Between 2003 and 2009, 16 companies came together at different times under the banner of the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR) to examine and learn how to operationalise international human rights principles in their day-to-day operations.

    The initiative was chaired by Mary Robinson and enjoyed close working relationships with civil society groups, trade unions, governments, and international organisations.

    Towards the end of the initiative, seven companies prepared cases drawn from specific projects or experiences. BLIHR asked the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Institute for Human Rights and Business to prepare an overview of developments concerning business and its relationship with human rights and development.

    As companies and governments meet in New York to explore ways in which the private sector can help States realise the Millennium Development Goals, BLIHR has published a report outlining the experiences, including the external overview of CSRI and IHRB. 

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