Business & Human Rights

UN Seeks Report from Stock Exchanges on Sustainability

April 22, 2015

The UN Global Compact is calling on stock exchanges in its Sustainable Stock Exchanges program to publish a Communication to Stakeholders demonstrating the level of their commitment to advancing the UN's "sustainability" agenda.
NGOs Launch Swiss BHR Initiative

April 22, 2015

A new Swiss organization called the Responsible Business Initiative has announced that it will push Switzerland to require corporate due diligence on issues relating to the UN's business and human rights ("BHR") agenda and to provide for liability of corporations that violate BHR standards abroad.
Legal Professionals Develop Principles on Climate Change

April 22, 2015

An international group of judges, legal academics, and others recently developed the Oslo Principles on Global Climate Change Obligations, which would require governments and businesses to adopt a broad swath of policies aimed at countering global warming, regardless of cost.
BHR Proponents Develop Reporting "Assurance Framework"

April 22, 2015

The nongovernmental organization Shift and consultancy Mazars have published an article describing their development of an "assurance framework" that will consider whether businesses' human rights reporting efforts are consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR").
Official Calls for HRIA on EU-Vietnam Trade Deal

April 22, 2015

The International Federation for Human Rights reports that, in conjunction with a Vietnam human rights organization, it has persuaded the EU Ombudsperson to call for the European Commission to perform a full human rights impact assessment ("HRIA") on its proposed trade deal with Vietnam.