ICC represents international business at 3rd UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

ICC is building on wide support received from business to advance the dissemination and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The global event built on the previous two forums of 2012 and 2013 and focused on strengthening multistakeholder dialogue and engagement, discussing national action plans to implement the Guiding Principles, exploring access to effective remedy, and identifying current and good practice.

This year’s UN Forum on Business and Human Rights was particularly important for world business in light of the recently adopted Ecuador- and South Africa-sponsored resolution for an enforceable treaty on human rights. Such a treaty could undermine progress made on the ground by business in terms of implementing the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in so far as it detracts from the uptake and momentum behind the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Viviane Schiavi, ICC Senior Policy Manager for the Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption, spoke at a panel session on “The role of the State in creating an accountable marketplace – Addressing key policy areas”, moderated by John Morrison, Executive Director for the Institute for Human Rights and Business.

ICC also co-organized a business-only pre-event at the Canadian Mission to the UN on the evening of 1 December, with close to 100 business representatives. During the event business views were garnered on progress and challenges relating to the implementation of corporate respect for human rights.

ICC remains firmly committed to promoting the role business can and should play in respecting human rights and has been actively engaged in the mandate of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on business and human rights from the outset of his work. ICC endorsed both the UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as the basis for ongoing and progressive implementation of the UN framework.

An additional part of ICC’s ongoing support to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights is its continued assessment of the UN Guiding Principles via its partnership with an annual corporate survey that provides valuable insight on how business is implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption