2018 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights

Join the members of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights in an informal conversation about their mandate to promote implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to chair the Forum.

Working Group members will give an overview of their ongoing work and explain the background for the theme of this year's Forum. The introduction will be followed by a Q&A and an opportunity for participants to make suggestions to the Working Group.

Links to Working Group main page and thematic pages

• Working Group's main page 
• The State as an economic actor
• State national action plans (NAPs)
• Human rights defenders and civic space
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Gender lens to the UNGPs
• Corporate human rights due diligence
• International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and Human Rights

Interpretation is provided in Korean

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief description of the session: 
The session will provide an overview of the background and key elements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Session objectives: 
To enable newcomers to the business and human rights field to get a good understanding of the UN Guiding on Business and Human Rights.

Background to discussion:
The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework is the authoritative global framework on business and human rights. The mandate from the Human Rights Council for the annual Forum on Business and Human Rights is focused on discussing challenges and lessons learned in implementing the UN Guiding Principles. Participants who are new to field can therefore benefit from this introductory briefing session on the background and key components of the Guiding Principles.

Organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO)

Brief description of the session:
This session will address corporate human rights due diligence in relation to labour rights, showcasing good practices and lessons learned. It will look into such processes within a company’s own operations as well as in its business relationships with other enterprises.

Session objectives:

• Facilitate exchange of experiences on how corporate human rights due diligence processes can help enterprises to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for adverse labour rights impacts, including the fundamental principles and rights at work, working conditions, OSH, hours of work, wages, etc.
• Provide examples of meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders, and the central role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as industrial relations and social dialogue in this process.
   

  Key discussion questions:

•  How have the UNGPs been reflected in new international labour standards and the revised ILO Tripartite Declaration concerning multinational enterprises and social policy (MNE Declaration)?
• How are business enterprises in all tiers of the supply chain engaging with workers' organizations as part of their efforts to engage in meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups in order to “take account of the central role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as industrial relations and social dialogue as an ongoing process” as set out in the ILO MNE Declaration? How does consultation with trade unions differ from engagement with other relevant stakeholders?
• What is the role of governments in this consultation and how are governments supporting this engagement?
• What have been some of the challenges and lessons learned?
• What sustainable solutions have resulted from such due diligence processes? What role did meaningful engagement with, or involvement of, workers and their representatives play in those efforts?

 Format of the session:
The session will be in the format of a roundtable discussion with open discussions with the audience.
 
Background to the discussion :
Under Pillar 2 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), enterprises should carry out due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts that relate to internationally recognized human rights, understood, at a minimum, as those expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW). The 1998 Declaration sets out rights in four categories: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
2018 marks the 20th anniversary FPRW Declaration (1998), which provides an opportunity to look at how effective due diligence processes can help companies to identify and assess the impacts of their operations on labour rights. The 2017 revised text of the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) includes a specific paragraph on due diligence in order to incorporate the concept of due diligence set out in the UNGPs. The MNE Declaration states that "In order to gauge human rights risks, enterprises – including multinational enterprises – should identify and assess any actual or potential adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved either through their own activities or as a result of their business relationships. This process should involve meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders including workers’ organizations, as appropriate to the size of the enterprise and the nature and context of the operation. For the purpose of achieving the aim of the MNE Declaration, this process should take account of the central role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as industrial relations and social dialogue as an ongoing process”.
Additionally, ILO has referenced due diligence in the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, the Recommendation No. 205 on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience, 2017 and the Resolution and conclusions concerning decent work in global supply chains adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2016.


Interpretation is provided in Korean.

Interpretation is provided into Spanish

Organized by OHCHR

Brief description of the session:
 This session will explore the responsibilities of businesses with respect to climate change, mitigation and adaptation. Businesses must be accountable for their climate impacts, participate responsibly in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts with full respect for human rights, and exercise human rights due diligence in the course of their activities. States must also ensure that their own business activities, including activities conducted in partnership with the private sector, contribute to mitigating climate change while respecting human rights, and ensuring effective remedies for climate and human rights harms. Businesses and governments should go beyond simply avoiding climate harms and actively work to promote development that benefits both people and planet.

Session objectives:
 Raise awareness of business responsibilities related to human rights and climate change.
 Identify good practices and concrete solutions to human rights challenges faced by businesses in the context of climate change.

Key discussion questions: 
 1. What is the responsibility of the private sector for climate change?
2. What does a rights-based approach to climate action look like for companies? What responsibilities does the private sector have to limit their carbon footprint (e.g. human right due diligence)?  
3. How can companies be held accountable for climate-related human rights harms?

Background to the discussion:
 Climate change is a key challenge facing the global community, and one that impacts, directly and indirectly, an array of internationally guaranteed human rights. Private actors, including businesses, contribute significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and thus contribute to the impacts of climate change on human rights. At the same time, international agreements, including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for Financing for Development, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognize that private actors must play a significant role in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts and in ensuring development that is truly sustainable and in line with the vision elaborated in the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development.

Today, global attention is increasingly trained on the impact that businesses have on the enjoyment of human rights around the world, and businesses are increasingly aware of human rights as both a risk factor and as a moral and legal imperative. Despite strong understanding of the links between climate change and human rights, climate change and business, and business and human rights, there is a lack of action to ensure business accountability for climate change.

Interpretation is provided in English, French and Spanish

Organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Brief description of the session:
Shifting to renewable energy is a fundamental part of the transition towards green economy. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the SDGs both underline the necessity of a transition toward a sustainable, zero-carbon future for all as a human rights imperative. If undertaken responsibly, this transition has the potential to contribute to peacebuilding and a rights-respecting energy system. However, if managed without human rights in mind, it carries risks harming lives and livelihoods, as well as causing financial and legal costs for companies and investors. In order for it to be successful this transition has to be a Just Transition, leaving no one behind and maximizing climate protection as well as minimizing the risks and hardships for workers and communities.
This session focuses on how companies can ensure their climate actions respect human rights and benefit from the transformative potential of the transition to a green economy. It will unpack the concept of a green economy, explore the concept of a just transition away from fossil fuels in a way that respects the rights of workers and communities, and address how we can support a model of renewable energy that contributes to peacebuilding, provides decent jobs throughout its supply chain, and respects the rights of indigenous communities.

Session Objectives:

•  Provide participants with space to discuss what a green economy and a just transition entail in the context of companies’ responsibility to respect human rights
• Share with participants ways in which rights-based climate action can be a positive force for peacebuilding
• Explore factors that contribute to best practice examples of just transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy

Format of the session:

• Recap of outcomes of previous session "What related human rights responsibilities apply to businesses with respect to climate change?" and introduction of session (15 mins)
• World Café Round 1 (tables 1 and 2) in key question "cafes" (25 mins)
• Rotation and World Café 2 Round 2 (tables 3 and 4) in key question "cafes" (25 mins)
•  Report back from cafes to plenary (15 mins)

Key questions for discussions in World Cafes1 
World Cafe Table 1:
Guiding question: How can a rights-based approach to climate action contribute to peacebuilding?
Facilitator: Hannah Peters, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Resource person: Justine Taylor, Quaker United Nations Office
World Cafe Table 2:
Guiding question: What do we mean by a green economy? How does our current economic model contribute to climate change and how can we address this in a rights-based way?
Facilitator: Eniko Horvath, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Resource Person: Elena Espinoza, Principles for Responsible Investment
World Cafe Table 3: 
Guiding question: What do we mean by a just transition to a low-carbon economy? How can a radical reduction of fossil fuels be managed in a just way?
 Facilitator: Nabylah Abo Dehman, Principles for Responsible Investment
 Resource Person: Philip Gass, International Institute for Sustainable Development
World Cafe Table 4:
Guiding question: How can renewable energy companies ensure their operations respect human rights? What role do investors and companies buying renewable energy have?
Facilitator: Isobel Edwards, Researcher
Resource Person: Melissa Ortiz Massó, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Bacground to the discussion:
Climate change is a key challenge facing the global community, and one that impacts, directly and indirectly, an array of internationally guaranteed human rights. Private actors, including businesses, contribute significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and thus contribute to the impacts of climate change on human rights. At the same time, international agreements, including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for Financing for Development, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognize that private actors must play a significant role in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts and in ensuring development that is truly sustainable and in line with the vision elaborated in the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development.
 Today, global attention is increasingly trained on the impact that businesses have on the enjoyment of human rights around the world, and businesses are increasingly aware of human rights as both a risk factor and as a moral and legal imperative. Despite strong understanding of the links between climate change and human rights, climate change and business, and business and human rights, there is a lack of action to implement proposed solutions to the challenges faced by the private sector in the context of climate change.


LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED PRIOR TO THE EVENT

Interpretation is provided in English and Spanish

Organized by ENEL

Brief description of the session:
This session will explore the nexus between renewable energies and Indigenous people.  Enel Green Power will be publishing a book to give a voice to some of the indigenous communities hosting renewable plants in different countries with regard to the cultural aspects of water, earth, wind and sun,  all of which,  from the company’s point of view, are primarily energy sources. This will serve as a starting point for the session.

Session objectives:
To open a multi-stakeholders’ dialogue on the implications of Indigenous people rights and renewable energies deployment.

Key discussion questions:
Analyzing how renewable plants relate to indigenous peoples, with a focus on cultural identities and natural resources. Underlying themes of this session are both the relation between indigenous peoples' rights and the impacts of business activities, as well as the link between climate change and the transition to a green economy.

Format of the session:
Roundtable and Q&A

Background to the discussion:
On the one hand, renewable energies are key to fight climate change whose negative impacts are particularly strong on those emerging economies where indigenous communities are more concentrated;  on the other hand, the same technologies still have environmental, socio-economic and cultural impacts.
 The private sector in general, and Enel Green Power in particular, has been focusing its efforts on mitigating socio-environmental impacts, through its sustainable construction site and plant models.
The panel will concentrate on how renewable energies can be integrated in an environment, which is not only a physical entity but also a cultural landscape where, for example, “energy sources” have cultural/spiritual meanings. The discussion will be led by representatives of indigenous communities EGP is working or will be working with, institutional representatives and one artist who has been working on art as a tool for social inclusion.

Organized by Association of Labour Providers (ALP) and Stronger Together

Brief description of the session:
There are 150 million migrant workers globally, according to the ILO. Migrant workers contribute to the economies of their host countries, and the remittances they send home help to boost the economies of their countries of origin. Yet at the same time human rights’ abuses involving migrant workers continue to be widespread. Migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery at all stages of the employment cycle: recruitment, employment and termination.

In this session, attendees will discuss safeguarding migrant workers, particularly through responsible recruitment practices. Speakers from business, civil society and international organisations will enter into conversation with the audience whilst sharing their experiences and insights from working in the agricultural, food, garment, mining, construction and engineering sectors in a range of countries. They will explain models of good practice, collaboration and key lessons learned, with the intention to scale up the good practices and address remaining gaps and challenges, as per the conclusion of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises report to the General Assembly that this is much needed.

Session objectives:

• Explore key human rights challenges regarding migrant workers across sectors, in particular regarding recruitment
• Identify the practical steps different stakeholders should/can take to safeguard migrant workers across supply chains
• Discuss what remediation should look like when incidents have been identified in the supply chain
• Share good practice of collaborative initiatives and solutions

Key discussion questions:

• What are the key human rights challenges regarding migrant workers?
• What is the role of businesses regarding safeguarding migrant workers at different points in the supply chain?
• What are the challenges to brands, employers and recruiters of poor recruitment practices in supply chains?
• What role can businesses play in safeguarding migrant workers in countries where relevant legislation and/or enforcement is limited?
• Are industry approaches rather than company-specific approaches more effective for addressing the most serious human rights risks for migrant workers?
• Do we need compliance-based or beyond compliance solutions to create change?

Format of the session:
The session will be opened with a brief introduction by the moderator and the speakers, followed by an interactive, conversational session with the audience. The moderator will ask a question, provide speakers with the opportunity to respond with short remarks to frame discussions, after which the floor will be opened to the audience.

Background to the discussion:
Labour recruitment is now rightly identified as one of the greatest human rights risk areas in businesses and supply chains. Recruitment channels often operate across borders and exploitation of vulnerable workers can be hidden in informal and/or complex labour supply chains.
Momentum is rapidly growing to focus on this issue with brands, contractors and retailers’ ethical trading and sustainability programmes expanding to look not only at the conditions in the workplaces of the businesses that supply them or are subcontracted by them, but also at the conditions faced by jobseekers and workers throughout their recruitment journey.

