2018 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights

http://webtv.un.org/search/opening-plenary-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5971612297001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&page=2

Interpretation is provided in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Korean.
Watch the video recording in UN WebTV

Programme:
The Forum’s opening will consist of three parts:

• (11:00-11:15): Welcome by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and by the Chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights Dante Pesce.
• (11:15-12:05): Conversation with civil society leaders.
• (12:10-13:00): Conversation with business leaders.

Overall aim of opening plenary
The opening plenary of the UN Forum provides leadership and high-level perspectives on the main theme of the Forum. It features leaders from different background who can inspire others and help set the tone for constructive and solution-oriented dialogue over the three Forum days.
The backdrop to the discussions is the Forum’s mandate focused on discussing trends, challenges and emerging good practices in translating the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework into practice, and promoting multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation on business and human rights.

Conversation with civil society leaders 
Prominent human rights advocates from around the world will share personal and inspiring stories of their struggles to call for business respect for human rights in practice.
Speakers:

• Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation
• Angkhana Neelapaijit, Commissioner, National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
• Leonardo Sakamoto, Member of the Board of Trustees, UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, journalist, member of the Brazilian National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labour and Chairman of Repórter Brasil.
• Phyllis Omido, founder of the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (Kenya)
• Moderator: Kate Gilmore, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights

Conversation with business leaders 
Senior business leaders with share their perspectives on embedding respect for human rights in company practice and the importance of human rights due diligence.
Speakers:

• Tania Cosentino, SDG Pioneer; Senior Vice President, Schneider Electric
• Gary Goldberg, Chief Executive Officer, Newmont Mining Corporation
• Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, TOTAL S.A.
• Jeannette Von Wolfersdorff, Member of the Board of the Santiago Exchange
• Moderator: Dante Pesce, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/plenary-ii-building-coherence-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972065478001/?term=

Interpretation is provided in English, French, Spanish and Korean.

Under the title “Building coherence and reaching scale on human rights due diligence – International organizations' leadership perspectives”, the plenary convenes senior leaders from the UN and international organizations working to promote responsible business conduct and sustainability.
The high-level plenary provides an opportunity for signaling alignment of international standards and action to promote corporate respect for human rights, as well as for reinforcing the message that business respect for human rights must be at the heart of corporate contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A central aim is to signal alignment on the importance of corporate human rights due diligence to enable business enterprises meet their responsibility to respect human rights.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/plenary-iii-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972698700001

Description
The Forum will conclude with statements by key stakeholder constituencies to:

• Highlight key messages from Forum discussions on how to advance corporate respect for human rights and make human rights due diligence part of standard business practice.
• Reiterate the most critical gaps and challenges as well as the most promising innovations, emerging practices and collective action efforts.
• Hear calls for action from diverse stakeholders on the need for speeding and scaling up implementation of all three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“Protect, Respect and Remedy”).

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights that guides and chairs the Forum will wrap up the event by sharing their reflections on key takeaways and implications for the way forward for all stakeholders, including by taking stock of progress toward their “2020 roadmap” presented at the closing of the 2017 Forum.

Key references

• Working Group report on human rights due diligence to the 2018 General Assembly / executive summary 
• Working Group’s ten key recommendations on connecting the Guiding Principles and the SDGs
• Working Group’s “2020 roadmap”