BHR

BHR Treaty Submission Seeks Inclusion of "Right to Development"

July 16, 2015

A submission by the Legal Resources Centre to the working group charged with developing a legally binding business and human rights ("BHR") treaty calls for the inclusion of a "right to development" in the treaty and pushes for the establishment of an independent agency with prosecutorial powers to enforce this and other rights.
NGO Spotlights Breadth of BHR Agenda

July 16, 2015

Lise Smit of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law writes that under the UN's business and human rights ("BHR") principles, corporations must not only be concerned with respecting human rights in their particular sector, but must ensure they do not impact a broad range of human rights contained in various "internationally recognized documents."
Academic: BHR Treaty Should Build on Environmental Precedent

July 16, 2015

Sara Seck of the Faculty of Law at Western University in Canada writes that the working group developing a binding business and human rights ("BHR") treaty should consider the past work of the International Law Commission concerning international environmental law, arguing that environmental harm is often closely tied to violations of human rights.
Academic Discusses Inclusion of Criminal Liability in BHR Treaty

July 15, 2015

At a recent conference in Madrid, Dr. Nadia Bernaz of Middlesex University School of Law explored the possibility of including provisions on the criminal liability of corporations for "international crimes" under a binding treaty on business and human rights ("BHR") currently under negotiation by an intergovernmental working group.
ICAR Outlines Preferred BHR Treaty Areas

July 15, 2015

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable ("ICAR") has issued a series of submissions to the working group charged with developing a UN binding treaty on business and human rights ("BHR") issues, calling for the treaty to push the use of extraterritorial jurisdiction to prevent BHR violations and the insertion of due diligence provisions in financial regulations.
NGO: BHR Treaty Will Provide Enforcement Mechanism

July 15, 2015

Sam Cossar-Gilbert of Friends of the Earth International writes that a proposed binding business and human rights ("BHR") treaty, under negotiation by a UN working group in Geneva, would provide an international enforcement mechanism for people who allege they have suffered harm from corporate violations of the global BHR agenda.
NGOs: BRICS Bank Should Adopt Global Human Rights Standards

July 15, 2015

A group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs") have issued a statement calling for the New Development Bank of the BRICS country group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to adopt the highest global standards on human rights and the environment in its financing policies.
UN Agent Calls on China to Respect UN BHR Agenda in Lending

July 15, 2015

The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky has called for China to incorporate the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR") in its funding policies for projects in developing countries, including performing human rights impact assessments when such financing is considered.
NGOs Issue Briefing Note on Global BHR Progress

July 13, 2015

A group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs"), led by the organization CIDSE, has signed on to a briefing note applauding various countries around the world for their efforts advancing the UN business and human rights ("BHR") agenda and calling for the development of a comprehensive, binding UN BHR treaty.
Unilever Issues First Report under BHR Framework

July 13, 2015

Consumer goods corporation Unilever has become the first company to issue a detailed report under the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, a process of reporting on implementation of the UN business and human rights ("BHR") agenda developed by the nongovernmental organization Shift and the consultancy Mazars.