their mandates and the financial sector.

Commenting on the launch of the report, IHRB’s Director of Research and Legal Affairs and one of the report’s authors, Margaret Wachenfeld, said:

“Human rights and monetary policy are two words increasingly being used together. The profound impacts of the 2008-2009 financial crisis have started some wheels turning about the broader impacts of the financial system on people and their rights.

“At its broadest level, the financial system should facilitate sustainable livelihoods and sustainable societies. Currently, it is ill suited and unequipped to consider the broader impacts on the environment or people.

“Human rights are also relevant to current discussions on the ethical underpinnings of the system. A more specific focus could make an important contribution in rebuilding trust.”

The report identifies positive trends in changes being put in place by banks, insurers and investors to address human rights risks in transactions. It also looks at what practices are needed to ensure customers’ rights are respected.

Motoko Aizawa, IHRB’s USA Director and co-author of the report, noted:

“The positive role that finance can play in actively promoting the fulfillment of rights is most obvious in areas such as microfinance and impact investing.

“What is new is that some Central Banks have begun to recognize that when segments of the population suffer extreme poverty, marginalisation and discrimination, these risks to people can create systemic risks to the functioning of a sound financial system.

“We are starting to see Central Banks use their ‘supervisory powers’ to impose environmental and social risk management by banks, as a way to enhance resilience of banks, which will contribute to resilience of society. This is promising, and the report recommends further research into the vast array of financial transactions that could also be posing risks to people.

Mary Dowell-Jones, Research Fellow at the Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham, also contributed to this joint report.

ENDS

NOTES

Contact: Haley St. Dennis, Communications Manager, Institute for Human Rights and Business – [email protected] / +44(0)7508878015

The report is available here: http://www.ihrb.org/publications/reports/human-rights-sustainable-finance.html and http://unepinquiry.org/publication/human-rights/

BACKGROUND

This Report aims to contribute to this debate through considering the role of human rights in delivering a sustainable finance system. It considers three levels of interaction between the financial system and human rights:

the systemic level – how can regulatory actors and key regulatory leverage points incorporate human rights
the client level – how can financial institutions address the identifiable human rights impacts of their sovereign and corporate clients’ activities
the consumer level – how can financial institutions address the human rights impacts of their products and services directly on consumers and promote human rights enjoyment through new products and services.

By looking at these three levels, the Report seeks to highlight the multi-faceted roles and contribution that human rights can make to a more sustainable and more ethical financial system.

ABOUT IHRB

The Institute for Human Rights and Business is the leading think tank on the relationship between business and international human rights standards. IHRB works to shape policy, advance practice and strengthen accountability to ensure the activities of companies do not contribute to human rights abuses, and in fact lead to positive outcomes. See further: http://www.ihrb.org

ABOUT THE UNEP INQUIRY

The Inquiry has addressed 3 Core Questions:

Why – under what circumstances should measures be taken to ensure that the financial system takes fuller account of sustainable development?
What – what measures have been and might be more widely deployed to better align the financial system with sustainable development?
How – how can such measures best be deployed?

The Inquiry has considered aspects of financial and monetary policies and financial regulations, and standards, including disclosure requirements, credit ratings, listing requirements and indices. The Inquiry has focused on the roles of financial system’s rule-makers including central banks, financial regulators, finance ministries, other government departments, standards institutions, and market-based standard-setters such as stock exchanges, and key international organizations and platforms. See further: http://unepinquiry.org/about-us/

Human Rights Think Tank Launches Rights-Based Model for Developing Surveillance Legislation

15 January 2016

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), a global think-tank, has published a new model for developing and implementing a legal framework for communications surveillance that protects and respects human rights.

Entitled “Lawful Interception and Government Access to User Data: Designing a Rights-Respecting Model”, the Model is being published at a time when the world is watching the UK debate the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, which will govern the use and oversight of surveillance by law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies.[1]

Many countries worldwide are currently considering similar surveillance reforms. The Model is relevant to any government seeking to put in place or modify its legal framework for lawful interception and government access to user data.

The Model follows the progression of a government request for communications surveillance, from the prerequisites needed to a request, criteria around making the surveillance request itself, access to remedy for those adversely affected and the opportunity for periodic review of legislation after requests are made:

Prerequisites
Authorisation Processes
Oversight
Notification of Individuals
Remedy
Transparency
Provision for Framework Review

The Model is based on a number of important considerations:

Legal frameworks should ensure that individuals know what information is being collected about them and what it is used for.
Where surveillance is authorised, there should be clarity regarding the rules that govern the process.
Effective oversight is essential, as is as much transparency as possible from both governments and companies.
In cases where these steps are misused, either intentionally or otherwise, there should be redress and remedy for those affected.
The expectations and responsibilities of companies in the ICT sector, in relation to both users and governments, should be examined as a matter of priority.

Commenting on the launch of the Model, IHRB’s ICT expert Lucy Purdon said:

“Governments need to protect citizens from terrorism and other threats and so can have legitimate reasons to initiate surveillance of the communications of individuals suspected of a crime. But they must address the demands for security within the context of protecting other fundamental freedoms.

“State surveillance practices have dominated debates in the ICT and human rights space since Edward Snowden revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA), the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and other intelligence agencies worldwide were engaged in mass collection and sharing of phone and internet data largely without the knowledge of elected officials or the public.

“While the report is published to coincide with the healthy debate surrounding the UK draft Investigatory Powers Bill, we hope the Model will also help other governments implement surveillance legislation that conforms to international standards of being legal, necessary and proportionate."

ENDS

Contact: Lucy Purdon, IHRB ICT Project Manager, 07966798831 / [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITOR

The Rights-Respecting Model for Lawful Interception will be published at 09:00 GMT on Friday 15th January 2015 here: http://www.ihrb.org/publications/reports/lawful-interception.html

The Model was written by Susan Morgan, formerly the first Executive Director of the Global Network Initiative (GNI),[2] and IHRB staff.

The work to prepare the recommendations set out in Model began in response to ongoing developments in Myanmar, one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world.

While the Model focuses on work from Myanmar, it also reflects lessons learned from a broader set of countries that have faced similar challenges, drawing in particular from examples of the US, UK and Tunisia.

ABOUT IHRB:

IHRB is a not for profit think tank on the relationship between business and internationally proclaimed human rights standards.
IHRB has a proven track record of working directly with business leaders, government officials, civil society, and trade unions to provide guidance on implementing international human rights standards and evaluating the effectiveness of current policies, operational practices, and multi-stakeholder initiatives relevant to human rights.
For more information visit: http://www.ihrb.org

REFERENCES

[1] IHRB’s submissions on the draft UK Investigatory Powers Bills can be found here: http://www.ihrb.org/news/submissions-uk-investigatory-powers-bill.html

[2] The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on the responsibilities of technology companies to protect the free expression and privacy rights of their users when receiving government requests around the world. www.globalnetworkinitiative.org

Gender Discrimination, LGBTI Rights, Big Data, Mega-Sporting Events Amongst Top Ten Issues for 2016

10 December 2015

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), a global think tank, today published its annual Top 10 list of business and human rights issues for the coming year. IHRB releases the list each year on 10 December – International Human Rights Day – the date the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948.

Now in its seventh year, IHRB’s annual Top 10 project prompts companies, governments and civil society to reflect on the past twelve months and look forward to key business and human rights challenges in the coming year.

This year’s list includes issues newer to the business and human rights agenda, including the implications for privacy of big data and the responsibilities of all involved in organising mega-sporting events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup. The list also highlights long-standing challenges that continue to require greater leadership and joint action by business and other actors, including the urgent need to combat discrimination in all forms, the precarious situation of human rights defenders and the plight of those trapped in forced and bonded labour.

Commenting on the launch of the 2016 list, IHRB’s Executive Director, John Morrison, said:

“IHRB’s annual Top 10 list is an important tool for raising awareness and urging action amongst governments, business and others responsible for ensuring economic activities do not come at the expense of fundamental rights.

“The need to protect human rights defenders who call for accountability when corporate actions lead to impacts on people is one of the ten priority issues we see for the year ahead. 2015 marked the twentieth anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders for their protest of Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, today the situation is not much improved in many countries – the space for civil society to operate is shrinking and human rights defenders are bearing the brunt.

“This year’s list also highlights the importance of ensuring responsible mega-sporting events. A lot will happen in 2016 – a new FIFA President will be elected, the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics will be held and a handover process for Tokyo 2020 will begin. These spectacles can encompass the full spectrum of business and human rights impacts, but there is not yet adequate commitment to respecting human rights by organisers, host cities, sponsors and the other actors involved in their delivery.”

The top ten list is selected by IHRB's expert staff, informed by an online poll conducted by IHRB and three local polls conducted by IHRB’s regional centres for responsible business in Colombia, Myanmar and Kenya. This year’s top ten list for the first time includes additional trends from these countries, which provides contrasts in global perspectives and priorities.

ENDS

NOTES

Contact: Haley St. Dennis, Communications Manager, Institute for Human Rights and Business – [email protected] / +44(0)7508878015

IHRBs Top Ten issues, which are not listed in order of importance, are:

Big Data, Big Business: Raising Awareness of Rights Implications and Ensuring Protections
Battling Discrimination: Sustained Business Leadership Key to Valuing Diverse Societies
Sustaining Momentum: Bold Leadership to Combat Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
Embracing Remedy: From ‘Forgotten Pillar’ to Key Tool in Identifying, Monitoring and Preventing Impacts
Leading by Example: Aligning States’ Policies and Implementing Due Diligence as Economic Actors
Righting Climate Wrongs: Business, Human Rights and Climate Justice
Mind the Gap: Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Defending Defenders: A Role for Business in Championing Civil Society
From Theory to Practice: New Levels of Human Rights Transparency and Measuring Corporate Performance
Rising to the Occasion: Making 2016 an Olympic Year for Human Rights and Mega-Sporting Events

The Top 10 list will be published at 9am GMT 10th December 2015 at: http://www.ihrb.org/top10/2016.html

Full narratives of the Top 10 issues, as they will appear when published, can be provided on request.

About IHRB

Human Rights Think Tank Calls for Overhaul of Mobile Network Shutdowns and Service Disruptions

21 September 2015

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), a global think-tank, has published a new report on the practice of mobile network shutdowns in Pakistan and the wider implications of such practices by governments around the world. The report, entitled Security v Access: The Impact of Mobile Network Shutdowns, highlights the wider socio-economic impacts of network shutdowns and argues that in some cases such disruptions can actually threaten the very right these practices seek to preserve, the right to life.

Based on extensive analysis of a specific mobile network shutdown in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi during March 2015, the report proposes a total of 14 recommendations targeted at the Government of Pakistan and telecommunication providers operating within the country, which can also be applied globally.

Commenting on the launch of the report, John Morrison, IHRB’s Executive Director, said:

“While we no longer see country-wide network shutdowns on the scale of Egypt during the Arab Spring, governments globally are still reaching for the communications ‘off switch’ during times of civil unrest or for national security reasons. This may target a specific geographical area of mobile coverage, internet access, or a specific service such as Facebook or WhatsApp, and potentially impact millions of people.”

“Most countries' national laws allow governments to take control of communications networks during a national emergency, but exactly how and when they can use this power is often not clearly spelled out.

“Shutting down communication networks can be a blunt instrument that deprives law enforcement agencies the opportunity to use communications for the purpose of fighting terrorism and appealing for calm – it can actually put lives at risk.

“There is no denying that Pakistan has genuine security concerns and the Government has an obligation to take all reasonable steps to protect civilian lives. However, IHRB’s report highlights the view of other experts who are concerned that network shutdowns are becoming the norm to curb terrorism, which is not a long term solution for any country, when other methods should be explored.”

IHRB’s report highlights that while telecommunications providers and the Government of Pakistan are making concerted efforts to minimise the impacts of network disruptions, there is still considerable work to be done in order to create a clear decision-making process and legal framework that is both transparent and accountable. In particular, the report stresses the importance of ensuring emergency services (ambulance, police and fire) can continue to operate, and highlights the wider impact felt by companies, schools, universities and colleges and online commercial and public services, which are disrupted during mobile network shutdowns.

In terms of the financial implications, the report highlights a series of mobile network shutdowns in Pakistan during November 2012, which cost over 1 billion Pakistani rupees ($98m) in lost taxes alone [1]. The true cost however would have been much greater after factoring businesses lost income and the resulting compensation claims.

Morrison concluded by saying:

“IHRB’s report outlines a clear roadmap for change which advocates the creation and implementation of appropriate checks and balances around the mobile network shutdowns, which are both transparent and rooted in the rule of law.”

“While these recommendations are based on a specific case study from Pakistan, they have important lessons for all countries and telecommunications providers.”

Telenor Pakistan, a subsidiary of Telenor Group, one of the world’s largest mobile operators, is the case study in IHRB’s report.

The new report is part of IHRB’s Digital Dangers project, developed in collaboration with the School of Law at the University of Washington. One of the aims of the Digital Dangers project is to encourage companies to be open and transparent about the complex dilemmas they face in respecting freedom of expression and privacy by sharing their experiences to spark debate with governments and civil society and bring about positive change.

ENDS

Contact: Lucy Purdon, IHRB ICT Project Manager, 07966798831/[email protected]

NOTES TO EDITOR

References

[1] Shutdowns have caused losses of tax revenue to the Government of Pakistan. It was reported that shutdowns during the Eid (a major national holiday) in 2012 caused an estimated loss of 507 million Pakistani rupees (US$ 49 million) in taxes from the mobile operators to the exchequer. Shutdowns in November 2012 during Ashura, a religious day in the Islamic calendar, are estimated to have caused 500 million Pakistani rupees (US$ 49.02 million) of losses to the Government in tax revenue from cellular subscribers.

About the report - Security v Access: The Impact of Mobile Network Shutdowns:

The reports recommendations for the Government of Pakistan:

Ensure continued access to emergency services
Review the policy of network disconnection
Review laws applicable to network disconnection
Establish dialogue with companies
Engage with citizens
Be transparent
Ensure better oversight
Provide compensation to operators

The report’s recommendations for telecommunications operators:

Open dialogue with Governments
Widen support within the industry through collective action
Conduct stakeholder engagement
Create a consumer grievance mechanism
Ensure transparency

In order to develop the research to inform the report, IHRB embedded a local researcher into the headquarters of a large telecommunications operator – Telenor Pakistan – in Islamabad, to conduct research into the context of network disconnections and document how the company receives and acts on requests from the Government to initiate network shutdowns.  IHRB thanks Telenor Pakistan for its participation in the research.

About the Institute for Human Rights and Business

IHRB is a not for profit global centre of excellence and expertise on the relationship between business and internationally proclaimed human rights standards.
Much of IHRB’s focus is based on key “global flows” critical to sustainable social and economic development: flows of labor, information, money and commodities.
IHRB has a proven track record of working directly with business leaders, government officials, civil society, and trade unions to provide guidance on implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and evaluating the effectiveness of current policies, operational practices, and multi-stakeholder initiatives relevant to human rights.
IHRB has presence in Geneva, Brussels, London and Washington, DC in addition to three responsible business centres in Colombia, Kenya, and Myanmar, and is part of a consortium that works on business and human rights in China.
Over 20 staff members carry out IHRB’s regional and thematic work around the world.
For more information visit: http://www.ihrb.org

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