Editor’s note: Shamistha Selvaratnam is a LLM Candidate of the Advanced Masters of European and International Human Rights Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands and an intern with the Doing Business Right project. Prior to commencing the LLM, she worked as a business and human rights solicitor in Australia where she specialised in promoting business respect for human rights through engagement with policy, law and practice.

Introduction

This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on Doing Business Right based on the coverage provided on our twitter feed @DoinBizRight and on various websites. You are invited to contribute to this compilation via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we may have overlooked.

The Headlines

CHRB

On 12 November 2018, the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark released the results of its 2018 ranking of 101 companies operating in the apparel, agricultural products and extractives industries. The results show that implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in these sectors is still weak (following the 2017 results) with the average overall score for 2018 being 27% (an increase of 9 percentage points from last year), demonstrating a lack of respect for human rights. The Report identifies that due diligence is a key weakness of the companies that were reviewed, with 40% of companies scoring no points with respect to the due diligence indicator. Other issues identified were the lack of a strong commitment to ensuring that there are ‘living wages’ paid to those working in company operations and supply chains and the failure to meet expectations with respect to preventing child labour in supply chains. Read the 2018 Key Findings Report here.

Australian MSA passes both houses of Parliament

On 29 November 2018, the Modern Slavery Bill 2018 (Cth) passed both houses of the Australian Parliament. Once enacted, the Act will require Australian entities and entities carrying on a business in Australia that have a consolidated revenue of at least $100 million to prepare a Modern Slavery Statement covering mandatory criteria. Criteria that such entities will have to report on include the risks of modern slavery practices in their operations and supply chains and the actions they take to assess and address those risks, including due diligence and remediation processes. It is likely that the Act will come into effect on 1 January 2019 and accordingly the first Modern Slavery Statements will be due by 1 January 2021.

UN and International organisations publications and statements

• FIFA, Second Report by the FIFA Human Rights Advisory Board: Including the Board’s Recommendations and FIFA’s Responses
• UN Human Rights Special Procedures – Summary of the report of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to the General Assembly, October 2018 (A/73/163): Corporate human rights due diligence: emerging practices, challenges and ways forward

NGO and Law Firm publications and statements

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – FTSE 100 & the UK Modern Slavery Act: From Disclosure to Action
• Danish Institute of Human Rights – Women in Business and Human Rights
• European Coalition of Justice – Parliamentarians from across Europe want to move on human rights due diligence legislation

In Court

• Amnesty International – South Africa: Ruling against mining company a victory for marginalized communities across the country
• Courthouse News Service – Climate Change Litigation Turns Up the Heat on Corporations
• Independent – North Korean labourer sues European company for ‘profiting from his slavery’
• Mali & Guardian – High Court rules in favour of Xolobeni community in historic mining rights case
• Namati – Court Orders Oil Palm Company to Return Land and Pay Arrears of Rent to Landowners in Sierra Leone
• Reuters – In Ecuador, landmark court cases challenge mining projects

In the News 

• Africa Focus – Africa Mining Vision
• Business Insider UK – They treat us like disposable parts': An Amazon warehouse worker is waging war on working conditions in a new anonymous newspaper column
• Climate Liability News – French Communities Demand Climate Action by Oil Giant Total
• Facebook Newsroom – An Independent Assessment of the Human Rights Impact of Facebook in Myanmar
• Global Legal Action Network – Complaint filed against Irish oil company for business dealings in annexed Western Sahara
• Global Witness – What the EU is doing to make our money more ethical and why you should care
• Human Rights Watch – Airbnb Stops Rentals on Stolen Land: Daily Brief
• John Ruggie – Facebook in the Rest of the World
• Mining Technology – Diamond Industry Urged to Improve Human Rights Record
• MotherJones – Your Halloween Candy’s Hidden Ingredient: Child Slave Labor
• OZY – Tanzanian Farmers Crack the Code for Fighting Land Grab
• Place – Hi-tech mapping threatens land rights across the 'digital divide' - experts
• Reuters – UK's Tetley reveals tea suppliers in push for slave-free sourcing
• Rights and Accountability in Development – Barrick and Randgold Warned About Rights Abuses Ahead of Merger
• Rights and Accountability in Development – Glencore’s Growing Legal Troubles With Katanga Mining
• The Guardian – Bangladesh to eject safety inspectors brought in after Rana Plaza disaster
• Thomson Reuters Foundation – Most big companies failing U.N. human rights test, ranking shows

Speeches, Videos, Podcasts and Interviews

• Debbie Stothard at EU Parliament DROI Committee Meeting
• Letícia Oliveira, 'It's a long fight': the communities devastated by Brazil's dam collapse

Academic Materials

• Carolijn Terwindt, Shaelyn Morrison and Christian Schliemann, Health Rights Impacts by Agrochemical Business: Legally Challenging the “Myth of Safe Use”, Utrecht Journal of International and European Law
• Claire Methven O'Brien, Experimentalist Global Governance and the case for a Framework Convention based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (in book: Experimentalist Global Governance and the case for a Framework Convention based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights)
• Geetanjali Ganguly, Joana Setzer and Veerle Heyvaert, If at First You Don’t Succeed: Suing Corporations for Climate Change, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies

Blogs           

Asser Institute Doing Business Right Blog

• Alexandru Tofan – Transnational Access to Justice in Araya v Nevsun: Overcoming Procedural Barriers to Remedy in Business and Human Rights Cases
• Imke B.L.H. van Gardingen – Accountability for the exploitation of North Korean workers in the Shipbuilding Industry through Dutch Criminal Law
• Shamistha Selvaratnam – Global Modern Slavery Developments (Part I): A Critical Review of the UK Modern Slavery Act

Others

• Clare Patton, Ciara Hackett and Ciarán O'Kelly – Rang Tan, Iceland and Greenpeace: How a cartoon orangutan opened up the debate on the politics of charity advertising
• Emily Kenway – Globalising justice in supply chains: extraterritorial responsibility
• Gabriela Kletzel, Andrés López Cabello and Daniel Cerqueira – A Toothless Tool? First impressions on the Draft Optional Protocol to the Legally Binding Instrument on Business and Human Rights
• Katerina Yiannibas – International Arbitration & the Remedy Gap for Victims of Business-Related Human Rights Abuses
• Klentiana Mahmutaj – Observations on the Zero Draft - A Detailed Proposal for a System of Arbitration
• Louise Eldridge – Hope for reform, and remedy? External reviewers visit the UK NCP
• Louise Eldridge – Mandatory human rights due diligence is the direction of travel
• Marieke Louis – The Social Diplomacy of Multinational Corporations
• Michael A. Santoro and Robert Shanklin – Business Responsibility for Freedom of Expression: Should Google Re-Enter the China Internet Search Market?
• Miriam Ingeson and Alexandra Lily Kather – The Road Less Traveled: How Corporate Directors Could be Held Individually Liable in Sweden for Corporate Atrocity Crimes Abroad
• Phil Bloomer – New human rights ranking shows most firms have barely left the starting line
• Priya Pillai – Human rights impact assessment in Myanmar: Facebook’s anodyne report
• Rama Dwivedi – ‘Giving Up Not an Option’: These Women Farmers are Fighting for Social Acceptance, Rights
• Tara Van Ho – Academics, Women Academics and the 2018 #bizhumanrights Forum: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
• Tareq Shrourou – Airbnb settlements disengagement decision shows the way forward for companies in the emerging context of business and human rights compliance
• Virginie Rouas – Access to justice and the new French Act on the duty of care: main opportunities and challenges for plaintiffs

Call for Papers and Abstracts

• Call for Papers – Innovate Rights: New Thinking on Business and Human Rights –University of New South Wales (due 18 January 2019)

• Call for Blogs –Business and Human Rights Journal Blog – Cambridge University

Upcoming Events

• 6 December 2018 – The History and Future of the Business and Human Rights Movement – Oxford University, England
• 28 January – 1 February 2019 – Doing Business Right Winter Academy - The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: From theory to practice – Asser Institute, The Hague
• 13-14 February 2019 – 2019 OECD Forum on Due Diligence Guidance in the Garment and Footwear Sector – Paris
• 11-12 April 2019 – Business & Human Rights Young Researchers Summit – St. Gallen, Switzerland

Editor’s note: Shamistha Selvaratnam is a LLM Candidate of the Advanced Masters of European and International Human Rights Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a contributor to the Doing Business Right project at the Asser Institute. Prior to commencing the LLM, she worked as a business and human rights solicitor in Australia where she specialised in promoting business respect for human rights through engagement with policy, law and practice.

