2019 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

Session organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Webcast of the session:
Meeting link
Meeting number: 841 119 422
Password: Fy2ggiUD

Part 1 of the WEOG dialogue convened by the Working Group on Business and Human Rights will address the role of trade policy and trade promotion tools to enforce and drive responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence. It will involve speakers from government agencies and regional organizations to share experiences of integrating the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in a trade policy context, discuss lessons learned and engage participating stakeholders in a dialogue on how to use the area of trade as a lever to promote corporate respect for human rights.

The discussion builds on a Working Group report on “economic diplomacy” (A/HRC/38/48) that explored implications of Guiding Principle 4, which sets forth the expectation that States should take additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that receive substantial support and services from State agencies including, where appropriate, by requiring human rights due diligence. The report examined how States can use their leverage with respect to trade and investment promotion and the export/import process to also promote greater corporate respect for human rights.