Global Partnership between Coalitions of Civil Society Organizations Launch Report on Human Rights Due Diligence and the Role of States

On December 3, 2012, the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)) along with the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) and the Canadian Network onCorporate Accountability (CNCA) will launch a report commissioned by International Experts on Business and Human Rights, entitled “Human Rights Due Diligence: the Role of States”.  The International Experts commissioned include Professor Olivier De Schutter, Professor Anita Ramasastry, Mark B. Taylor and Robert C. Thompson.

The Report builds off of a set of global Consultations with legal practitioners, academics and experts from around the world and examines how States are using their regulatory authority to mandate due diligence for human rights or areas akin to human rights, such as environmental protection and workplace health and safety.  The Report seeks to establish the extent to which the legal systems of States already make use of due diligence to ensure that businesses respect
established standards and to describe for policymakers a range of regulatory options they might use to take the next steps in ensuring businesses respect human rights.

The launch of the Report will take place in conjunction with the Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, scheduled for December, 2012.

ICAR, ECCJ AND CNCA will host a discussion with the Authors alongside a Keynote Address by Member of the European Parliament Richard Howitt from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on December 3rd, 2012 in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.  A reception for all attendees will follow.

For more information about the event, please contact Katie Shay, Legal and Policy Associate, ICAR, at katie@accountabilityroundtable.org.