Interpretation is provided into English, French and Spanish

Organized on the Working Group on businness and human rights

Background to the discussion:
The UN Guiding Principles on the Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) envisage a role for the following three types of mechanisms to provide access to effective remedy in business-related human rights abuses: state-based judicial mechanisms, state-based non-judicial grievance mechanisms (NJMs), and non-state-based grievance mechanisms. While judicial mechanisms are “at the core of ensuring access to remedy”, NJMs such as national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have “an essential role in complementing and supplementing judicial mechanisms”. Like other NJMs, NHRIs should meet the effectiveness criteria set out in Principle 31 of the UNGPs.
Building on its prior work on access to remedy (A/72/162 and A/HRC/35/33) and to complement the OHCHR’s Accountability and Remedy Project, the Working Group on Business and Human Rights (Working Group) is starting a new project to focus on the important role of NHRIs in improving access to effective remedy for business-related human rights abuses, in line with the aspirations expressed in the Edinburgh Declaration. NHRIs can facilitate access to remedy both directly (e.g., by handling complaints concerning human rights abuses by companies) and indirectly (e.g., by raising awareness, building capacity, assisting affected rights holders and recommending legal reforms).
The Working Group has recently received an explicit mandate about this project from the Human Rights Council. In July 2018, the Council (A/HRC/38/L.18) requested the Working Group “to analyse further the role of national human rights institutions in facilitating access to remedy for business-related human rights abuses, and to convene a two-day global consultation on these issues, open to all stakeholders, and to inform the Council by its forty-fourth session as appropriate”.

Session objectives:
The session aims to achieve the following objectives:

• to gain a better understanding of the existing mandates, policies and practices of NHRIs concerning access to remedy for business-related human rights abuses;
• to know more about the challenges and limitations that NHRIs face in dealing with business-related human rights abuses; and
• to discuss steps that could be taken to strengthen the role of NHRIs in providing effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses, especially in cases with a transnational dimension.

Session format 
The session will be organised as an interactive dialogue with NHRIs and other stakeholders. There will not be any panel: rather, all interested speakers will offer brief remarks from the floor. The dialogue will be facilitated by Mr Surya Deva, the Working Group member leading this project, who will keep a list of speakers.
Discussion questions 
Speakers may share information about one or more of the following questions:

• Does your NHRI have a mandate to investigate or conduct inquiry about alleged human rights abuses by businesses?
• Does your NHRI have an explicit mandate to handle complaints concerning alleged business-related human rights abuses?
• What types of remedies could your NHRI offer to individuals or communities harmed by businesses?
• What are the three most critical challenges that your NHRI has experienced in providing access to effective remedies in business-related human rights abuses?
• How does your NHRI deal with complaints which have a transnational dimension?
• Can you share any good practice examples in which your NHRI was able to facilitate, directly or indirectly, effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses?

How to participate:
NHRI representatives or other interested stakeholder who wish to participate in the dialogue are invited to pre-register by sending an email to mgarciatorrente@ohchr.org with cc to forumbhr@ohchr.org by including in the subject line:
“Dialogue with NHRIs – [NHRI name]”.
The speaking time allocated to each NHRI will depend on the number of requests received (information on this will be provided closer to the Forum). All NHRIs will, however, be able to submit a statement to be posted on the project webpage.  
Deadline: 20 November 2018

Organized by Shift, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), Oxfam

Brief description of the session and objectives:
The overall purpose of this event is to deepen our understanding of the relationship between the SDGs and the business and human rights agenda from the viewpoint of various stakeholders. More specifically, our objectives are:

• To discuss the evolving relationship between the SDGs and business and human rights from the perspective of business, civil society, government, and other stakeholders.
• To identify key barriers (cultural, institutional, etc.) that prevent greater integration of human rights considerations and approaches into companies’ engagement on the SDGs.
• To develop strategies for how to better ensure that respect for human rights is at the center of every company’s efforts toward contributing to the Global Goals.

Key discussion questions:

1. What are the major trends, areas of progress, and gaps in corporate strategies and actions on the SDGs?
2. What are the main barriers that are holding back deeper synergy between the SDGs and the business and human rights agenda?
3. What can business, civil society, governments, investors, and other actors do to help make elements of the business and human rights agenda (e.g. ‘Respect, Protect, Access to Remedy,’ human rights due diligence) a cornerstone of companies’ SDG engagement?

Format of the session:
To encourage multi-stakeholder dialogue, we propose a workshop-style session to crowdsource input into the discussion questions outlined above. Following a set of scene-setting presentations, small group discussions will offer an opportunity for participants to add to the conversation, and the plenary discussion at the end will capture key takeaways and opportunities for further collaboration.


Setting the scene: The state of play on business, the SDGs, and human rights (35 min) 

Small group discussions (20 min)
In groups up to 20 people, the following questions will be discussed:

• What examples of good practice are we seeing in positioning human rights at the heart of SDG engagement?
• What are the barriers in ensuring an integrated approach to business respect for human rights and contributions to the SDGs?
• What can we do, individually and collectively, to tackle these barriers?

