Making submissions
The UN Working Group on business and human rights welcomes information relevant to its mandate. To submit information to the Working Group, send to: [email protected] or [email protected]
Information about submissions is available on the UN website here.
According to the official guidelines, communications of the Working Group can take various forms including:
- Urgent appeals which are used in cases where the alleged abuses or violations are time-sensitive in terms of involving loss of life, life-threatening situations or either imminent or ongoing damage of a very grave nature to victims that cannot be addressed in a timely manner by the procedure of allegation letters.
- Allegation letters which are used to communicate information about abuses or violations that are said to have already occurred or in cases not covered by urgent appeals.
Information to provide
For cases involving individuals or groups, the information should include, where applicable:
- Who is submitting the information? (This information will be kept confidential). Please provide clear contact details and mention any affiliation to national/regional/international NGOs or human rights networks.
- Who is the alleged victim(s) (individual(s), community, group, etc.)?
- Whether the consent of the victim(s) has been obtained. Are victims informed that if the Working Group or other UN special procedures take up the case, a letter concerning the alleged facts with the names of the alleged victims will be sent to the authorities?
- Who is the alleged perpetrator(s) of the violation? Please provide substantiated information on all the actors involved, including non-state actors if relevant.
- Where, what and how the alleged abuse(s) /violation(s) took place (date, place and detailed description of the circumstances); the information submitted can refer to abuses or violations that are said to have already occurred, that are ongoing or about to occur. Information should include the legal remedies, if any, taken at the national level or regional level, and any other relevant information on the various aspects of the case.
For cases involving laws and policies concerning business and human rights issues, the information should include, where applicable:
- A summary of the draft law, law, or policy. With regard to draft or existing legislation, please list the problematic provisions in a clear manner. If possible, please provide a copy of the legislative text in the original language as well as in English, French or Spanish (if not the original language)."