Partner Organisation Publications
Improving Paths to Business Accountability for Human Rights Abuses in the Global Supply Chains: A Legal Guide
Monday, January 29th, 2018
As part of its project on human rights accountability in the global supply chain the University of Essex Business and Human Rights Project has published a legal guide on business accountability for human rights abuses in supply chains.
The purpose of the guide is to identify paths to accountability for human rights abuses in global supply chains by looking beyond the ‘arm’s length transaction’ between certain contractual parties in a special relationship. It aims to provide advocates with an informative and interpretive tool supporting them to push the boundaries of civil liability, for human rights abuses in global supply chains, grounded in existing legal principles.
The underlying rationale behind this exercise is an attempt to overcome the disconnect between the law and the economic and social realities prevailing in global production networks.
Frank Bold Report: Comparing the Implementation of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive in the UK, Germany, France and Italy
Sunday, December 10th, 2017
This Frank Bold report analyses and compares the implementation of the EU non-financial directive in the UK, Germany, France and Italy.
The first part reviews the main trends, key differences and potential difficulties, or unexpected consequences, of the Directive. The paper then explores in more detail key substantive elements of the Directive, and how these have been dealt with by each of the surveyed states. This section includes an overview of the scope and format, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to report on, the information to be provided, the notion of materiality, the verification process, the basis of reporting and the consequences of non-compliance.
The paper also presents a comparative table and comprehensive analysis of the domestic transpositions of each of the four countries under review.
The Directive provides the first comprehensive framework for ESG reporting at the EU level but gives considerable leeway to Member states in the transposition process. Whilst generally the new EU-wide legislation has been a positive step, there are a number of gaps in the Directive itself, which have not been adequately addressed in the implementing legislation.
Nigeria: A Criminal Enterprise? Shell’s Involvement in Human Rights Violations In Nigeria In the 1990s
Tuesday, 28 November, 2017
This Amnesty International report examines the role that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell, played in a brutal campaign by the Nigerian security forces to silence protests in Ogoniland, in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, in the 1990s. Amnesty International calls on the governments of Nigeria, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom to investigate, with a view to prosecution, Shell’s potential involvement in crimes linked to human rights violations committed by the Nigerian security forces in Ogoniland in the 1990s.
The French Law on Duty of Care: A Historic Step Towards Making Globalization Work for All
Monday, 14th August, 2017
The European Coalition for Corporate Justice and Sherpa have published a paper in the Business and Human Rights Journal on the French duty of vigilance law.
The paper describes a four-year battle, fought by civil society organisations, trade unions and Parliamentarians, to advance a law that assigned a duty of care among parent and subcontracting companies to prevent human rights abuses in their operations.
The piece situates the French law within other regulatory attempts to require due diligence in a number of European countries. It also reviews the nature and scope of the law’s requirements and its compliance mechanisms.
The Corporate Crime Principles
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016
CORE partners, Amnesty International and The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), have launched “The Corporate Crimes Principles: Advancing Investigations and Prosecutions in Human Rights Cases”.
The Corporate Crime Principles are the culmination of work developed by a number of distinguished legal experts, supported by Amnesty International and ICAR, and seek to encourage state actors to combat corporate crimes more effectively. The Principles address the impunity gap by providing a common, global approach to the investigation and prosecution of corporate crime.
Obstacle Court: Executive Summary
Wednesday, March 9th, 2016
This is the executive summary of Amnesty International’s report ‘Obstacle Course: How the UK’s National Contact Point handles human rights complaints under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises’. It details the main findings and conclusions of the full report, which examines how complaints have been dealt with by the UK NCP across three stages – initial assessment, mediation and determination.
The report also assesses the extent to which the NCP complies with the OECD Guidelines’ implementation procedures and the extent to which the NCP’s statements and decisions are aligned with the Human Rights chapter of the Guidelines. Recommendations are made for improving the effectiveness of the UK NCP with regard to these findings.