Introduction

This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on Doing Business Right based on the coverage provided on our twitter feed @DoinBizRight and on various websites. You are invited to contribute to this compilation via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we may have overlooked.

The Headlines

US Supreme Court decision: World Bank can be sued for projects that impact on local communities

In late February, the US Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Jam et al. v. International Finance Corporation, ruling that the World Bank does not enjoy absolute immunity from being sued in the United States, including in relation to its commercial activities. In this case, members of a minority fishing community in India sued the International Finance Corporate (IFC) (an arm of the World Bank) in order to hold it accountable for various harms caused by the Tata Mundra power plan, an IFC-financed project. The federal district court found that the IFC enjoys ‘virtually absolute’ immunity from suits. The US Court of Appeals upheld this decision. However, the US Supreme Court overturned this decision finding that international organisations can now be sued in the United States. Read the judgment here. The Asser Institute will be holding an event on 24 April 2019 which will summarise the reasoning in the decision and explore the foreseeable effects on the legal accountability of international organisations, and international financial institutions in particular. Register for the event here.

Australian Government releases draft guidance in relation to modern slavery

The Australian Government has published its draft guidance for reporting entities under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), which was passed by Parliament in December 2018. The draft sets out what entities need to do to comply with the reporting requirement under the Act. Usefully, the draft informs entities on how to determine whether it is a reporting entity and how to prepare a modern slavery statement. It offers suggestions on how to meet the seven reporting criteria, including how to scope out an entity’s modern slavery risks and possible actions that can be taken to assess and address risks identified. Read the draft here.

NGO, Human Rights Organisations and Law Firm publications and statements

• ActionAid International, Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, Clean Clothes Campaign, European Coalition for Corporate Justice, International Federation for Human Rights – NGOs welcome MEP initiative on responsible business conduct: Joint statement

• Al-Haq – Al-Haq’s Comments and Proposals on the Zero Draft Treaty

• Amnesty International – Think Twice: Can companies do business with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories while respecting human rights?

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – The Future of Work: Litigating Labour Relationships in the Gig Economy

• Center for Constitutional Rights – Silber, et al. v. Airbnb

• CORE – Access to Legal Remedies for Victims of Corporate Human Rights Abuses in Third Countries

• Corporate Human Rights Benchmark – Report on the 2018 Appeals Process

• European Coalition for Corporate Justice – A Human Rights Review of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive

• Friends of the Earth Europe – Leak: EU to back out of UN treaty on business and human rights

• Global Witness – Global Witness Celebrates Significant Agreement and Shift in Mind-Set from the EU on Investor Due Diligence

• Inclusive Development International – Human rights complaint filed to UK government against ethical sugar association Bonsucro

• International Service for Human Rights – HRC40 | Council unanimously recognises vital role of environmental human rights defenders

• Law Firm Business and Human Rights Peer Learning Process – Leading And Emerging Practice: Challenges and Opportunities for Firms Implementing the UN Guiding Principles: Summary Report

• OECD Watch – IDI, EC, and LICADHO v. Bonsucro

• OECD Watch – TuK Indonesia vs. Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

• Reporters without Borders – China: RSF calls for release of three journalists investigating workers conditions

• Shift – How Value Chain Mapping is Helping Companies Respect Human Rights
  

Government press releases and publications

•  Australian Government – Modern Slavery Act 2018: Draft Guidance for Reporting Entities

• Commission Nationale Consultative Des Droits De L’Homme, France – National Business and Human Rights Action Plan: a new mandate as Independent Rapporteur for the CNCDH
  

Company press releases and publications

• ABN AMRO – Human Rights Report 2018
  

In Court

• US Supreme Court – Jam et al. v International Finance Corporation
  

In the News

• Euractiv – Companies will support EU law on due diligence, but need assurances on liability

• Euractiv – Gearing up for fair globalisation and accountable business

• Fair Observer – The Way Ahead for a UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights

• Financial Times – Overseas Chinese workers sue Saipan casino for ‘forced labour’ 

• Frontier Myanmar – Garment factories supplying EU market accused of targeting union leaders

• International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – No Longer Above The Law, The World Bank Faces Fight Of Its Life

