Geneva: Reflections from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

What a fabulous opportunity to hear Harvard Law School Professor Tyler Giannini, Clinical Director of the Human Rights Program-Harvard, and his former student, Harvard Alum Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIArb, speak at the Harvard Human Rights and Business Association event, with Mohini (Mo) Tangri moderating:

GENEVA: REFLECTIONS FROM THE UN FORUM ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Professor Giannini opened with a brief history of the the legacy of John Ruggie, one of the architects of the United Nations Global Compact, as well as of the Millennium Development Goals, the precursor of the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2005, then Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Ruggie as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights. In that capacity, Ruggie developed a set of principles, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which the The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) endorsed unanimously in 2011.

Giannini’s talk was followed by a short presentation by Elena Athwal on the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights 12th Annual Forum, in which she moderated the first ever Global Youth Panel, featuring youth activists from around the world, including:
Deives Picáz
Caroline Lichuma
Mihail Platinda
Shivani Agarwal
Oswald Anonadaga
and Pornchita (Duang) Fapratanprai

We were then joined by Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIArb (currently on a country visit to Morocco!) who discussed the mandate of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, which includes the Annual Forum, established by the Human Rights Council in 2011, and which has become the world’s largest global gathering on business and human rights, with over 4000 participants this past November. The UN WGBHR’s mandate as outlined in resolution 17/4, involves promoting and implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, supporting capacity-building, advising on legislation related to business and human rights, conducting country visits, enhancing remedies for human rights affected by corporate activities, integrating gender perspectives, and coordinating with various international bodies and organizations. Additionally, per resolution 35/7, the Working Group is tasked with considering the implementation of these principles in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The session was expertly moderated by our gracious host, Mohini (Mo) Tangri.

We are so grateful for the time given to us by our esteemed speakers, Professor Giannini and Professor Olawuyi, and very much look forward to more exciting engagements in the coming spring term!

A huge thank you goes out to the incredible work of the HuB team in putting this all together, and making it such a great success! 😍
Mohini (Mo) Tangri
Ivana Anna Nikolic
Jessie Hsia
Begüm Acar
Kayla Lee
Salomé Van Bunnen
Anastasiya Donets
Zohaib Babar
and Yuxin Zhang.

(Post author: Elena Athwal)