"3rd UN Forum on Business and Human Rights: Civil society demonstrates the limitations of the Guiding Principles", 18 Dec 2014

 “The main deficiency of the Guiding Principles are the effective remedies for violations, which led the Human Rights Council to expressly request from the WG the inclusion of this topic on the Forum’s program,” said Juana Kweitel, program director at Conectas. “If the WG makes progress, identifying best practices and advising States to guarantee the provision of effective remedies to minimize suffering and make reparations to the victims of abuses, then the Forum will be a relevant setting. Otherwise, it will be just another showcase for companies to advertise their brands,” she added... Conectas participated in two panels. In the first, on effective remedies, the organization presented to the Forum the challenges facing Brazil to improve two non-judicial conflict resolution mechanisms: the “Adjustment of Conduct Agreements” and the Ombuds Office of the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank)... Conectas also participated in a panel on the integration of the Guiding Principles into the different UN human rights protection mechanisms, such as the special procedures and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The organization suggested that the implementation of the Guiding Principles by States be included among the items assessed by the UPR...