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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.

In uncertain times, what are the certainties for our movement?

If the first few weeks of this year have shown us anything, it is that the only certainty in 2026 is uncertainty. What does this mean for the business and human rights movement? Our Executive Director Michael Clements looks ahead to the rest of 2026.

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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903 results

  • Post

    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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  • Series

    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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  • Series

    Law of unintended consequences: Rejection of the EU Due Diligence Directive will bring back Dutch Child Labour Act, driving legal fragmentation

    5 Mar 2024 David Ollivier de Leth, MVO Platform, & Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, SOMO

    If the CSDDD is not adopted in the final vote, there are wider implications: without a unifying directive, companies will face varying standards and expectations as important domestic legislative processes will develop - and resume - across the economic bloc. One such example is the Child Labour Due Diligence Act in the Netherlands, as David Ollivier de Leth, MVO Platform, & Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, SOMO explain.

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  • Series

    Due Diligence Directive: Europe’s vision comes under attack from within

    5 Mar 2024 Phil Bloomer, BHRRC

    For the last four years, the EU Commission, Parliament, and Council of member states have carefully negotiated new ground-breaking legislation to ensure markets deliver broader wealth sharing, climate security, and respect for human rights in corporate value chains. All efforts must focus on rebuilding EU-wide consensus after last week's failure by member states to endorse the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, argues Phil Bloomer, Executive Director of the BHRRC.

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    Two years of Russian aggression: Decisive action by Western states urgently needed to ensure responsible business conduct

    14 Feb 2024 Ella Skybenko, BHRRC

    It’s been almost two years since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, yet many companies continue to play a critical role in enabling the aggression that brings endless human suffering. While the US, the EU and other Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions, more needs to be done, including further guidelines and enforcement mechanisms.

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    In focus: Tech sector transparency & the Global South

    25 Jan 2024 Danny Rayman, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

    Our monitoring of tech companies' human rights policies and practice reveals poor transparency underpinning a litany of abuse linked to the sector, particularly in the Global South. Danny Rayman explains the key issues as we update our company dashboards to cover 120+ tech firms.

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