Civil society organizations and social movements around the world are drawing attention to increasing situations of human and labor rights violations by business. There are important developments in corporate regulation both at international level and at national and regional levels. Following strong collective advocacy efforts by civil society within the “Treaty Alliance” for its establishment, the new United Nations inter-governmental working group on an international legally-binding instrument on business & human rights will hold its first meeting in July 2015. And proposals for national legislation requiring mandatory human rights due diligence by multinational companies have recently made important advances in some countries.
The aim of this workshop is to bring together a broad range of actors engaged against business impunity in order to raise awareness, share experiences, and inform strategies and collective actions. What obstacles do affected communities face in preventing and responding to human and labor rights abuses by powerful corporations (presentation of case studies)? What are current national and regional initiatives in order to promote corporate human rights due diligence obligations and access to justice? How could an international binding treaty help overcome obstacles, what are the next steps in this process, and how can organizations engage?
Speakers include
- Rodrigo Peret (Franciscan Action for Ecology and Solidarity (AFES), Brazil)
- Daniel Angelim (Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA))
- Marco Zeisser (CooperAccion, Peru)
- Mathilde Dupré (CCFD terre solidaire, France)
- Ben Leather (International Service for Human Rights, Switzerland)
- Dick Forslund (Alternative Information and Development Center (AIDC), South Africa)
Moderator: Denise Auclair (CIDSE)