Plenary discussion and wrap-up (20 min) 

• Report back from small group discussions by table leads
• Collating feedback and facilitated discussion of emergent themes and findings
• Group Discussion and plenary moderated by Phil Bloomer, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 

Background to the discussion:
Three years since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continue to gain momentum within the business community. More than 90% of the SDG targets are linked to international human rights and labor standards. Ensuring respect for human rights – an inherently creative and innovative process – is thus one of the most important contributions to the SDGs that businesses can make. In addressing negative human rights impacts connected to business activity, companies that take this approach will be delivering hugely positive outcomes for people.
Yet, few companies are linking their SDG engagement with their commitment to human rights. While the number of companies embracing the SDGs and making commitments to respecting human rights continues to grow, many of them are treating the SDGs and human rights as separate areas of engagement. As a result, there is a risk that company strategies and actions on the SDGs do not meaningfully address human rights impacts associated with corporate operations and supply chains.
The lack of knowledge regarding business’ SDG contributions and the relationship between the SDGs and the business and human rights agenda represents a problem for all stakeholder groups. A new debate is urgently needed if we want to ensure that human rights form the cornerstone of any business strategy or action aimed at contributing to the Global Goals.
 
 Interpretation is provided in Korean.

Interpretation is provided into English, French and Spanish
​Watch live ​​​https://unog.webex.com/unog/j.php?MTID=mabe7bc8e92ec6e11557311bcf357f4b9

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief description of the session: 
This Forum session is part of the Forum track on trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in the context of each region of the world. Building on the sessions on government action on the Forum’s first day, the “Western European and others”- focused discussions aim to take a closer look at policy innovations and emerging practices on which progress can be built. The session will involve presentations by governments that are moving ahead with regulatory and policy innovations.

Objectives of the session: 

• Share lessons learned from recent government efforts with potential to drive greater policy coherence and reach scale in business implementation of the corporate responsibility to respect human right
• Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue around lessons learned and way forward, including on how to strengthen a race to the top among Western countries.

Format of the session:

• Introduction by the UN Working Group on Business & Human Rights
• Snapshot presentations on innovations and lessons learned: inter-governmental and government perspectives
• Open stakeholder discussion on the way forward

Interpretation is provided into English/French/Spanish

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief description of the session: 
This Forum session is part of the Forum track on trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in the context of each region of the world. Building on the sessions on government action on the Forum’s first day, the region focused discussions aim to take a closer look at how to overcome key business-related human rights challenges faced in Latin American and Caribbean countries and lessons learned from emerging government, business and civil society action.

Objectives of the session: 
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue around lessons learned and the way forward, including on how to scale up emerging good practice
- Strengthen a race to the top among governments and business in the region.

Format of the session:
The proposed session will be done in a talk show format with the participants having the opportunity to raise questions amongst each other as in a public dialogue. The session is chaired by the Chairperson of the UN Working Group, Dante Pesce

Preliminary agenda: 

• Introduction by Dante Pesce
• Kickoff remarks:
  • Civil society coalition reflections on how to overcome key business-related human rights challenges in the region and what emerging practices to build on
  • Business perspectives on how to drive a race to the top in the region
  • Human rights defender statement on his/her experience in working for the respect of human rights by business in the region
  • Government statements on lessons learned and commitments for going forward
• Roundtable discussion

Organised by Doughty Street Chambers with Traidcraft and Ethical Trade Initiative

Brief description
The session is intended to discuss the issue of combatting modern slavery in supply chains through the perspective of two sectoral responses and two industries. The session will show two short videos (around 5 mins each) on the Rajasthan Stone Sector and the Assam tea Industry, which are meant to highlight some of the issues and then engender discussion on the question of what could be done to combat modern slavery in supply chains from an industry, NGO and legal perspective.

Session objectives
The objectives for the session are:

• To highlight some of the violations in two important supply chains which the attendees may not be aware of.
• To highlight the current campaign on the transparency in the Assam tea supply chain.
• To highlight the current work that has been done and is planning to be done on the Rajasthan Stone Supply chain.
• To have a greater understanding of what are the barriers to combatting modern slavery in those supply chains.
• To have a greater understanding of why companies are finding difficulties in mapping supply chains.
• To have a greater understanding of what legal avenues may be possible for combatting the most serious human rights violations in supply chains.

Key discussion questions

What are the key lessons from these two sectoral campaigns in:

• Addressing the main barriers to combatting modern slavery in supply chains?
• how companies should enhance their due diligence in supply chains?
• why many companies are not enhancing their due diligence in supply chains?
• what stakeholders can do to improve due diligence in supply chains?
• what lawyers can do to improve due diligence in supply chains?

