TEN YEARS OF THE UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS – THE CASE OF PRIVATE SECURITY

 

 

June 2021, marked the ten year anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPSs), the frame around which ICoCA was built. The International Code of Conduct also passed its ten year milestone in November 2020. So what progress has been made in applying the UNGPs to the private security industry and what tools are available to assist companies in conducting rigorous human rights due diligence in fragile contexts?

 

ICoCA marked the 10 year anniversary of the UNGPs by releasing a Guidance on Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) for Private Security Providers. This launch event for the HRIA Guidance brought together a panel of experts to reflect on how the arena of business and human rights has evolved in the last ten years, how the private security sector fits into this, and what being a responsible business operating in complex environment entails. Among other questions panelists considered:

 

  • Why is rigorous human rights impact assessment a fundamental foundation stone for effective human rights due diligence?
  • How is this process complicated for businesses with operations in complex environments?
  • What developments on the horizon might influence the direction of the UNGPs in the decade ahead?

 

When

June 29, 2021

 

Panelists

John Bray, Director, Control Risks

Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, Associate Program Director, Investor Alliance for Human Rights

Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, Professor & Director, Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights, Geneva School of Economics and Management, Geneva University & Research Director, Center for Business and Human Rights, Stern School of Business, New York University

Anita Ramasastry, Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law, School of Law, University of Washington & Member, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Giuseppe Scirocco, Monitoring Officer, International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA)

 

Moderator

Jamie Williamson, Executive Director, International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA)