Doing Business Right Blog

Editor’s note: Shamistha Selvaratnam is a LLM Candidate of the Advanced Masters of European and International Human Rights Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Prior to commencing the LLM, she worked as a business and human rights solicitor in Australia where she specialised in promoting business respect for human rights through engagement with policy, law and practice.

Introduction

This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on Doing Business Right based on the coverage provided on our twitter feed @DoinBizRight and on various websites. You are invited to contribute to this compilation via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we may have overlooked.

The Headlines

German Development Ministry drafts mandatory human rights due diligence

It was reported on 10 February 2019 that the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development has drafted legislation (unpublished) on mandatory human rights due diligence for German companies. It is reported that the law will apply to companies with over 250 employees and more than €40 million in annual sales. The draft legislation targets, inter alia, the agriculture, energy, mining, textile, leather and electronics production sectors. Companies that fall within the scope of the legislation will be required to undertake internal risk assessments to identify where human rights risks lie in their supply chains. Companies would also be required to have a Compliance Officer to ensure compliance with due diligence requirements. The Labor Inspectorate, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Government would be responsible for enforcing the legislation, with penalties for non-compliance of up to €5 million (as well as imprisonment and exclusion from public procurement in Germany).

Kiobel case heard in the Netherlands

On 12 February 2019, the Dutch courts heard a lawsuit involving Esther Kiobel and three other women against Shell. The plaintiffs allege that Shell was complicity in the 1995 killings of their husbands by Nigeria’s military. The husbands were Ogoni activists that were part of the mass protests against oil pollution in Nigeria’s Ogoniland. The judgment is expected to be handed down in May 2019. Read more here.

UN and International Organisations publications and statements

• Council of Europe – Business and Human Rights: A handbook for legal practitioners
• European Commission – Cambodia: EU launches procedure to temporarily suspend trade preferences
• European Commission – Deforestation and forest degradation - stepping up EU action
• European Council – Human rights: Council adopts conclusions on EU priorities in UN human rights fora in 2019
• European Parliament – Access to legal remedies for victims of corporate human rights abuses in third countries
• OECD – OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector: The Alignment of Industry and Multi-Stakeholder Programmes with The OECD Garment And Footwear Guidance: Assessment of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition
• UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner – Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational - corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights: Call for comments and proposals on the draft legally binding instrument

NGO, Human Rights Organisations and Law Firm publications and statements

• Alliance for Corporate Transparency – 2018 Research Report: The state of corporate sustainability disclosure under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive
• Amnesty International – Destination: Occupation: Digital Tourism and Israel’s Illegal Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Amnesty International – Nigeria: Shell complicit in the arbitrary executions of Ogoni Nine as writ served in Dutch court
•  CorA Network for Corporate Accountability – CorA-Network welcomes law proposal for value chains by development minister Gerd Mueller
• CORE – What does 2019 hold for corporate accountability?
• European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights – Lessons and challenges in litigation, with examples from Qatar
•  Institute for Human Rights and Business – Migrant Worker Accommodation
•  Institute for Human Rights and Business – Migrant Worker Wages & Payslips
• Institute for Human Rights and Business – Migrant Workers & Unions
• Institute for Human Rights and Business – Rights and Wrongs - Amazon and New York: Lessons for the Extractive Sector
• International Federation for Human Rights – Brumadinho dam: NGOs urge companies and investors to use leverage and require Vale to remedy the situation
• International Federation for Human Rights – EU Member States under the Spotlight
• International Labor Rights Forum – Future of Fashion: Worker-Led Strategies
• Oxfam – The People Behind the Prices: A Focused Human Rights Impact Assessment of SOK Corporation's Italian Processed Tomato Supply Chains
• Sherpa – Vigilance Plans Reference Guidance
• Shift – Beyond Voluntary: What it Means for States to Play an Active Role in Fostering Business Respect for Human Rights
• Shift – Fulfilling the State Duty to Protect: A Statement on the Role of Mandatory Measures in a “Smart Mix”: A statement on the role of mandatory measures in a “smart mix” when implementing the UNGPs
• The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations – The EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement
• The Danish Institute for Business and Human Rights – National Action Plans on Business & Human Rights: An Analysis

Government press releases and publications

• House of Commons, Environmental Audit Committee, London – Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India – National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights Zero Draft
• Thailand – Draft National Action Plan
• The Federal Assembly of The Swiss Parliament – Commission Adopts Indirect Counter-Initiative at the Initiative of Responsible Multinationals
• UK Parliament – UK Export Finance inquiry launched

In Court

•  Climate Liability News – Shell Faces Lawsuit in the Netherlands, a New Legal Front in the Climate Battle

• EarthRights International – Historic Supreme Court Win: World Bank Group Is Not Above The Law
• Fin24 – Gemfields settles R100m Mozambican claim, denies liability
• Friends of the Earth Netherlands – Friends of the Earth Netherlands sues Shell for causing climate change
• Greenpeace – Federal Court Dismisses $900 Million Pipeline Company Lawsuit Against Greenpeace
• Mediapart – Judicial victory for opponents of the Montagne d'Or
• Reuters – European Court condemns Italy for pollution at Ilva steel plant

