The second UN Forum on business & human rights has its first official day on Tuesday 3 December…The keynote speaker at the second plenary on challenges faced by human rights defenders was professor Joseph Stiglitz. He gave an impassioned speech on the imperative for business to become much more socially responsible and avoid abusing human rights by moving on from the, in his view, erroneous premise that maximising profits will by itself bring social benefits…A multitude of side sessions followed…While some people may question the ability of such a large gathering (over 1700 registered participants…) to delve in depth into the different issues and stimulate a meaningful debate, the large attendance by itself testifies to the fact that people…see at least some value in the Forum…Some people see it as a unique opportunity…to achieve the common goal of a world where businesses fully respect human rights everywhere…