Event Oct. 11, 2010: Corporate Accountability at the Crossroads: Human Rights Tools and Tactics to Help Hold Businesses Accountable

Monday, October 11, 2010 6:30pm-8:00pm

A Public Forum

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Room Bungener, Rothschild building, 20 Rue Rothschild, Geneva

In the context of the impending close of the mandate of the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, we invite you to join us at a special public forum engaging a diverse range of human rights practitioners, activists, scholars, and policymakers from around the world. This forum will highlight the importance of strengthening the voice and capacity of those whose human rights are affected by business, focusing particularly on the development and utilization of new documentation, advocacy tools, strategies and tactics. Participants will have the opportunity to preview a new educational and advocacy tool—the Business and Human Rights Documentation Project (b-hrd.org). Participants will learn more about a new portal on the human rights impacts of the oil industry in Ecuador, the Gulf Coast, and Nigeria. Human rights advocates from India and Brazil will also discuss ongoing challenges of documenting business-related abuses, and share their experiences creating and utilizing multiple advocacy tools and tactics to hold business actors to account in a globalized world. Confirmed panelists include:

Bhanumathi Kalluri—Director, Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children & Secretariat of International Women and Mining Network, India

Mauricio Lazala—Head of Latin America & Middle East; Senior Researcher, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, UK

Niko Lusiani—Co-coordinator of the Corporate Accountability Working Group, International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), USA, Co-founder of BHRD.org

Smita Narula—Faculty Director, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ), New York University School of Law, USA, Co-founder of BHRD.org

Fernando G. V. Prioste—Legal Advisor, Terra de Direitos, Brazil

The panel will be followed by a lively, open discussion among the many human rights practitioners, activists, scholars, and policymakers working for corporate accountability from around the world. For more information, visit www.escr-net.org.