IBA Global Insight – fifteen years of the UNGPs
Fifteen years ago, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) broke new ground in clarifying the obligations of states and companies for protecting human rights. The worldwide endorsement of the UNGPs has since established them as the most authoritative global framework for addressing adverse business impacts on human rights. Below, we’ve selected some of the best of Global Insight's continuing coverage of these and related issues.
Film: Interview with Professor John Ruggie, architect of the UNGPs
In this interview Professor John Ruggie, then-Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on business and human rights, discusses his UN mandate, the ‘Protect, Respect, Remedy’ framework, reactions to – and the significance of – this framework for lawyers and the next steps.
Feature: Protect, respect and remedy
This feature assesses whether companies and law firms are doing enough to meet their human rights obligations. It considers the influence of the UNGPs on everyday practice and their absorption into other international standards, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Film: Showcase session with Kofi Annan and John Ruggie
In this IBA Annual Conference showcase session, John Ruggie and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan discuss the role of lawyers in implementing the UNGPs. The two also detail their work on the UN Global Compact, an initiative encouraging businesses to adopt socially responsible policies.
Feature: From soft law to the hard edge of business
The introduction of the UNGPs 'marked the end of the beginning' in tackling the more concerning byproducts of corporate practices. Since their publication in 2011, there’s been a discernible shift from lofty principles towards hardnosed legal rules in the area of business and human rights.
Film: Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. In this Global Insight interview, he discusses the business and human rights agenda embodied in the 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' framework.
Feature: The UN versus Big Oil
As the world faces devastating manifestations of the climate crisis – including heatwaves, storms and floods – the legal community is increasingly connecting these phenomena with human rights. Against this backdrop, there’s greater scrutiny of the obligations of companies under the UNGPs.
Film: Interview with Sheri Meyerhoffer
Sheri Meyerhoffer is the former Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. In this interview she discusses her time in this position and investigations into various human rights abuses committed by Canadian companies operating abroad in the garment, mining and oil and gas sectors.
Feature: Modern slavery – the ongoing struggle
Anti-Slavery International estimates that 50 million people worldwide are in modern slavery. Despite international efforts to stamp out such practices, products linked to victims of forced labour continue to flow into Western markets, and range from clothes to electric vehicles.
News analysis: Southeast Asia steps up efforts on corporate due diligence
Countries in Southeast Asia are turning to legislation as a means to force corporations to respect the environment and the rights of communities. Such laws typically embody the UNGPs, which offer a framework for countries and businesses to follow to prevent human rights abuses.
