For the session recording: Click Here
Human rights due diligence is a crucial tool to fulfil the corporate responsibility to respect human rights in line with the United Nations Guidance Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) regimes refer to legislative regimes requiring business enterprises to carry out human rights due diligence. These regimes, most of which are emerging in Europe for now, open way for a wide range of legal and regulatory possibilities, allowing a “smart mix” of regulatory measures to be instigated in order to effectively foster business respect for human rights.
Pacific countries face several business-related human rights absues such as irresponsible exploitation of natural resources including logging, land grabbing, environmental pollution and deep sea mining, which are exacerbated by specific challenges such as corruption and gender-based violence. This session will explore the implications of mHRDD regimes for business and human rights issues in the Pacific region, where awareness of international standards remains lows.
This session aims to:
- Highlight how human rights due diligence could respond to business and human rights challenges in the Pacific such as logging, land grabbing and deep sea mining;
- Discuss ways to facilitate an active engagement of affected communities in HRDD processes of businesses;
- Explore the role of human rights defenders in conducting meaningful HRDD, in line with the UN Working Group’s guidance on human rights defenders; and
- Examine implications of mHRDD regimes for businesses operating in the Pacific region or part of the supply chains of regime host countries.
Session organized by UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Pacific Regional Office
