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Monday, November 25 • 13:30 - 14:45
When Governments Fail to Protect: LGBTI Rights and the Role of the Private Sector

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Session organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality

Webcast of the session:
Meeting link
Meeting number: 848 528 134
Password: xUFKhDFj

Background to the discussion
The publication of the UN Standards of Conduct for Business Tackling Discrimination Against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, & Intersex People presents for the first time a clear articulation of the rights of LGBTI communities and what role the private sector can play in respecting these rights. The Standards lay out specific steps companies should take to tackle discrimination within their workplaces and those of their suppliers and business partners, and also calls on the private sector to stand up for the human rights of LGBTI communities in the places they do business.

However, companies face a difficult challenge with regard to implementation of these standards in countries that prohibit marriage equality, or worse, criminalize same sex relationships. This raises the question of the role of companies operating in environments where governments either fail to protect the human rights of LGBTI people or restrict or violate those rights.

In this session, we will discuss how the UN Standards can be operationalized to help companies move from respecting the rights of their LBGTI employees in countries where the rights of LGBTI people are generally protected by law to most effectively advancing and standing up for those rights in places where they do business where those rights are restricted.

Format of the session
After a brief introduction and welcome from the moderator, this interactive session will begin with observations and thoughts on the UN Standards by the OHCHR representative on the panel and Salil Tripathy, Sr. Advisor of Institute for Human Rights and Business drawn from the series of region-wide consultative meetings held to help inform development of the Standards. The discussion will then turn to Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda for his observations on the impact the Standards have had on the ground in Uganda. The moderator will then bring the ILGA representative into the conversation to comment more broadly on the global impact of the Standards and ask for specific examples of where the Standards have helped advance local discussions in particularly challenging geographies. We will then pivot to the role companies have played (and should play) in working to change discriminatory laws as we bring the corporate representative into the conversation. Finally, Leanne MacMillan, Director of Global Programs at Stonewall will highlight the Business and Advocacy Guide Stonewall is releasing to help businesses most effectively meet their responsible under the fifth Standard to “act in the public sphere”.

Throughout the discussion attendees will be invited to join the conversation and share thoughts/observations. There will be NO PowerPoint presentations, no speeches or long introductions

Moderators
avatar for Dan Bross

Dan Bross

Executive Director, Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality
The Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality, is a global leadership platform to accelerate LGBTI inclusion in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The Partnership was launched by the Forum in Davos 2019 and currently has 14 Founding Corporate members (Accenture, BCG, Cisco... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Peggy Hicks

Peggy Hicks

Director, TESPRDD, OHCHR
Since January 2016, Peggy Hicks has served as director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division at the UN's human rights office. From 2005 to 2015, she was global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, where she was responsible for coordinating... Read More →
avatar for Leanne MacMillan

Leanne MacMillan

Director of Global Programmes, Stonewall
LGBT and human rights; business and human rights; developing countries and advocacy for human rights; strategic litigation; UN advocacy
avatar for Doreen Chow

Doreen Chow

Director, Human Resources, Procter & Gamble
Doreen is a champion for all kinds of diversity and the inclusion of every individual. She is a long-time employee of Procter & Gamble. Her career covers both Finance and HR, and she has worked for P&G in Toronto, Cincinnati, Brussels and Geneva. Doreen currently is the HR Director... Read More →
avatar for Salil Tripathi

Salil Tripathi

Senior adviser, IHRB
Salil is a writer and policy adviser with experience in researching corporate activities in diverse environments and applying international human rights standards to identify human rights abuses and and working with all sectors and stakeholders to build accountability and advocate... Read More →
FM

Frank Mugisha

Executive Director, Sexual Minorities Uganda
Frank Mugisha is a prominent advocate for the rights of LGBT persons, a respected champion of Human Rights, and an anti-violence advocate. He founded Icebreakers Uganda, an organization created as a support network for LGBTI Ugandans who are out, or in the process of coming out... Read More →
avatar for Zhan Chiam

Zhan Chiam

Programme Coordinator, ILGA World
ILGA World’s Programme Coordinator (Gender Identity and Expression, Sport and Human Rights), where he works to strengthen trans movements and organisations through advocacy support, movement building, research, and long-term collaborations such as reform of the International Classification... Read More →


Monday November 25, 2019 13:30 - 14:45 CET
Room XXV