Human Rights Due Diligence Beyond Compliance – Up and Down the Value Chain

What does meaningful Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) look like in practice? This hands-on workshop invites participants to move beyond “tick-the-box” compliance and engage with real-world challenges across global value chains. Hosted at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the event will explore how the risk-based approach of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) compares to the increasingly binding legal requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

Event details

• Date: Monday 1 June 2026
• Time: 08:45 – 18:00
• Type: Workshop (in-person only)
• Language: English
• Location: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Human Rights Due Diligence is rapidly evolving from a voluntary standard into a legal obligation under frameworks such as the CSDDD. This workshop explores how HRDD can remain a meaningful, risk-based process, rather than becoming a purely compliance-driven exercise.

What you will gain

• Practical insights into HRDD processes
• Engagement with real-world case studies
• Opportunities to learn from leading experts
• Exchange of perspectives across academia and practice

What you will explore

• The shift from UNGPs to mandatory HRDD frameworks (CSDDD)
• The risks of a “tick-the-box” compliance approach
• Practical challenges across global value chains
• Strategies to implement effective, risk-based due diligence

Format & method

The workshop is structured as a full-day, interactive programme combining expert insights and hands-on engagement.

• Morning: Keynote presentations and thematic panel sessions on upstream and downstream HRDD challenges
• Lunch
• Afternoon: Interactive workshop based on two case studies, working in mixed groups of researchers and practitioners:
  • Upstream: forced labour in the garment sector
  • Downstream: complicity through product use in conflict-affected areas
• Closing: Roundtable discussion to synthesise key insights
• Networking: Post-event drinks for speakers and participants

Confirmed speakers & panellists

• Andrea Shemberg
• Nadia Bernaz
• Daniel Schönfelder
• Céline da Graça Pires
• Chiara Macchi
• James Harrison

Participation

• Capacity: 25 participants (50% researchers / 50% practitioners)
• Deadline for application: 5 May 2026
• Fee: Free of charge
• Catering: Lunch and refreshments provided
• Additional: Post-event drinks included
• Support: Limited financial assistance for travel/accommodation may be available

This event is organised by the Business and Human Rights Working Group of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR). It is supported by the small grants scheme of the research initiative on Rebalancing Public & Private Interests, the Erasmus Center of Empirical Legal Studies (Erasmus School of Law), and the sector plan for law funding of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research.

Event organisers: Silvia Ciacchi (EUR), Eva Meyermans Spelmans (EUR), and Nicky Touw (VU).

You can find more information and the registration form here.

You can find the flyer here.