Business & Human Rights

UN Committee Outlines States' BHR Obligations

August 25, 2017

Human rights advocates Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin and Gabriela Quijano summarize a June general comment from the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights asserting that governments have obligations under international law to provide remedies for corporate violations of the business and human rights (BHR) agenda, including through prosecution of companies.
NGO Report Urges Norway to Phase Out Fossil Fuels

August 24, 2017

A report from nongovernmental organization Oil Change International asserts that, to fulfill its commitments under the 2015 Paris agreement on global warming, the Norwegian government should implement policies providing for a "managed decline" in fossil fuel production and a "just transition" for workers in the oil and gas industry.
GRI Touts Findings on Corporate Reporting Framework

August 24, 2017

A press release from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) celebrates a finding of the consulting firm Governance and Accountability Institute that companies using GRI's global sustainability reporting guidelines provide better public disclosures of their social and environmental impacts than those that do not use GRI's framework.
NGO Paper Seeks G20 Corporate "Due Diligence" Push

August 24, 2017

Representatives of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights call on the Group of 20 countries (G20) to push for national policies implementing "mandatory human rights due diligence and supply chain reporting" for companies and heightened due diligence mandates for companies operating in countries that do not recognize collective bargaining rights.
UN Paper: Companies Must Prevent "Product Misuse"

August 24, 2017

The UN Global Compact endorsed a "Good Practice Note" in May outlining a duty of corporations to prevent customers' "misuse" of their products to violate human rights as part of their responsibility to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR).