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Monday, December 18, 2023

Respecting the Rights of Human Rights Defenders: People at the Forefront of Protecting our Rights & our Shared Planet

Blog
By Christen Dobson, Co-Head, Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders Programme, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre Twenty-five years ago, the landmark Declaration on Human Rights Defenders was adopted by the UN General Assembly reinforcing that we all have the right to defend human rights. It...
Monday, December 11, 2023

December 2023: Joint Letter calling for EU policymakers to adopt the CSDDD

Together with over 40 different stakeholders from the business community, financial sector, NGOs and trade unions, we have joined forces and sent a letter to EU policymakers. We call on EUon EU negotiators to reach a political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)...
Logos of businesses and investors who suport an ambitious CSDDD
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Information Is Power, But Who Decides How Much We (or They) Have a Right to Know?

In the News
An open consultation took place at today’s Forum, as the UN Working Group prepares a report for June next year on how to align Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) approaches in the financial sector with the UN Guiding Principles. Speakers called on investors to themselves use a rightsholder...
Monday, November 27, 2023

Business support for Indigenous Peoples' rights, including FPIC, Human Rights Defenders and meaningful stakeholder engagement in the CSDDD

In the News
Throughout the human rights and environmental due diligence process, businesses should meaningfully engage with actually and potentially affected stakeholders or their appointed representatives.
Saturday, October 28, 2023

Data providers and proxy advisers must step up on human rights

In the News
"Investors need better-quality data, at scale, to meet their human rights obligations, write Church Commissioners for England, Scottish Widows and Aviva Investors."
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Banks failing on human rights, says Banktrack

In the News
BankTrack finds the 50 largest banks are largely failing on their human rights record indicating poor progress on disclosures. Investors are watching.
Monday, October 16, 2023

AP3 sets out framework to eye impact of countries, firms on human rights

In the News
Swedish pensions buffer fund says mission to be a responsible owner means it does invest in companies and sectors with high risks regarding human rights
Thursday, October 5, 2023

How Will AI Affect Investors? Clues From This Year’s Annual Meetings

In the News
Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon face human and digital rights-related shareholder proposals. In 2023, members of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights filed a series of 15 human and digital rights-related proposals at tech companies Alphabet GOOGL, Meta META, and Amazon.com AMZN.
Monday, September 25, 2023

Investors Concerned About Banks' Human Rights Performance

In the News
A group of 47 investors representing US$861 billion in AUM has signed a statement in support of BankTrack's 2022 Global Human Rights Benchmark. In the statement, coordinated by the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, the investors express concern regarding the human rights performance of banks as...
Thursday, September 21, 2023

Investors with US$861 billion in assets under management and advisement support findings of BankTrack’s 2022 Global Human Rights Benchmark

Press Release
A group of 47 investors representing US$861 billion in assets under management and advisement, coordinated by the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, has released an investor statement in support of the BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark. NEW YORK, NY – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 - A group of...
Monday, August 21, 2023

Investors and geopolitical pressures: risks and responsibilities; interests and values

Blog
By Bennett Freeman and Harriet Moynihan, Associate Fellows in the International Law Programme at Chatham House The last decade has seen the emergence of ‘ stakeholder geopolitics ', with companies and investors facing growing public expectations to act responsibly as they exert increasing influence...
The Ukraine flag, flapping in the breeze against a blue, lightly cloudy sky
Friday, August 18, 2023

The time for investor voice in the forced labour regulation debate is now

Blog
By Sian Lea, Business and Human Rights Manager, and Serena Chen, Business and Human Rights Intern, Anti-Slavery International In today's business landscape, sustainable and equitable considerations are essential for responsible investors. However, the reality is that many daily products have ties to...
Friday, August 18, 2023

Falling out of fashion: Garment worker abuse under military rule in Myanmar

In the News
Two and a half years after the military takeover in February 2021, Myanmar remains a high-risk country for human and labour rights abuses. Garment workers are severely affected by the rapidly worsening circumstances. Gender-based violence, wage violations, inhumane working conditions and attacks on...
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Investors Urged to Get Hands On with AI

In the News
Despite artificial intelligence (AI) being in its nascent stages investors need to “get familiar” with the technology, due to the competitive advantages it can offer in regard to understanding regulatory change and ESG risks to portfolios.
Monday, July 24, 2023

Food and Beverage Sector Failing on Forced Labour

In the News
The largest food and beverage companies’ attempts to tackle the issue of forced labour in the food value chain is “stagnating”, leaving investors subject to heightened risk from upcoming regulations.
Monday, July 24, 2023

Navigating investor sustainability pressures: A path to thriving in a changing landscape

In the News
In today's interconnected world, finance has a major impact on the real economy and institutional investors exert significant influence influence over the companies they invest in. Sustainability efforts with companies are centred around reporting and data.
Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Disclosures on human rights, or: we’ve got nothing to hide!

In the News
A growing number of investors view human rights information as relevant to their assessments and related decision-making. For example, The UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework is backed by a coalition of 88 investors representing US$5.3 trillion in assets under management.
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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Companies must act to stop child labor in the US

In the News
To address the growing child labor challenge in the U.S., companies must grapple with what went wrong by taking a hard look at their supplier due diligence and management processes.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Meta Shareholders to Vote on Child Safety Impacts Proposal

Press Release
Investors are calling on the company to implement an annual assessment of child safety policies and practices. NEW YORK, NY, TUESDAY, MAY 30TH, 2023 — Tomorrow, Meta ($META) shareholders will have the opportunity to vote on a shareholder proposal asking the company to publish an annual report...
A banner displaying Facebook's logo with blue thumbs down emojis surrounding it.
Friday, May 5, 2023

Joint Statement on the Situation in Sudan

Press Release
We strongly condemn the escalating violence and rapidly deteriorating human rights and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, which began on 15 April and continues at an alarming scale in dense population centres, including in Khartoum and Darfur. As organisations that work with companies and investors to...