On 12 October 2022, join us for a conference on business and human rights jointly organized by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
States bear the primary responsibility for the protection of human rights, including in the context of business enterprises’ activities as provided by a series of international human rights treaties and reaffirmed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In application of those obligations, several countries, as well as regional organizations such as the European Union have stepped up their regulatory activity in different shapes and content, including legislation, to require from business enterprises behavior that is human rights, socially and environmentally responsible.
At the same time, it is becoming clearer that national or regional initiatives need corresponding international legal and policy frameworks to be fully effective. Such as those discussed by States since 2014 in the UN Intergovernmental Working Group on a legally binding instrument to regulate business activities under human rights (with its next session taking place end of October 2022). In parallel, there have been discussions going on at the ILO about the pertinence and need for normative action by the organization in relation to decent work in businesses’ global supply chains. These developments have engendered a growing interest among the most industrialized economies for global binding standards in this field. A recent meeting of labor ministries of the G7 made a call for joint work towards those global standards.
In this context, this conference organized by FES and ICJ will bring together national and international leaders and practitioners to share developments and evidence from national practice, and discuss ways in which international binding standards can draw from that practice, as well as provide a key impetus for the effective development and operation of other national initiatives across the globe.
Conference details:
Date: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Time: 1:30pm – 6:30pm CEST
Location: Geneva, Switzerland and Online
More information on the agenda and registration will be shared shortly.