In the News

• Cision – Government of Canada commits to measures towards ending child and forced labour in corporate supply chains
• Climate Liability News – Shell Faces Lawsuit in the Netherlands, a New Legal Front in the Climate Battle
• Climate Liability News – States, Organizations, Scientists Urge Court to Keep Climate Suits in State Court
• Eco Business – The rising tide of regulations on business and human rights: Could Asia be next?
• Ethical Marketing News – Nationwide Coalition of over 85 Groups Urges Companies Commit Not to Provide Face Surveillance to the Government
• EU Observer – Could Finnish presidency fix labour-chain abuse?
• EU Reporter – #FinnishEUPresidency urged to toughen up human rights rules on business
• Fast Forward News – American Jews Sue Airbnb, Alleging Anti-Semitic Discrimination
• Financial Times – Credit rating agencies turn attention to ESG risk
• La Republica – Peasants from Espinar claim abuse from companies Glencore and Carlyle Group
•  Glencore’s response
• The Carlyle Group’s response
• Le Temps – The Multinational Leaders Initiative, a golden opportunity for the gold sector
• Modern Diplomacy – ILO and H&M Group expand partnership
• Oxfam Novib – Albert Heijn commits to become a leader on human rights
• Quartz – 5,000 workers protesting low wages in Bangladeshi garment factories have been fired
• Reuters – Australian companies 'significantly exposed' to slavery risk - investors
• Reuters – Britain's leading tea brand reveals suppliers in bid to end worker abuses
• The Sydney Morning Herald – 'Watershed': BHP, Rio urge constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians
• The New York Times – Soccer Player’s Detention Poses ‘Historic Test’ for Global Sports
• Thomson Reuters Foundation News – Canada moves one step closer to supply chain legislation

Academic Materials

• Başak Bağlayan – Searching for Human Rights Norms for Corporate Conduct in Domestic Jurisprudence: A Bottom-Up Approach to International Law, Nordic Journal of Human Rights
• Humberto Cantu Rivera – National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: Progress or Mirage? Business and Human Rights Journal
• Humberto Cantú Rivera – National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: Progress or Mirage? Business and Human Rights Journal
• Lorenzo Cotula and Nicolás M Perrone – Reforming investor-state dispute settlement: what about third-party rights? IIED Briefing
• Nuria Reguart-Segarra – Business, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Security in the Case Law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Business and Human Rights Journal
• Sorcha Macleod and Rebecca Dewinter-Schmitt – Certifying Private Security Companies: Effectively Ensuring the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights?, Business and Human Rights Journal

Blogs           

Asser Institute Doing Business Right Blog

• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: Introduction
• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (Part.1)
• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: The South African Human Rights Commission (Part.2)
• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: The Romanian Institute for Human Rights (Part.3)
• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: The Australian Human Rights Commission (Part.4)
• Alexandru Tofan – National Human Rights Institutions as Gateways to Remedy under the UNGPs: The National Human Rights Commission of India (Part.5)
• Yulia Levashova & Tineke Lambooy – Towards reforming the fair and equitable treatment standard in International Investment Agreements

Others

• Amy Sinclair – Tackling modern slavery now a matter of legal compliance, LSJ Online
• Andrea Maksimovic – Can the Australian Modern Slavery Act offer the meaningful protections labour needs? Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Carolijn Terwindt & Gisela Burckhardt – Social audits in the textile industry: How to control the controllers? Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Dunstan Allison-Hope – A New Transparency Challenge for Business and Human Rights, Business for Social Responsibility
• Ingrid Landau and Shelley Marshall – What are we missing by focusing on modern slavery? Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Linde Byke – A supply chain of complicity: Labour exploitation in Qatar and migrant workers' access to justice Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Louise Eldridge – The Zambian farmers who are suing a mining company in a British court, Africa is a Country
• Saskia Wilks and Johannes Blankenbach, Will Germany become a leader in the drive for corporate due diligence on human rights? Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Shane Darcy – Four UN Special Rapporteurs Warn Ireland of Risks of Forced Labour in Irish Fishing Industry, Business & Human Rights in Ireland
• Sharan Burrow – Finnish EU Presidency urged to toughen up human rights rules on business, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Vanessa Zimmerman – Modern Slavery Act: Does Business Realise What It’s Asking For? Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Videos

• Clean Clothes Campaign – Reasons why the Bangladesh Accord matters to workers in Bangladesh

Call for Papers, Submissions and Abstracts

• Call for submissions – The relationship between private military and security companies and extractive industry companies from a human rights perspective in law and practice – United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination

Upcoming Events

• 25 March 2019 – Is Corporate Accountability Possible in Capitalism? – British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London
• 2 April 2019 – Non-Financial Reporting: Implications for business and human rights in Ireland – Galway, Ireland
• 11-12 April 2019 – Business & Human Rights Young Researchers Summit – St. Gallen, Switzerland
• 30 April 2019 – Rebuilding Trust in Corporate Australia – Business as an Agent of Sustainable Change – Global Compact Network of Australia, Melbourne, Australia
• 22-26 July 2019 – International Summer Course Human Rights Law in Context (special focus on business and human rights) – Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg in cooperation with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Nuremberg, Germany
• 12-13 September 2019 – Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association 5th Annual Conference – University of Essex, Colchester, England