Search Results:

A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an autonomous body established by the State, with a constitutional or legislative mandate to promote and protect human rights. NHRIs are intended to bridge the ‘protection gap’ between the rights of individuals and the duties and responsibilities of the State. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993) recommended the…

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 1990, Article 2, defines a migrant worker as “a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.” The…

The right to remedy is a fundamental principle of international human rights law (present in all 9 of the core human rights conventions) and is integral to all other human rights. Judicial remedy is “[t]he manner in which a right is enforced or satisfied by a court when some harm or injury, recognised by society as a…

    International investment rulemaking takes place at bilateral, regional, interregional and multilateral levels, with over 2500 treaties in force as of April 2024, including treaties with investment provisions. Investment treaties can take a variety of forms and include, for example, bilateral investment treaties (BIT), which are agreements made betw een two States establishing the terms and…

The assessment of human rights impacts of business activities is a key component of the corporate responsibility to respect, and human rights due diligence, as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). A human rights impact assessment (HRIA) is a context specific process for identifying, understanding, assessing and addressing the…

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) provide that in order to address their adverse impacts on human rights, businesses should undertake human rights due diligence which includes “assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed” (Guiding Principle 17)….

Businesses are integral to the business and human rights discourse, but they will sometimes lack human rights experts within their workforce. Providing guidance to business is a good way to educate shareholders, management, and staff on human rights issues relevant to their business. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), detail in…

Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental human rights, as enshrined within several key human rights instruments; everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Achieving gender justice requires ensuring equal rights and non-discrimination, equal access to resources and equal representation and opportunities for all, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression….

Freedom of association is crucial to the functioning of a democracy and is an essential condition for the exercise of other human rights. In the human rights and business context, freedom of association is most frequently understood as the right of workers “to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation” (ILO Convention 87),…

Slavery and forced labour are prohibited under a range of international treaties and conventions. Since 1981, slavery has been prohibited by all individual States. However, slavery and forced labour remain prevalent; the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery highlighted that on any given day, 49.6 million people are in modern slavery, including 27.6 million people in forced labour…

  Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the situation when a State extends its legal power beyond its territorial boundaries. Examples include where a State maintains jurisdiction over its citizens when they are overseas and where certain criminal offences can be prosecuted in a State regardless of where they were committed (e.g. piracy and child sex offences). Extraterritorial jurisdiction…

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that ‘export credit’ is an insurance, guarantee or financing arrangement which enables a foreign buyer of exported goods and/or services to defer payment over a period of time. Export credits are generally divided into short-term, medium-term (usually two to five years repayment) and long-term (usually over five years)….

    Corruption is generally acknowledged as being the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Although there is no universal definition of corruption, the United Nations Convention against Corruption 2005 highlights various forms of corruption, such as trading in influence, abuse of functions and private sector corruption, which can range from the minor use of…

The State’s responsibility to foster a corporate culture respectful of human rights both at home and abroad is a key element of the first pillar of the State duty to protect human rights as articulated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Corporate law focuses on the rules for forming and operating corporations….

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) recognise that business activities in conflict-affected and high-risk areas increase the risks of enterprises fuelling conflict and being complicit in gross human rights abuses committed by other actors. The Guiding Principle 7 highlights the importance of supporting business respect for human rights in conflict-affected areas….