This event will take place on November 26-28, 2018, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The central theme for the 2018 Forum will be: “Business respect for human rights – building on what works”.
PROGRAMME
Monday, November 26
8:00am Conversation with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
9:00am
Corporate human rights due diligence – state of play and way forward
Voices from the ground
Academic Networks in Conversation with Business and Human Rights Stakeholders
9:30am
Introduction to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
11:00am
Opening plenary
1:30pm
Snapshot: Driving human rights due diligence through law – Lessons from the first year of application of the law: major challenges and recommendations for companies
Human rights due diligence in the world of sport
What do “Protect, Respect, Remedy” mean in practice for responsible tax conduct? A special focus on women’s rights
Labour rights and human rights due diligence
Driving human rights performance from the top in the mining sector – the role of the board and investors
1:45pm
Snapshot: Managing risks at the operational level ; lessons from Vinci in Qatar
2:00pm
Snapshot: Lead and deploy the vigilance approach: a challenge for large companies; lessons from BNP and Orange
2:15pm
Snapshot: The French Duty of Vigilance – Lessons learned and Guidance on Vigilance Plans
2:30pm
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence: practices in the supply chain. Findings from a cross-sectoral study.
2:45pm
Snapshot: Documenting Human Rights Due Diligence- Operational-level human rights impacts assessments
3:00pm
Snapshot: Employer Association Relations – Need to Document Human Rights Due Diligence
Are States making progress on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights? Challenges, innovations and lessons learned from implementation
Integrating indigenous peoples rights in human rights due diligence: what does it mean in practice?
What human rights responsibilities apply to businesses with respect to climate change?
Disruptive technology I: what does artificial intelligence mean for human rights due diligence
3:15pm
Snapshot: Employer Association Collaboration – Documenting Human Rights Due Diligence
3:30pm
Snapshot: Investor Relations – Need to Document Human Rights Due Diligence
3:45pm
Snapshot: Investor Relations – ICT Company Documenting Human Rights Due Diligence
4:00pm
Snapshot: B2B Relations – Need to Document Human Rights Due Diligence
4:15pm
Snapshot: B2B Relations – Mutual Documentation of Human Rights Due Diligence
4:40pm
Human Rights in International Supply Chains – Where is the disconnect?
Are States making progress on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights? Challenges, innovations and lessons learned from implementation
Connecting child rights and human rights due diligence in practice
How can climate actions respect rights & contribute to peacebuilding in the transition to a green economy?
Disruptive technology II: What does automation mean for human rights due diligence?
6:15pm
Breathless – Documentary
How indigenous people can “renew” renewable energies
Forum debate: Are tech companies a threat to human rights?
Special film screening with Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi: The Price of Free
Tuesday, November 27
8:15am
Snapshot: Exiting responsibly – Respect for human rights in circumstances of urgent exit
8:30am
Snapshot: New insights. Projects from BHR Young researchers (I)
Human rights due diligence approaches for safeguarding migrant workers
Building coherence on essential elements of human rights due diligence
Crowd-drafting: Designing a human rights-compatible international investment agreement
Human rights due diligence in practice in the ICT sector
8:45am
Snapshot: New insights. Projects from BHR Young researchers (II)
9:00am
Snapshot: New insights? Labour governance in the garment industry
9:15am
Snapshot: New insights After Rana-Plaza: Business, Labor, and Global Supply Chains in Bangladesh
9:30am
Snapshot: Human Rights Due Diligence in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
9:45am
Snapshot: Samsung – Human rights due diligence across the supply chain – Experiences from practice
10:00am
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence across the supply chain – Experiences from practice
Plenary II: Building coherence and reaching scale on human rights due diligence – International organizations’ leadership perspectives
10:15am
Snapshot: How can business association promote human rights due diligence. Experiences from Japan
10:30am
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence – Challenges and business pathways (case of the project operator)
10:45am
Snapshot: Strengthening human rights due diligence with in-depth assessment and radical transparency
11:00am
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence in a large supply chain
11:15am
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence – Building on what works in a global supply chain. An overview of risk assessment
11:30am
Snapshot: Human rights due diligence across supply chain starts with due diligence with internal stakeholder groups
Role of NHRIs in facilitating access to remedy for business-related human rights impacts
Human rights due diligence across value chains – addressing systemic challenges
Trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in Africa
Safeguarding human rights defenders: new efforts and tackling growing threats
11:45am
Snapshot: Konica Minolta – What motivates this global technology company’s commitment to human rights and what outcomes have been achieved – experiences from practice
12:00pm
Snapshot: Human rights-based sustainable fisheries: an experience from the Thai Tuna Industry
12:15pm
Snapshot: From commitment to action – Advancing decent work in global supply chains with SAP Ariba
12:30pm
Snapshot: How investing in basic sanitation can help guarantee women’s rights: a case study from Brazil
12:45pm
Snapshot: #Metoo and She too– Addressing sexual abuse and other gender-specific violations
1:00pm
Snapshot: Gender, corporate due diligence, access to justice and indigenous women human rights defenders – Case study from Asia
1:30pm
Due diligence and remedy: Is one possible without the other?
