ESCR-Net Collective Report on Business and Human Rights - 2008
ESCR-Net’s Corporate Accountability Working Group is pleased to announce the release of its Collective Report on Business and Human Rights.
Presented directly to Members of the 8th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva during the first week of June 2008, this Collective Report on Business and Human Rights aims to bring light to situations in which companies have harmed the enjoyment of human rights.
Prepared in collaboration with 40 civil society organizations around the world, this Collective Report surveys 159 cases of alleged human rights abuses by, or involving, companies in order to illuminate the scope of these incidents, analyze existing gaps in the protection of human rights in the context of business, and offer recommendations to the United Nations on how to strengthen business accountability to human rights. Envisioned as a space to offer testimony of the actual impacts that business conduct has on the human rights of individuals, communities and indigenous peoples, the report reasserts in qualitative terms that business impacts on fundamental rights are widespread. That is, they are not limited to certain countries or regions, nor do they occur only within certain sectors or affect only certain rights. In the surveyed cases from 66 countries, business enterprises have had significant negative impacts upon the enjoyment of all types of human rights, in different political systems, around the world and across industries.
Based on this evidence and analysis, the Collective Report on Business and Human Rights concludes by calling on the UN to establish a broader follow-on mandate on business and human rights, ensure consultation with adversely affected individuals, communities and indigenous people, initiate an inter-governmental process for the adoption of global standards on business and human rights, intensify efforts to strengthen redress and accountability and enhance accountability and capacity of governments to fulfill their obligation to protect.
The Executive Summary in English and French and the full report in English can be downloaded below.
For more information on other activities of ESCR-Net at the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council, in particular the Joint Oral Statement and Side-Event “Voices from the Ground: The Human Face of Human Rights and Business,” visit the Corporate Accountability Working Group’s advocacy webpage.
We send our most sincere thanks to everyone involved for contributing to ESCR-Net’s collective efforts.