• Open Democracy – Corporate social responsibility helps hide workers’ rights abuse until brands can quietly exit

• Reuters – Dutch prosecutors target Shell over Nigeria oil deal

• The Times – Union row costs Fyffes its ethical recognition

• Thomson Reuters Foundation – M&S reveals tea suppliers to address worker abuse concerns

• Vice News – Barrick Gold has been hit with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit
  

Academic Materials

• David Birchall – The Consequentialism of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Towards the Fulfilment of ‘Do No Harm’ – Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies

• Mark Dawson, Daniel Augenstein and Pierre Thielbörger – The UNGPs in the European Union: The Open Coordination of Business and Human Rights? – Business & Human Rights Journal

• Radu Mares – Securing Human Rights Through Risk-Management Methods: Breakthrough or Misalignment? – Leiden Journal of International Law
  

Blogs           

• Amy Sinclair – Australia: Tackling modern slavery now a matter of legal compliance – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Ben Slade – Addressing inequalities of power: Landmark class action seeks justice for 15,500 Indonesian seaweed farmers affected by 2009 Montara oil spill – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Christie Miedema – Dhaka fire shows that Bangladesh must build better safety systems, rather than scrap the Accord – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Francine Mukazi – Enabling voices, demanding rights: How to ensure responsible investment in land for women – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Heather Moore – Good modern slavery policy, more than the sum of its parts – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Jans Eijsbouts – International business and human rights arbitration, a trustworthy remedy – Maastricht University Blog

• Kebene Wodajo – Social audit reform options: towards auditor liability and multi-stakeholder oversight – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Kirk Herbertson – What does the US Supreme Court's decision on IFC impunity mean for Indian fisherfolk? – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Maysa Zorob – Who is an 'employee' in the gig economy - and can the courts help protect labour rights? – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Patricia Carrier – The Modern Slavery Act turns four today. Is it working? And how can it be improved? – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Penelope Kyritsis, Genevieve LeBardon and Mark Anner – New buzzword, same problem: How 'worker voice' initiatives are perpetuating the shortcomings of traditional social auditing – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Rhoda Guetta – The CSR challenge for Chinese ELCs in Cambodia – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Saul Takahashi – ‘It is like hell’: Garment workers for Japanese brands say factory conditions violate their rights – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Vanessa Zimmerman – 5 reasons to read the Australian Government's new draft modern slavery reporting guidance for business – LinkedIn
  

Call for Papers, Submissions and Abstracts

• Call for blogs – Business and Human Rights Journal Blog – Cambridge University

• Call for session proposals and snapshot proposals – UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
  

Upcoming Events

• 24 April 2019 – Human Rights and the Immunity of International Financial Institutions - Reflections on the Landmark US Supreme Court Decision in Jam v. IFC – TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands

• 29 April 2019 – Shareholder Advocacy Leadership Workshop – Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility & Investor Alliance for Human Rights, New York, United States

• 30 April 2019 – Social Norms, Soft Law, Hard Law: The Evolution of Business and Human Rights (presented by John Ruggie) – Castan Centre, Melbourne, Australia

• 30 April-1 May 2019 – Rebuilding Trust in Corporate Australia – Business as an Agent of Sustainable Change (John Ruggie to present on 1 May) – Global Compact Network of Australia, Melbourne, Australia

• 8 May 2019 – FIFA and Human Rights: Impacts, Policies, Responsibilities – TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands

• 8 May 2019 – Care or duty (fulfillment)? Interdisciplinary workshop on due diligence – Universität Bern, Bern, Switzerland

• 14-16 May 2019 – Innovate Rights: New Thinking on Business and Human Rights 2019 – Australian Human Rights Institute, Sydney, Australia

• 23 May 2019 – Towards Criminal Liability of Corporations for Human Rights Violations: The Lundin Case in Sweden – TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands
  

• 24-28 June 2019 – Business & Human Rights Summer School – Human Rights International Corner, Rome, Italy

• 22-26 July 2019 – International Summer Course Human Rights Law in Context (special focus on business and human rights) – Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg in cooperation with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Nuremberg, Germany

• 12-13 September 2019 – Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association 5th Annual Conference – University of Essex, Colchester, England

• 25-27 November 2019 – UN Forum on Business and Human Rights – Geneva, Switzerland