A blog by the Global Governance Centre, Graduate Institute, Geneva
By Nina Reiners – How can UN institutions ensure a future for human rights in a changing world? Based on her recent book, Nina Reiners positions transnational lawmaking coalitions (TLCs) as key to understanding how UN human rights treaty bodies change and advance international law beyond the state-led adoption of new treaty commitments.
By Janelle M. Diller – Migration vulnerability stems from onerous terms of entry, stay, work and life based on migration status defined by law. While affirming broad state discretion, international law requires states to ensure human rights, which involves legal reform, business due diligence, and labour market coordination.
By Christina Heliotis – Sustainable investing cannot be treated as a static checklist or a corporate merit badge. The ever-evolving way of doing business and the adoption of data-driven technologies call for a shift of focus on human rights and specifically on the fundamental right to privacy.
By Akshita Tiwary – Sea level rise has grave consequences under international law. The International Law Commission may provide suitable guidelines in this regard.
By Janelle M. Diller – The threats to human and worker rights accompanying the global coronavirus pandemic reinforce the need to prioritize inclusive sector-wide dialogue and action among governments, business, workers and civil society in global value chains, aided by international standards and organizations.
By Jerome Bellion-Jourdan – Getting traction towards a legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises would require consensus-building. In the meantime, much remains to be done to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
By Jolene Yiqiao Kong, Richard Burzynski and Cynthia Weber – The interaction of three forces – organizational missions, new technologies, and political narratives – will shape the UN system’s approach to AI.
By Nina Reiners – What happens if the independence and expertise of UN human rights treaty bodies is threatened by its own members?
By Miia Halme-Tuomisaari – How can we understand the continued importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in today’s world?