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Opinion

This section contains opinion pieces from the business and human rights movement, written by both our global team and many authors outside of our organisation. These have been curated and published by the Business and Human Rights Centre.

Rebuilding Gaza: turning a profit from peace?

After two years of devastation and unimaginable loss, the ceasefire in Gaza and the promise of humanitarian aid resuming under UN control is welcome and long overdue. Accountability, heightened human rights due diligence and Palestinian leadership must be prioritised and placed at the centre of any plans.

Opinion series

Road to COP30

Vital perspectives from our team, partner organisations and allies on the key business and human rights issues at COP30 - from the transformative potential of benefit sharing to what the renewable energy agenda means for Indigenous Peoples and workers.

Binding treaty 2025: Essential discussions and perspectives

Ahead of the thematic intersessional consultations held in April, June and August to prepare for the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on a binding treaty in October 2025, experts reflect on articles of the treaty that will be discussed and steps to take for concrete progress in the treaty process.

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

Experts from civil society, governments and business discuss what Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence could mean for advancing human rights in business.

All opinion pieces

Explore all of the opinion pieces we've written and received below. Open the filter to refine the list by topic tags or to enter search terms, and subscribe to the RSS feed to receive updates regarding new posts in your feed reader of choice!

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    Worker organising as a remedy for forced labour

    5 Jun 2024 Jennifer Gordon, Professor of Law, Fordham Law School

    Effective remedies for forced labour must include the full participation and engagement of workers alongside binding regulation, including forced labour import bans and legally binding agreements, if they are to be impactful and durable, argues Jennifer Gordon, Professor of Law at Fordham Law School. This will guarantee labour rights and dignity for workers.

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    CSDDD – A timid step forward in the fight against corporate human rights abuse

    21 May 2024 Jeffrey Vogt, Solidarity Center, Ruwan Subasinghe, International Transport Workers’ Federation & Paapa Danquah, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

    Key TU representatives welcome the approval of the CSDDD, but raise concerns over its ambition. They urge member states to take full advantage of the flexibility allowed to create stronger rules that will be more effective in protecting the rights of workers and trade unions when transposing into national law.

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    Sweden's CSDDD U-turn crucial step forward

    13 May 2024 Mathieu Vervynckt, Swedwatch

    Sweden’s fresh support for the CSDDD demonstrates there is a decisive affinity within the Council of Europe to hold companies accountable, argues Mathieu Vervynckt, Swedwatch.

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    Climate science and fossil fuel accountability (part 2)

    29 Apr 2024 Lucia Saborio Perez, Leigh Day

    How climate science can be used in court to hold fossil fuel companies accountable (part 2): Climate science and emissions reductions – assessing targets and measures

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    Climate science and fossil fuel accountability (part 1)

    29 Apr 2024 Lucia Saborio Perez, Leigh Day

    How climate science can be used in court to hold fossil fuel companies accountable (part 1): Climate science and causation – the role of attribution science

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    The case for a people-centred just energy transition

    23 Apr 2024 Joan Carling, Executive Director, Indigenous People’s Rights International, Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

    A global energy transition that is fast without being fair to Indigenous Peoples, workers and other communities risks falling flat. The International Energy Agency can help accelerate these efforts globally by recognising the centrality of human rights in the energy transition.

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  • Series

    Beyond tier 1: Exploring “substantiated knowledge” in the German Supply Chain Act

    10 Apr 2024 Johannes Blankenbach and Saskia Wilks, BHRRC

    We analysed our own database of allegations of abuse against companies headquartered in Germany to unpick how “substantiated knowledge” can be most effectively applied to ensure the spirit of the law is upheld.

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    French case law confirms necessity to reassess the weight given to audits in business and human rights court cases

    26 Mar 2024 Laura Bourgeois, Litigation and advocacy officer at Sherpa & Clara Grimaud, Legal intern at Sherpa

    Recent French case law shows that social audits are being given undue weight in some business and human rights court cases. Laura Bourgeois and Clara Grimaud from Sherpa explore what steps could be taken to reduce the illegitimate reliance on audits as evidence in court.

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    Step change for corporate accountability as EU member states endorse due diligence directive

    20 Mar 2024 Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, & Phil Bloomer, BHRRC

    Former Secretary General of the ITUC, Sharan Burrow, and BHRRC Executive Director, Phil Bloomer, reflect on the endorsement by EU member states of the CSDDD - the most important advance in business and human rights since the signing of the UN Guiding Principles in 2011.

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    Latin America and the Caribbean: New standards on the horizon to protect human rights defenders fighting harmful business practices

    19 Mar 2024 Lady Nancy Zuluaga Jaramillo, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

    From fighting deforestation and illegal mining in the Amazon to raising concerns about the impacts of megaprojects and the climate crisis, Indigenous peoples, community leaders, environmental defenders, peasants and workers play a pivotal role in protecting their rights, territories, natural resources and the environment across Latin America and the Caribbean. All this, while experiencing a frequently hostile environment, and where challenging corporate power might prove extremely dangerous or even deadly. Despite these hazardous circumstances, the Inter-American Human Rights system is demonstrating real leadership in key areas of law and policy to protect human rights defenders.

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