Knowing and Showing: Using U.S. Securities Laws to Compel Human Rights Disclosure

On October 9, 2013, the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) launched a landmark report entitled “Knowing and Showing: Using U.S. Securities Laws to Compel Human Rights Disclosure.”

The Report, edited, reviewed and endorsed by Professor Cynthia A. Williams, argues that human rights are materially relevant to corporate securities reporting and encourages the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to guide businesses in reporting material human rights information in their periodic and proxy disclosure reports.

The Report proposes a plan for implementing disclosure of material human rights information related to business activities, incorporating human rights due diligence standards at the global level to assess and identify material human rights risks and impacts and identifying two alternative and complementary actions that the SEC could take to clarify precisely how issuers should disclose material human rights information.

Download the full report: “Knowing and Showing: Using U.S. Securities Laws to Compel Human Rights Disclosure”