Business & Human Rights

BHR "Benchmarking" Sparks Corporate Pushback

December 21, 2017

Lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP examine a broad array of business and human rights (BHR) "benchmarking" initiatives in civil society and raise potential problems related to such initiatives, such as arbitrary ranking processes and inconsistencies in the consideration of reported data, that make these projects targets for corporate pushback in the near future.
NGOs Push EU to Require Corporate "Diligence" on Rights

December 21, 2017

In November, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice released a briefing identifying a legal obligation of EU institutions to adopt legislation providing for mandatory "human rights due diligence" rules requiring companies to investigate and redress human rights violations throughout their global supply chains.
UN Publishes "Green Finance" Guide for Stock Exchanges

December 21, 2017

The UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative has released a Green Finance Action Plan as a "benchmarking tool" to guide stock exchanges around the world on how to pressure associated companies to divert their investments into projects that will help achieve the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
IBA Outlines Global Obligation to Fund Rights Agenda

December 20, 2017

A report from the International Bar Association's (IBA) Human Rights Institute has published a report exploring states' and the private sector's "obligation to mobilise resources" under international human rights law to fulfill economic, social, and cultural rights and achieve the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
UN Agents Decry "Unethical" Corporate Tax Avoidance

December 20, 2017

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has published a statement, in the wake of the release of the so-called "Paradise Papers" showing corporate and individual tax avoidance, calling on rating agencies and investment funds to downgrade companies that engage in "unethical tax avoidance schemes" that undermine "social justice and human rights."