Reinforcing the importance of human rights due diligence for realizing the SDGs
Accountability and building trust on corporate engagement on rights of LGBTI people
Connecting human rights due diligence and business lawyers: overcoming practical challenges
Update on the process to elaborate a legally binding instrument
3:00pm
Snapshot: New insights? The impacts of the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Guidelines
Trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in “Western Europe and Others” region (WEOG)
Trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in Eastern Europe
Developing a gender lens to business and human rights
Addressing “modern slavery” in supply chains – Company responses
3:15pm
Snapshot: The use of the Universal Period Review (UPR) mechanism as a tool to prevent Business related human rights abuses
3:30pm
Snapshot: New insights? When causation, contribution, and direct link overlap: UNGP implementation in “complex complicity” scenarios
3:45pm
Snapshot: Corporate responsibility to respect human rights in situations of occupation
4:00pm
Snapshot: Building Trust between Human Rights Defenders and Financial Actors
4:15pm
Snapshot: NHRIs and Business: Working Together to Advance Human Rights
4:30pm
Snapshot: Children’s Rights and Business Atlas: Harnessing the power of data in risk and impact assessments.
4:40pm
Accountability and remedy: exploring the interconnectedness of different types of grievance mechanisms
Trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Developing a gender lens to business and human rights
Government responses to modern slavery and child labour in supply chains
4:45pm
Snapshot: Economic evidence for civic rights protection
5:00pm
Snapshot: Roles of the youth in moving forward the UNGPs
5:15pm
Snapshot: Experiences from practice – Effective multi-stakeholder models working against child labour
5:30pm
Snapshot: The impact of extractive activities in Honduras on the rights of indigenous peoples
5:45pm
Snapshot: The contribution of the indigenous Papuan community to promote respect of the rights of indigenous peoples
6:00pm
Snapshot: The implications of Indigenous Peoples’ FPIC Protocols and Policies for business respect for human rights
6:15pm
Snapshot: Upholding the right to participate in environmental matters for affected communities: Mexico’s Supreme Court ruling in the Sonora case
Protecting human rights in Public Policy: What Role for Business?
Documentary – Combatting modern slavery in supply chains – Lessons from two sectoral campaigns
Human Rights and Business Award – Human rights defenders in the Global South
Wednesday, November 28
8:30am
Investing in the Human Right to Housing
Leading by example? Procurement as lever for human rights due diligence
Elements of effective human rights due diligence regulation: lessons from legal developments
Human rights due diligence in practice in the global food and beverages sector
Human rights due diligence in practice in the oil & gas sector
10:00am
Accountability and Remedy: human rights due diligence and corporate legal liability
Engaging and safeguarding workers across value chains: identifying good practice approaches
What do “Protect, Respect, Remedy” mean in practice in conflict contexts
How can benchmarks, rating agencies and ESG researchers drive more and better human rights due diligence
Trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in Asia
11:40am
Community engagement for HRIAs in challenging contexts: a round table discussion
Leading by example? Using government trade promotion and development finance as levers for human rights due diligence
How can investors drive more and better human rights due diligence?
Labour union perspectives on ways to scale up effective human rights due diligence
1:00pm
Understanding Business Impact on Children—Presenting the Children’s Rights and Business Atlas
1:30pm
Scaling up human rights due diligence through the use of blockchain
What works? Investigating the relationship between business practices and outcomes for people
Addressing human rights impacts of toxic substances: challenges and human rights due diligence across sectors with a deep dive on the electronics industry
Human rights due diligence in practice in the commodities trading sector
Human rights due diligence in practice in the tourism sector
3:00pm
New perspectives on overcoming hurdles for parent company liability?
Widening uptake of the UNGPs: a spotlight on SMEs
Leading by example? State-owned enterprises’ performance on human rights due diligence
Toward meaningful corporate human rights reporting?
Human rights due diligence in practice in the banking sector
5:00pm
Plenary III: Summing up and looking ahead
Speakers
Michelle Bachelet
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Guy Ryder
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Director-General
Sharan Burrow
International Trade Union Confederation
General Secretary
Tania Cosentino
Schneider Electric
Senior Vice President of Customer Satisfaction & Quality
Kate Gilmore
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Gary J. Goldberg
Newmont Mining Corporation
Chief Executive Officer
Lise Kingo
UN Global Compact
CEO & Executive Director
Masamichi Kono
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Deputy Secretary-General
Mthunzi Mdwaba
TZoro IBC
CEO
Angkhana Neelapaijit
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT)
Commissioner
Phyllis Omido
Center for justice governance and environmental action
grassroots environmental activist and co- founder
Patrick Pouyanne
TOTAL S.A.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer
Leonardo Sakamoto
UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Member of the Board of Trustees
Kailash Satyarthi
Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation
2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Jeannette von Wolfersdorff Schiess
Santiago Securities Exchange (Bolsa de Santiago)
Director of the Board and President of the Committee of Corporate…
Haoliang Xu
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Assistant Administrator and Director for the Regional Bureau for Asia…
Dante Pesce
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Chairperson
Surya Deva
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Vice-chairperson
Elżbieta Karska
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Member
Githu Muigai
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Member
Anita Ramasastry
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Member
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