Tag Archives: U.N. Special Representative on Business and Human Rights

It’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.

This week’s post includes: developments on mandatory disclosure requirements in both the United States and Europe; a new report from Professor John Ruggie addressing the human rights responsibilities of FIFA; and an update from Oxfam on its “Behind the Brands” campaign.

• On April 14,…

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On March 13-14, participants in the Voluntary Principles Initiative gathered in The Hague for the 2013 Annual Plenary Meeting. Foley Hoag’s Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) practice has served as the Secretariat for the Voluntary Principles Initiative since June 2010.

Established in 2000, the Voluntary Principles Initiative is a tri-partite multistakeholder initiative that provides guidance to companies in extractive industries on maintaining the safety and security of their operations within a framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.… More

Until recently, it was not uncommon for Chinese companies to be invoked as bogeymen in certain circles. The narrative went something like this:

Western companies are more accountable than Chinese companies – via tort suits, civil society pressure, government regulation, and non-judicial accountability mechanisms such as the OECD Guidelines, to name a few.  Although Western companies’ operations do create negative social, environmental and human rights impacts,… More

Business Ethics magazine recently published an interview with John Ruggie, the former U.N. Special Representative on Business and Human Rights who recently joined Foley Hoag’s CSR practice as a senior advisor. Michael Connor, Editor and Publisher of Business Ethics, conducted the interview.  The conversation focused on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the business drivers for respecting human rights, and the ways in which the Principles have been adopted by both public and private stakeholders.… More

On June 16, the U.N. Human Rights Council formally endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights prepared by the U.N. Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, Professor John Ruggie. The Human Rights Council’s endorsement represents the conclusion of the Special Representative’s mandate, which began in 2005. 

The Principles are intended to provide guidance on the implementation of the "Protect, Respect, and Remedy"… More

On May 25, forty-two countries, including the 34 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD"), committed to promote an updated version of the OECD Guidelines of Multinational Enterprises.

The OECD Guidelines (.pdf) are a non-binding code of conduct containing recommendations for responsible business conduct in a global context. The countries that adhere to the Guidelines agree to promote the guidelines among the business sector.… More

Foley Hoag recently issued commentary on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As noted in an earlier post, an advance copy of the Guiding Principles was released in March by the U.N. Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie. The Principles will be considered by the U.N. Human Rights Council at its June 2011 session.

As noted in our commentary (a copy of which is available here)

The Principles are not binding international law.… More

The U.N. Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie, has released his final report, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations "Protect, Respect, and Remedy" Framework.  The report will now be submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council for consideration at its June 2011 session.

The Guiding Principles are intended to provide concrete and practical recommendations on how best to operationalize the "Protect,… More

The U.N. Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie, has released the long-awaited draft of his final report, the Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy’" Framework (.pdf).  The Guiding Principles are the culmination of the Special Representative’s mandate, which began in 2005, and which will conclude when the final report is delivered to the U.N.… More

In his latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, John Ruggie, the U.N. Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, highlighted the significant costs associated with stakeholder challenges and resistance to company operations.  The report noted that one company consulted by his office may have experienced a US $6.5 billion “value erosion” over a two-year period as a result of non-technical factors, including stakeholder opposition. 

The Special Representative’s report stated that stakeholder challenges to company operations,… More