Business & Human Rights

Dutch Bill Pushes Companies on Global Labor Standards

July 10, 2017

As part of the global movement toward requiring corporations to contribute to the realization of the business and human rights (BHR) agenda, a paper by activist group MVO Platform describes a bill that has passed the Dutch Parliament's lower house requiring companies to issue a statement confirming their performance of "due diligence" in reducing child labor in their supply chains.
UN Agents: Sustainability Depends on BHR Action

July 05, 2017

At the annual OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, members of the UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) called on companies to "embed" the global BHR agenda throughout their operations and "value chains" as part of their contributions to the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals.
UNICEF Publishes Global Guide on Child Rights and Mining

June 29, 2017

As part of its efforts to elaborate on the Children's Rights and Business Principles, a global guide for companies on how to implement international human rights guarantees for children in their operations, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has published a guide specifically focusing on how mining companies must perform "impact assessments" to address their children's rights impacts.
UN Group: Hold Businesses Liable for Conduct Abroad

June 28, 2017

As part of their "authoritative" commentary on obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, UN human rights mandate holders have demanded the regulation of businesses across borders to prevent rights abuse and the restriction of tax avoidance to maximize funding for economic, social, and cultural rights.
Activists Move from Climate to Social Issues on Palm Oil

June 23, 2017

Environmental reporting website Eco-business has published an article illustrating the success of activists at the recent Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources conference in expanding participants' focus on palm oil "sustainability" from mere environmental impacts to a broad array of "social" rights, including labor issues.