Virtual Roundtable on Business and Human Rights

Roundtable on Business and Human Rights, organised by the U.S. and Japanese Missions

As we move toward HRC47 (the 47th regular session of the Human Rights Council) during which we will commemorate 10 years of progress under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR), the United States and Japan organise a virtual roundtable on BHR on 10 June at 15:00 CEST. Four external experts focus on the idea of a framework agreement on BHR as an alternative to the legally binding instrument currently under negotiation in the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group chaired by Ecuador.

Attendance at the 10 June roundtable is limited to the business community.

Below is the list of speakers and the general theme of their remarks:

• Welcome remarks: co-convenors U.S. and Japanese Missions in Geneva
• Introductory remarks: ICC and IOE
• Rationales, strengths, and challenges of framework treaties: Prof. Steven Ratner, University of Michigan
• A framework treaty on business and human rights: structure, elements, potential: Dr. Claire Methven O’Brien, Danish National Human Rights Institute
• Strengths and challenges of a business and human rights framework treaty: Prof. Peter Muchlinski, University of London SOAS
• Perspectives on the value added of a framework treaty: Prof. Michael Windfuhr, UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights