We are looking for a new business and human rights intern starting early September 2018 for a period of at least three months, preferably full-time. The Internship will be based at the Asser Institute in The Hague.

Main tasks:

• Contribute and develop research outputs within the Asser research project ‘Doing Business Right’, especially for the blog;
• Assistance in day-to-day maintenance of social media accounts linked to the ‘Doing Business Right’ project;
• Assistance in organizing upcoming events (workshops, lectures);
• Assist in legal research and analysis in the frame of academic publications.

Interested candidates should have:

• Demonstrated interest in legal issues lying at the intersection of transnational business, human rights, private international law, and global value chains regulation. An interest in transnational law and private regulations are an advantage;
• Solid academic and non-academic writing skills, research and analytical skills;
• A master degree in EU law, private or public international law or international relations;
• Excellent command of written and spoken English, preferably at a native speaker level;
• Experience with managing websites and social media communication is of an advantage.

What we offer:

• A stipend, based on the level of education completed;
• Exposure to the academic activities of the research strand ‘Advancing public interests in international and European law’, and the T.M.C Asser Instituut, a leading research centre in International and European law;
• An inspiring, dynamic and multicultural working environment.

Interested candidates should apply by email, sending a motivation letter and CV in English, a sample of academic writing (master’s thesis or paper from a course relevant to the topics of the research project ‘Doing Business Right’) to both A.Duval@asser.nl and E.Partiti@asser.nl.

Deadline for application is 10 August 2018, 12.00 PM CET.

Please note: We cannot offer assistance in obtaining residence and work permits for the duration of the internship.

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

Chevron Corporation and Texaco Petroleum Company v The Republic of Ecuador

On 30 August 2018 an international tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued an award in favour of Chevron Corporation and Texaco Petroleum Company, holding that the Republic of Ecuador had violated its obligations under international treaties, investment agreements and international law. The tribunal found that a $9.5 billion judgment handed down by Ecuador’s Supreme Court in the Lago Agrio case was procured through fraud, bribery and corruption. It also found that the Republic of Ecuador had already released the claims that formed the basis of the judgment years before. The tribunal concluded that the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment is “not final, enforceable, or conclusive under Ecuadorian and international law” and therefore cannot be enforced within or outside of Ecuador and that it “violates international public policy and natural justice”.

Draft Optional Protocol to Business and Human Rights Treaty

On 4 September 2018 the Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva presented the ‘Draft Optional Protocol To The Legally Binding Instrument To Regulate, In International Human Rights Law, The Activities Of Transnational Corporations And Other Business Enterprises’ (Optional Protocol). The Optional Protocol focuses on ensuring State Parties to the Optional Protocol establish mechanisms that provide access to remedy for victims of human rights violations in the context of business activities of a transnational character. It also provides individuals and group with the ability to make communications to the Committee of experts.

International and Government Consultations, Reports and Guidance

•  European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights – Protecting migrant workers from exploitation in the EU: boosting workplace inspections

• Australian Department of Home Affairs – Modern Slavery Bill passes House of Representatives
• Joint statement from the Governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States – Principles to guide Government action to combat human trafficking in global supply chains

NGO and Law Firm Reports, Papers and Investigations 

• Global Compact Network Australia – The Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA) Supports The Modern Slavery Bill (2018) In An Open Letter To The Prime Minister
• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – Corporate Legal Accountability Quarterly Bulletin - Issue 28, September 2018
• Business for Social Responsibility –
• Why a Rights-Based Approach?
• Beyond the Technology Industry
• Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence
• International Service for Human Rights and Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civil Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders – Guidance for Companies

In Court

• Adriaan Alsema – Colombia charges 13 former Chiquita executives over hundreds of murders
• Eugene Kung – Canadian federal and provincial governments have treated Indigenous consultation and rights as a burden, always seeking to do the least possible
• Lorna Knowles – Miners to launch new class actions against labour hire firms WorkPac, Programmed, HAYS and One Key
• Thomson Reuters – Guatemala court confirms suspension of Tahoe mining licenses
• Max Abelson – JPMorgan Will Pay $24 Million to End Lawsuit From Black Advisers

In the News

• Finnwatch – Civil society and companies call Finland to adopt mandatory HRDD legislation
• Ben Chapman – Shell and Eni face one of the biggest corruption cases in corporate history over $1.3bn Nigerian oil field
• Jennifer Thompson – Investors ignore human rights at their peril
• Anchal Vohra – Is Qatar failing to deliver on its World Cup promises?
• Pieter Stockmans – This is a war for land, Romania is the battlefield
• Michael Posner – Why Gap Should Rethink Its Business In Myanmar
• Marina Lopes – The hidden suffering behind the Brazilian coffee that jump-starts American mornings
• Anita Ramasastry, Michel Forst, David R. Boyd and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz – The deadly price of fighting for human and environmental rights
• Institute for Human Rights and Business – Progress since the Introduction of the UK Modern Slavery Act 

Speeches, Videos and Interviews

• Asian Youth Partnership on Business and Human Rights Lecture Series

Academic Materials

• Philip Schleifer – Varieties of multi-stakeholder governance: selecting legitimation strategies in transnational sustainability politics
• Business and Human Rights Journal (Volume 3, Issue 2 – July 2018)
• Sara L. Seck – Transnational Labour Law and the Environment: Beyond the Bounded Autonomous Worker
• Zobaida Khan – Transnational Labour Governance: A Critical Review of Proposals for Linkage through the Lens of the Rana Plaza Collapse in Bangladesh
• Daniel Augenstein – Torture as Tort? Transnational Tort Litigation for Corporate-Related Human Rights Violations and the Human Right to a Remedy 

Blogs           

Asser Institute Doing Business Right Blog

• Shamistha Selvaratnam – The Proposed Binding Business and Human Rights Treaty: Reactions to the Draft
• Shamistha Selvaratnam – The Proposed Binding Business and Human Rights Treaty: Introducing the Draft

Others

• Diane Desierto – From the Indigenous Peoples’ Environmental Catastrophe in the Amazon to the Investors’ Dispute on Denial of Justice: The Chevron v. Ecuador August 2018 PCA Arbitral Award and the Dearth of International Environmental Remedies for Private Victims

• Gabriela Quijano – Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell: An opportunity to honour international standards or another instance of corporate impunity?
• Claire Tixeire – Can the Lafarge case be a game changer? French multinational company indicted for international crimes in Syria
• Larry Catá Backer – Making Sausages?: Preliminary Thoughts on the "Zero-Draft," the first official draft of the legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises
• Nicolás Carrillo-Santarelli – Some Observations and Opinions on the “Zero” Version of the Draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights (Part I) and Some Observations and Opinions on the “Zero” Version of the Draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights (Part II)
• William Meade – Recent decisions in the UK on parent company liability cases show the need for law reform
• Dalia Palombo – Two Critical Issues in the UK Business and Human Rights Litigation

Call for Papers and Abstracts

•  Call for papers for the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management’s 5th Workshop of Business Ethics (due 1 December 2018)

• Call for abstracts from scholars for the Global Business and Human Rights research workshop (due 10 October 2018)
• Call for abstracts from PhD students and young post-doctorate researchers for the University of St. Gallen’s Business and Human Rights Young Researchers Summit (due 1 November 2018)

Upcoming Events

• 30 October 2018 – SDGs and Initiatives for Sustainable Global Value Chains, European Economic and Social Committee – Brussels
• 6 November 2018 – How to Conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment?, Enact Sustainable Strategies AB – Stockholm
• 13 November 2018 – 2018 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights, Global Compact Network of Australia – Sydney
• 26-28 November 2018 – Business respect for human rights – building on what works, UN Forum on Business and Human Rights – Geneva
• 28 January-1 February – Doing Business Right Winter Academy - The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: From theory to practice – Asser Institute, The Hague