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27.08.10
Upcoming Event:
International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions on Business and Human Rights
Human Rights and Business: The Role of NHRIs,
the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC),
will be held from 8-10 October 2010 in Edinburgh.
The conference,
which will be hosted by the Scottish Human Rights Commission,
and will take place in the Scottish Parliament,
will explore potential roles for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs),
individually and collectively,
with regard to the issue of business and human rights.
NHRIs are uniquely placed to address the challenges in implementing business human rights responsibilities,
especially at the national level where they can facilitate dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders from business,
government and civil society.
Keynote speakers at the 10th International Conference of NHRIs include:
- Deputy UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Kyung-Wha Kang
- UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights,
Prof.
John Ruggie
- Mary Robinson,
President,
Realizing Rights: Ethical Globalization Initiative,
former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The conference will close with the adoption of a final declaration and will be followed up with a series of NHRI seminars on business and human rights across the four ICC regions: Africa,
Americas,
Asia Pacific and Europe.
The ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights,
chaired by the Danish Institute for Human Rights,
will host a side event at the Conference,
on Saturday 9 October,
concerning the current review of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
The side event will take the form of a panel discussion,
with a focus on the human rights content of the OECD Guidelines,
and the respective roles and need for coordination between National Contact Points and NHRIs.
An NGO forum coordinated by the International Commission of Jurists will be held on Thursday 7 October.
For more information on the conference,
see here.
For further information regarding the ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights,
contact the coordinator,
Claire Methven O’Brien: .
23.07.10
Country Risk Portal Releases Test Briefings
The Human Rights and Business Country Risk Portal is a free website that helps companies identify,
assess and address human rights risks in the countries where they do business or manage supply chains.
Developed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights,
the Country Risk Portal aims to empower companies,
civil society and governments to define the risks to and responsibilities of business,
especially in developing countries.
The Country Risk Portal is currently in development,
and is seeking feedback from all stakeholders on the content and presentation of country risk information for businesses.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights has released three Country Risk Briefings for stakeholder consultation.
The briefings describe human rights risks to business in Indonesia,
Kenya and South Africa,
and offer due diligence recommendations for businesses to prevent and mitigate risk.
Each briefing identifies priority issues for each country,
including legal,
sectoral and regional risks,
and identifies likely and reported private-sector violations of human rights.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights invites all interested stakeholders to download the Country Risk Briefings and send the feedback questionnaire to
Country Risk Portal Project Description [pdf]
Country Risk Portal Presentation [ppt]
Test Briefing Indonesia [pdf]
Test Briefing Kenya [pdf]
Test Briefing South Africa [pdf]
Feedback form [doc]
23.06.10
UN Global Compact Self-Assessment
UN Global Compact Leaders Summit,
23 June 2010,
New York.
The Global Compact Self Assessment Tool is being unveiled today at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York.
The Global Compact Self Assessment Tool is a free online tool that enables companies to measure their performance on the 10 Global Compact principles,
covering human rights,
labour,
environment and anti-corruption.
‘This is the first Global Compact tool to offer companies this opportunity,’ said Allan Lerberg Jørgensen,
an advisor at the Danish Institute for Human Rights and one of the developers behind the tool.
‘For many companies,
especially smaller businesses,
it can be difficult to know where to begin with the Global Compact,’ Jørgensen said.
‘Many companies ask themselves what the Global Compact principles actually mean in practice.
This tool unpacks all 10 principles into checklists consisting of concrete questions and indicators.
Companies can clearly see where their most important challenges are,
and begin to address them.’
The tool is also intended to help Global Compact companies report on their CSR work through the mandatory Communication on Progress.
‘It’s well known that reporting on progress is challenging,
even for the advanced companies,’ Jørgensen said.
‘Using the Global Compact Self Assessment Tool,
companies can generate content directly for their Communication on Progress to show what they’re doing well and to demonstrate improvements over time.’
The Global Compact Self Assessment Tool has been developed by a partnership consisting of The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs,
The Confederation of Danish Industry,
The Danish Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries,
The Danish Institute for Human Rights and the UN Global Compact Secretariat.
The tool has been tested by UN Global Compact networks in Bangladesh,
Kenya and Vietnam.
The Global Compact Self Assessment Tool is freely available online at www.globalcompactselfassessment.org
Learn more about the UN Global Compact here.
For more information,
contact Allan Lerberg Jørgensen:
01.06.10
Human Rights and the Financial Sector
June 1,
2010: The Danish Institute for Human Rights is pleased to announce the release of ‘Values Added: The Challenge of Integrating Human Rights in the Financial Sector.’ The report outlines the challenges and potential for integrating human rights concepts to the work of financial institutions.
The research was supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and was completed in 2009 as a feasibility study for developing an application of the Human Rights Compliance Assessment (HRCA) tool to financial sector actors,
as a first step toward including financial sector stakeholders in DIHR’s work in business and human rights.
As part of the research,
a broader analysis of financial actors,
assets,
ESG and SRI concepts and mainstream financial reasoning was undertaken,
with a particular focus on financial actors' expectations and the challenges they face in defining and implementing social responsibility in their work.
This analysis was enriched and supported by consultations with international and Danish stakeholders,
to obtain a first-hand account of how they work and their assessment on how human rights can be further integrated into their work processes.
DIHR will be engaging with the financial sector in the coming months,
seeking to expand its research focus on more specific areas of finance and to operationalise the findings of this first report into partnerships with actors from the sector.
Download pdf
For further information,
please contact Rita Roca () or Francesca Manta ).
15.05.10
Tool Launch: HRCA 2.0
The Danish Institute for Human Rights is pleased to launch version 2.0 of the Human Rights Compliance Assessment tool.
From 2008-2009,
the HRCA was fully updated and reprogrammed to incorporate new content,
feedback from more than 60 company and institutional users around the world and developments in the business and human rights field.
HRCA 2.0 features include:
- Streamlined database of 195 questions with user-driven tailoring to company operations
- Country risk matching
- Automatic answering and 'comply or explain' function
- Company administration
- Fully exportable and editable reports and checklists
The new version of the HRCA can be accessed here.
The original version of the HRCA will be available until June 1,
2010.
For more information,
contact Rita Roca: or +45 3269 8851
Read more about the HRCA
NHRI Working Group on Business and Human Rights
May 1,
2010: National Human Rights Institutions are independent,
professional bodies established under the 1993 UN Paris Principles.
Their primary function is to monitor their national government,
including commenting on draft legislation and reporting on the domestic implementation of their home state’s human rights commitments.
110 countries have established NHRIs,
with 60 maintaining an ‘A-level’ accreditation,
meaning they meet the highest standards of independence and output.
As NHRIs have grown in number and influence,
many have begun to undertake national and international human rights projects,
both alone and with international partners.
Following an initiative led by the Danish Institute for Human Rights during 2008 and 2009,
a thematic working group on the issue of business and human rights was established in August 2009 under the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs.
The purpose of the Working Group is to encourage collaboration between NHRIs and ensure that the issue of human rights and business is included in international frameworks.
In August 2009,
DIHR was appointed chair and permanent secretariat of the NHRI Working Group on Business and Human Rights (WGBHR) for the 2009-2011 term.
The Working Group is composed of nine voting members drawn from all world regions,
including a representative of the ICC chair.
The regional members are:
Africa: Kenya and Togo
Americas: Nicaragua and Venezuela
Asia-Pacific: Jordan and Korea
Europe: Denmark and Scotland
The Working Group has the following mission:
‘The NHRI Working Group on Business and Human Rights facilitates collaboration among National Human Rights Institutions in relation to strategic planning,
joint capacity building and agenda-setting in the field of business and human rights,
in order to assist National Human Rights Institutions in promoting corporate respect and support for international human rights principles; and in strengthening human rights protection and remediation of abuses in the corporate sector in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders at the domestic,
regional and international levels.’
The WGBHR is the first thematic working group under the ICC.
The WGHRB aims to utilize the joint capacity of NHRIs in the human rights and business field,
including a strong role in local processes as well as leveraging the formal standing of the ICC within the UN system.
As such,
the WGHRB has been mandated by the ICC General Assembly to pursue activities within three mandate areas:
Mandate area I: Strategic Planning
The Working Group will facilitate the inclusion of business and human rights issues into NHRI baseline research and strategic planning,
and provide a platform for regional and international collaboration on joint NHRI programmes.
Mandate area II: Capacity Building and Resource Sharing
The Working Group will facilitate development of NHRI staff in relation to business and human rights issues and provide a platform for the exchange of expertise and best practices,
and for the joint development of tools and materials.
Mandate area III: Agenda Setting and Outreach
The Working Group will facilitate ICC and NHRI participation in key domestic,
regional and international developments in the business and human rights field.
This includes providing support for ICC and NHRI outreach to stakeholders including governments,
UN bodies,
multilateral institutions,
the business community and civil society.
As chair and permanent secretariat of the Working Group,
the Danish Institute for Human Rights will continue to convene meetings and disseminate information.
For more information,
contact Claire O’Brian: .
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