Format of the session
There will be:

• Short video on Assam Tea Supply chain, followed by a 10 min introduction by Fiona Gooch, on the campaign.
• Short video on Rajasthan Stone Supply chain, followed by a 10 min introduction by Krishnendu Mukherjee on the issue.
• Response by Cindy Berman on the issues raised.
• Further response by Fiona Gooch and Krishnendu Mukherjee
• Discussion from the floor.

Background to the discussion
A backdrop to the discussion is the reluctance of many large companies in the UK to engage with s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. By drilling down on lessons from two sectoral case studies, the aim is to generate a discussion rooted in practical examples on how barriers and challenges to progress can be overcome.

Organized by IPIECA

Short description of the session:
The session will focus the implementation of human rights due diligence in the oil and gas sector. The aim will be to discuss the challenges of human rights due diligence implementation, and the practical solutions to such challenges, in four particular areas relevant to the sector: community engagement, worker rights, responsible security, and supply chain.
It will use IPIECA’s practical guidance on this topic as a structure for the session, aligning with its four sections:

• What is a human rights due diligence process?
• Why is a human rights due diligence process important?
• Developing and implementing a human rights due diligence process
• Resources to support oil and gas companies

It will be an opportunity to generate discussion with attendees and encourage good practice sharing and examples of effective human rights due diligence.

Session objectives:
To further understanding of the good practices of companies engaging in human rights due diligence, in line with the UN Guiding Principles, in their operations, sub contracted activities and supply chains.
Raise awareness and debate some of the implementation challenges faced by the oil and gas sector in relation to human rights due diligence and brainstorm possible solutions to such challenges.
Promote the industry initiative on human rights in the supply chain recently launched at the UN Global Compact in September – a joint initiative between BP, Shell, Total & Equinor.
Use the feedback in the room as an opportunity to develop an updated version of IPIECA’s 2012 guidance on Human rights due diligence process.

Key discussion questions:

• What are the possible solutions to some of the challenges for implementing human rights due diligence measures in the areas of community engagement, worker rights, responsible security, and supply chain?
• How can we measure the effectiveness of human rights due diligence solutions?

Format of the session:
The session is designed to be as interactive as possible. It will begin with brief introductory remarks to set the context of human rights due diligence in the oil and gas sector, and IPIECA’s work to date in this area. We will highlight IPIECA’s guidance on Human rights due diligence process, as well as our current project on Company and Supply Chain Labour Rights (to be launched soon). It will also introduce the new industry initiative on human rights in the supply chain - joint initiative between BP, Shell, Total & Equinor - recently launched at the UN Global Compact in September.
Next, our four moderators will briefly highlight challenges to effective human rights due diligence for the sector related to four key areas:

• Community engagement
• Worker rights
• Responsible security
• Supply chain

We will then divide into four breakout groups, each with a moderator and an IPIECA member company representative, to discuss the topic from these perspectives. Each group will be tasked with discussing possible solutions to the challenges raised.
This will be followed by an opportunity to provide feedback in plenary, sum up overall themes and findings, and Q&A.

Background to the discussion:
IPIECA has been working on, and raising awareness of, human rights issues across the oil and gas industry for over a decade. As a consensus-based membership organization, IPIECA facilitates peer learning, provides authoritative guidance on implementation of business and human rights frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and facilitates the development, sharing and promotion of good practices for the industry. A key expectation of the UNGPs is that companies will work with their business partners, including suppliers, to set expectations and use leverage to seek improved human rights performance. As such IPIECA’s human rights programme is expanding beyond direct member human rights impacts, to examine how members can work with, and seek to influence, business partners to respect human rights.
IPIECA’s Business and Human Rights Project has included developing practical guidance on due diligence and community grievance mechanisms that have been widely used throughout the oil and gas industry.
The next phase of IPIECA’s work in this area, is focusing on respect for human rights in the supply chain, initially concentrating on the contracted workforce that the industry relies on to develop and operate its large-scale operations. This is an area of common saliency across the oil and gas industry, and one in which IPIECA members can benefit from peer learning and sharing of good practices. In the face of increasing external scrutiny of labour practices in the supply chain, IPIECA aims to inform stakeholders, of our industry’s collective commitment and efforts to respect labour rights.  It also helps member companies to anticipate emerging trends and challenges for our industry.  Most importantly the project will enable members to more effectively identify, prevent and mitigate labour rights risks and impacts within projects, operations and supply chains.  This will be achieved through the development of practical tools, supported by implementation guidance.

Interpretation is available in Korean.

