Events

Upcoming Events

If you are a researcher interested in the debates surrounding the boundaries between dichotomies like the public and private legal spheres, national and international law, or the corporation and the state, please consider submitting a piece and participating in the workshop organised jointly with Tilburg University. 

The questions which the symposium aims to address is: How are human rights shaping economic laws and vice versa? 

To see the guidelines for submissions and all other relevant information, please visit this page. The abstract submission deadline is 31 March 2024. 

Past Events 

Symposium: Colonisation in, of and through Business and Human Rights - 26 April 2023, Tilburg University
The goal of the symposium was to reflect on the various meaning of colonisation in, of and through business and human rights. What are the multiple relations between colonialism, business and human rights? The symposium aimed at analysing this question from a 360-degree angle. Scholars from all social sciences and any country were invited to present their different perspectives on this pressing question.
Follow the above-mentioned links to read the contributions which focus on topics such as accountability of corporations, pursuing a decolonial approach for addressing human rights violations without sacrificing sustainable small businesses of the Global South or the rise and fall of the Energy Charter Treaty. 

Artificial Intelligence: The New Frontier of Business and Human Rights - 7-8 September 2021, The Asser Institute
Businesses take centre-stage in the development and use of artificial intelligence, the risks of which are increasingly addressed from a human rights perspective. The Business and Human Rights Working Group of the NNHRR and the Asser Institute invite abstract submissions for a one-day workshop focusing on the human rights responsibilities of private businesses that produce, sell and use AI technologies, as well as the responsibility of States in regulating private actors in order to safeguard human rights. Suggested topics include: human rights as a legal check on AI; the translation of business and human rights discourse into practice; embedding human rights compliance into AI products; and the use of AI tools in the framework of human rights due diligence processes. Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be submitted to c.l.lane@rug.nl before 14 June 2021 (please see the call for papers for more information). For the full program and registration details, see here.

Climate Change as a Business and Human Rights Issue - 15 October 2020
On 15 October 2020, the NNHRR Business and Human Rights Working Group held an online panel discussion on the intersection between climate change and business and human rights. As climate change has only recently started to be integrated in the business and human rights debate, this event aimed to bring in the voices of scholars and practitioners who are tackling corporate and state accountability for climate change from different perspectives.
The Network blog Human Rights Here published a summary of the event here.
 
Annalisa Savaresi (University of Stirling): The Carbon Majors and Climate Accountability: Lessons from the Philippines
 
Damilola Olawuyi (Hamad Bin Khalifa University): Corporate due diligence in the era of climate change
 
David Birchall (University of Nottingham Business School, Ningbo): Remediating climate change through the UN Guiding Principles
 
Please see below for the panellists' presentation slides and a recording of the event.

Annalisa Savaresi's slides

Damilola Olawuyi's slides

David Birchall's slides

Panel Discussion on "The EU Due Diligence Initiative: Promises, Possibilities and Pitfalls" - 1 July 2020
In the context of the Toogdag 2020, the business and human rights working group hosted a panel discussing the European Commissioner for Justice's recent commitment to new legislation on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence in EU company supply chains. Working group chair Chiara Macchi (Wageningen University) introduced the topic and moderated the session. Lise Smit (British Institute of International and Comparative Law) introduced the background to the initiative, including her work with BIICL and the EU Commission report. Ekaterina Aristova (Oxford University) discussed the broader trend towards mandatory due diligence and what this might mean for the EU initiative. Nicolas Bueno (University of Zurich) provided insights into parallel national initiatives and how the pertains to the EU initiative. The panel closed with a Q&A session. Please see below for presentations with recordings from the panel. 

Lise Smit's Presentation 

Ekaterina Aristova's Presentation

Nicolas Bueno's Presentation

Q&A Session

NLNBHR Workshop “The Gender Dimension of Business and Human Rights” - 9 October 2019
The Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research’s working group on business and human rights (@NLNBHR) recently held a workshop on the Gender Dimension of Business and Human Rights, under the auspices of the Asser Institute in The Hague. While it has long been recognised that corporate-related human rights harms affect men and women differently, there has been little attention paid to the gender dimensions within business and human rights scholarship and practice. This workshop sought to bring scholars together to provide an overview of the ‘state of the art’ within business and human rights in relation to gender issues and to facilitate a constructive dialogue around potential spaces for collaboration and paths forward.

A more elaborate report on the discussions and outcomes of the workshop can be found here.

FIFA and Human Rights Conference - 8 May 2019
NNHRR members Antoine Duval (Senior researcher at the Asser Institue and member of the Business and Human Rights Working Group) and Daniela Heerdt (chair of the Business and Human Rights Working Group) have organised a conference on FIFA and human rights, discussing the impacts, policies, and responsibilities FIFA has with regard to human rights. The Conference took place on May 8th at the Asser Institute in The Hague. 

PhD Workshop - 20 March 2019
On March 20th, the Business and Human Rights Working Group of the NNHRR organised a workshop for PhD researchers in the business and human rights field, supported by the network. A total of four business and human rights-related PhD projects were presented and discussed by other PhDs and senior colleagues from the field. Ben Grama presented his PhD project on the privatisation of remedy and corporate-based grievance mechanisms. Casilda Zarauz discussed a chapter from her research on extraterritorial human rights protection of indigenous people in the context of the right to consultation. Daniela Heerdt presented her work on shared responsibility as part of her PhD project on the establishment of responsibility for human rights violations that occur in the context of organising and staging mega-sporting events. Finally, Philipp Wesche presented his draft article on violence against business and human rights-defenders in Columbia. All presenters received valuable feedback and comments to revise and improve their drafts to continue their PhD journey.