10th UN Forum on business and human rights

A RECORDING OF THIS SESSION IS AVAILABLE HERE.


Session organized  by the International Trade Center Trade for Sustainable Development department and the UN Working Group on business and human rights
 
Interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish
 

Short description of the session:
After more than two decades of private governance initiatives to promote corporate social responsibility and responsible business conduct, human rights, labour rights and environmental rights continue to be violated within global supply chains. Particularly vulnerable are the millions of workers lower down the supply chain- including women, migrant and children workers who constitute a ‘hidden’ workforce, remaining constantly at risk. To address this, the European Commission in 2020 announced that it will release the draft of a new mandatory HREDD legislation in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The panel will explore implications of this legislation for SMEs in contributing to building a more decent supply chains. It will also reflect on the role of other “smart mix” measures which could complement mandatory HREDD legislation to prevent, mitigate and remediate human rights abuses. Building on ITC’s active work on inclusive trade and SMEs, the session will look at the power of SMEs to bring about transformational change, drive poverty and inequality reduction, and ‘lift up the bar’ for the most at-risk rights-holders to be at the centre of all business efforts.

Objectives:

• Illustrate the need for ‘smart mix’ approaches to ensure that human rights and environmental standards are uphold in supply chains
• Explore the risks and opportunities brought by the EU legislation for SMEs in the Global South and demonstrate the crucial role of SMEs in ensuring that basic human rights are protected
• Explain how ITC, OHCHR and the UN Working Group on business and human rights could support SMEs and provide solutions for human rights-holders to be put at the centre of any business decisions

Key discussion questions:

• How will the new EU legislation affect SMEs in the Global South?
• What tools and type of support will be needed to implement the law in a meaningful way, for the workers and  communities on the Global South?
• How to avoid that the HREDD responsibility and compliance burden is all shifted to SMEs?
• What opportunity this new legislative context can bring for SMEs?

Background to the discussion: 
The European Union’s proposed mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) legislation will have significant consequences for companies and supply chains worldwide. The session will explore the challenges and opportunities of the law for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It will discuss how SMEs in the Global South will play a crucial role in ensuring that human and environmental rights are fully respected in the production and manufacturing of commodities reaching the European markets, and adequately promoted in their communities.