Interpretation is provided into English , French and Spanish

This Forum session led by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights will address new ways to strengthen corporate respect for human rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts. It is part of the consultation process for a Working Group project that will lead to recommendations to governments and business enterprises in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in 2020.

The project will address implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in all stages of conflict, from prevention to post-conflict, including transitional justice. It will cover all three pillars of the Guiding Principles:
- the State duty to protect against business-related human rights abuse
- the corporate responsibility to respect human rights
- the need for access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse

Interpretation is provided into English, French and Spanish

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief description of the session: 

This Forum session led by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights will feature presentations by Governments that have been taking steps toward integrating the Guiding Principles in the areas of trade, investment promotion and development policy. It will address lessons learned and ways forward for more States to follow.

Background to the discussion: 

States act as gatekeepers when they provide much needed support to businesses by providing finance and advisory services aimed at expanding export and investment opportunities. As gatekeepers, States can use their leverage to promote a race to the top by setting out clearly the expectation that businesses respect human rights as a precondition for receiving government support for export and investment activities. States can also promote responsible imports by restricting the flow of goods in supply chains that involve serious human rights abuses. Beyond incentivizing business respect for human rights through such “economic diplomacy” tools, a related area concerns the need to embed business respect for human rights in the context of private sector engagement in development policy and cooperation. With the private sector envisaged to play a significant role in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, and with private sector development becoming an increasingly central part of development cooperation, the latter aspect is in many ways the ‘next frontier’ for the business and human rights agenda.
In essence, all these policy areas need to align with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Specifically, Guiding Principle 4, which sets forth the expectation that States should take additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that receive substantial support and services from State agencies including, where appropriate, by requiring human rights due diligence. The commentary to Guiding Principle 4 indicates that if State agencies do not explicitly consider the actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights of beneficiary enterprises, they put themselves at risk and may add to the human rights challenges faced by the recipient State.

Format of the session:

• Introduction by the UN Working Group on Business & Human Rights member, Anita Ramasastry
• Snapshot presentations on innovations and lessons learned
• Open stakeholder discussion on the way forward

Background documents:
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights: Report on “economic diplomacy” as a tool for States to promote corporate respect for human rights
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights: Report on the state of play of corporate human rights due diligence in all sectors worldwide
 UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights: 10 key recommendations for embedding human rights in the private sector's envisaged contribution to the SDGs.

Organized by International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and ECPAT International (ECPAT)

Short description the session:
The session will explore human rights risks and related trends in the tourism and travel sector. Session speakers will provide insights on how they engage on human rights issues, with a focus on human trafficking, forced labour and the sexual exploitation of children. The session will also focus on the value of collaboration and discuss industry-wide solutions currently implemented globally to address human rights risks.

Session objectives:

• Discuss the most salient and material human rights risks, including children’s rights risks, in the travel and tourism sector
• Discuss different approaches and common challenges to addressing human rights risks impacting the travel and tourism sector
• Highlight the industry’s focus on collaboration and specific actions to leverage and align with existing best practices in other sectors
• Explore strategies that can accelerate progress among a wider spectrum of partners in the travel and tourism sector

Key discussion questions:

•  What are the key human rights risks (including children’s rights risks) in the travel and tourism industry?
• What solutions are companies implementing to address trafficking and sexual exploitation in the context of travel and tourism? Recruitment processes can be very complicated.
• What is your company/organisation doing to better understand the risks associated with the recruitment process and create solutions, particularly in places where the only option is to work with a labour recruitment agency?
• What innovative solutions have the industry / companies developed to advance protection for human rights and specifically children’s rights in travel and tourism?

Format of the discussion:
Roundtable discussion format.

Programme:

1. Introduction (13:30 - 13:45) 
2. Solutions developed to address risks of sexual exploitation of children in the context of travel and tourism (13:45 - 14:00)
3. Solutions developed to address human rights risks in the recruitment supply chain (14:00 - 14:15)
4. Beyond risk management: scaling-up innovative solutions in Travel and Tourism (14:15 - 14:25)
5. Interactive session with audience – Scenarios (14:25 - 14:45)

Background to the discussion:
Travel and Tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors with the industry producing 1 in 10 jobs around the world. The sector involves millions of people in its activities, connecting travellers to communities, and relying on complex supply chains. As the industry expands, it endeavours to have a positive impact on human rights, including children’s rights, and to maintain practices that contribute to the UN SDGs. From air travel to hospitality, to local tourist sites management, tourism can negatively affect a vast range of human rights. This session will focus on the industry’s most material risks: human trafficking, forced labour and the sexual exploitation of children.
In recent years, a growing number of global, regional and national entities have taken innovative measures to ensure that as the travel and tourism industry grows, workers’ rights and child protection are taken into consideration. The private sector can be a key alley in preventing sexual exploitation of children and providing safe pathways to employment. The objective of this roundtable will be to present the solutions developed collectively in the sector through multistakeholder initiatives and by individual companies to inspire and foster wider collaboration with corporate and government stakeholders.

Key research and initiatives have been achieved in the tourism sector on this topic which will provide background to this discussion:

• The Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism, that was the result of inputs from 67 global partners.
• The Call for Action from the first International Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism provide a roadmap how to address this worldwide challenge while contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals.
• The ITP Goal on human rights in the hotel industry to raise awareness of human rights risks, embed human rights into corporate governance, and address risks arising in the labour supply chain and during construction.
• The ITP Principles on Forced Labour launched at the IHRB-ILO Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment and Employment in June 2018

Organized by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Brief description of the session:
What’s the problem with corporate reporting on human rights? Can companies realistically report on their human rights impacts and progress made?
Join business, civil society and reporting initiatives to consider what makes meaningful corporate human rights reporting and how we can get there. You will be invited to share your views and to think along on how key challenges can be solved.
Two companies will explain how they reported on human rights in their latest sustainability reports and will receive a critique on their report from a civil society expert.

Session objectives:

• Identify what makes meaningful corporate human rights reporting from the perspectives of different stakeholders.
• Identify key challenges in corporate human rights reporting and how they may be solved.

Key discussion questions:

• Human rights issues continue to be under-reported and current reporting practice leaves much room for improvement. What are the main reasons for this? How can obstacles to reporting be overcome?
• Current reporting focuses primarily on the commitment and process elements, but there’s very little reporting on outcomes and impacts. Can companies realistically report on their human rights impacts and progress made? What is the role of quantification and metrics?

Links to sustainability reports that will be discussed:

• Rio Tinto’s 2017 Sustainable development report
• Nestlé’s Creating Shared Value Report 2017

Format of the session:

• A conversation between GRI, Shift and IIRC on how to achieve more meaningful corporate human rights reporting
• Audience interaction
• Presentation by Nestlé and Rio Tinto on their human rights reporting and critique by the Alliance for Corporate Transparency
• Audience interaction

Background to the discussion:
The UNGPs call on business enterprises to communicate how they address their human rights impacts. Legal requirements to communicate on human rights due diligence are being introduced, such as the French corporate duty of vigilance law or the UK Modern Slavery Act.

Most of the world’s largest corporations issue non-financial or “sustainability” reports which can include human rights. Most of these reports use frameworks, predominantly the GRI Standards. However human rights issues continue to be under-reported and there is much room for improvement.

Recent studies by GRI, Shift and the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark indicate that although progress has been made since the launch of the UN Guiding Principles in 2011, corporate human rights reporting is not yet widespread and there’s much room for improvement. [1] [2] [3]

The July 2018 report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises highlights that disclosure on human rights due diligence is an area in which there is a significant gap between leading practice and the large majority of businesses. Reluctance to disclose information about human rights risks and mitigation efforts seems to be due in large part to perceived legal risks. [4] [5]

The report welcomes efforts underway to develop better indicators for evaluating performance of human rights due diligence, including (a) the work of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to explore further alignment of its Standards with the Guiding Principles, including how best to report on management approaches to due diligence; (b) work to explore the close relationship between integrated reporting and reporting in line with the Guiding Principles; and (c) a project by the non-profit organization Shift, to develop better ways of using information, metrics and indicators to evaluate respect for human rights by businesses.

The report further highlights the following core aspects of good practice: (a) clear recognition of what the risks to people are and (b) accurate descriptions of the due diligence processes that the business enterprise has in place to address specific risks.

This session will invite discussion on what is needed to increase and improve corporate human rights reporting and communication, including barriers to reporting and how these may be overcome, as well as how best to report on human rights due diligence and human rights impacts.

[1] GRI and Centro Vincular-PUCV, Shining a light on human rights: corporate human rights performance disclosure in the mining, energy and financial sectors, 2016.
[2] Corporate Human Right Benchmark, Key Findings 2018, 2018.
[3] Shift, Human Rights Reporting: Are companies telling investors what they need to know?, 2017.
[4] Working Group’s General Assembly report, A/73/163 (paragraphs 46-47 and 91)
[5] Companion note II to the Working Group’s 2018 report to the General Assembly (A/73/163) (pages 12-13)