2019 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

Interpretation provided in English, French and Spanish

Session organized by Pillar Two, Article One, UN Global Compact, Global Compact Network Kenya, Global Compact Network Australia, Global Compact Network Thailand, Global Compact Network Brazil, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and the International Organization of Employers.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights talk about the importance of governments not assuming that businesses always prefer state inaction to action on business respect for human rights. There are very good reasons for business to support policy evolution and regulation around respect for human rights, including to ensure that there are clear expectations for their conduct, a more level playing field and a framework for the provision of concrete support for business on how to meet growing stakeholder expectations.

The session will explore, through practical examples, why business sees value in pushing for regulatory and policy reform and the methods they have used to achieve reform. The session will include up to four companies from different geographical regions explaining why they chose to actively support a policy or regulatory change and how they did so, including some of the challenges and opportunities they encountered. It will also include commentary from government, a business association and civil society on the pros and cons of business pushing for change, including what advocacy might mean for multi-stakeholder engagement.

The aim is to encourage companies from a wide range of jurisdictions to meaningfully consider what their role may be in supporting reform as well as to ensure more effective action by businesses that want to engage in these types of initiatives. The session also aims to provide governments with an insight into how best to engage businesses in these initiatives and to encourage civil society representatives in the audience to consider how they might best work alongside business to drive reform forward.