Business and Human Rights: a global trend towards mandatory due diligence?

By Jerome Bellion-Jourdan

As the world continues to face the COVID-19 health threat and its economic and social impact, the trend towards mandatory human rights due diligence, possibly coupled with environmental due diligence, could contribute to “level the playing field” and to “build back better”. This blog post offers a bird’s eye view of legal developments at the national, regional and global levels.

Democratizing international negotiations? Towards a virtual and inclusive negotiation for the world after COVID-19

By Jerome Bellion-Jourdan – This blog post explores the potential to launch a virtual and inclusive negotiation to lay the foundations for future formats of international negotiations after COVID-19, with the possible drafting of a “Shared Humanity Charter”. Using innovative technological solutions and collaborative methods, this would be a first activity of the emerging International Negotiation Platform.

Business and Human Rights: States are not off the hook

By Jerome Bellion-Jourdan – States are not off the hook in the “Business and Human Rights” agenda:  a key take away of recent events at the United Nations and beyond; a timely reminder of the “smart mix of measures” foreseen by the UN Guiding Principles for States to foster business respect for human rights; a strong call on States to act, along with business, against the background of Kofi Annan’s warning: “if we cannot make globalization work for all, in the end it will work for none.”  

Business and Human Rights: towards a legally binding instrument?

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.