Business & Human Rights

Canada Publishes CSR Strategy for Extractive Industry

November 26, 2014

The Canadian Government has released a strategy paper that seeks to pressure extractive companies operating in foreign countries to adopt internationally developed corporate social responsibility ("CSR") principles or face the withdrawal of some diplomatic assistance from Canadian foreign missions.
Students Sue Harvard over Fossil Fuel Investments

November 26, 2014

Citing the "grave harms" to students and the public caused by global warming, a group of Harvard students have filed a complaint against the Harvard Corporation seeking action from a judge to compel the Corporation to divest from fossil fuel companies.
Manual Encourages Legal Action over "Environmental Injustice"

November 26, 2014

A manual from the project Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade ("EJOLT") outlines the potential use of national, supranational, and international justice mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, to hold businesses liable for harming the environment.
UN Spurs African Principles on Land Investment

November 26, 2014

At a recent UN conference on African land policy, the African Union launched the Guiding Principles on Large Scale Land Based Investments in Africa, which seek to prevent "land grabs" by businesses in order to protect economic and social human rights of Africans and to promote the UN's sustainability agenda.
Ruggie Calls for Intensive Corporate Supply Chain Monitoring

November 19, 2014

John Ruggie, who developed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, has called for corporations to implement these Principles by engaging in comprehensive monitoring of and cooperation with their suppliers to address potential human rights violations.