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NGOs Push for Bolstered Rights Reporting by ASEAN Companies
June 03, 2019
A group of nongovernmental organizations recently published a report finding that human rights reporting by major companies listed on stock exchanges in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “falls substantially short” of UN standards and urges such companies to prepare for a legally binding treaty on business and human rights.
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Dutch Law Requires Corporate “Due Diligence” on Child Labor
June 03, 2019
The passage by the Dutch Parliament of a law imposing a duty of “due diligence” on corporations to address child labor in their global supply chains highlights the move by rights activists and governments away from voluntary corporate conduct standards and toward mandatory reporting and other requirements.
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Unilever Signs Deal with Unions Limiting Temporary Workers
May 31, 2019
Raising questions about the impacts of such global labor rights commitments on the workforce, consumer products company Unilever has signed an agreement with two global unions to restrict the use of temporary workers in its factories and to engage in “human rights due diligence.”
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Canadian Agency Faces NGO Criticism over BHR Declaration
May 31, 2019
The National Post reports that activist groups are criticizing as insufficient the Canadian lending and insurance agency Export Development Canada’s new business and human rights (BHR) policy seeking to use its leverage over Canadian firms operating abroad to push them to implement global BHR standards.
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Investor Group Launches Initiative on Easing Green Finance
May 31, 2019
A group of European financial institutions is leading a new initiative of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change aiming to lay the groundwork for investors to align their portfolios with the goals of the UN’s Paris climate deal by divesting from fossil fuel projects.