The New UN General Comment on Business and Human Rights, Part 1: What Regulations Must States Put in Place when Private Actors are Involved in the Delivery of Essential Services?
Two weeks ago, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published the much-awaited new General Comment 24 – an authoritative interpretation of international human rights law –...
Human Rights, the Environment and Mining: Holding Transnational Corporations Accountable
Litigation that tests the division between corporate and state human rights obligations, and the synergies between environmental and human rights law, is currently underway in Peru. The Tintaya-Antapaccay mine in...
Hacienda Brasil Verde Workers v. Brazil: Slavery and Human Trafficking in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court has handed down its first judgment on slavery and human trafficking, and structural discrimination based on “economic position”. The case also contributes to the Court’s jurisprudence on...
Kiobel v. Cravath: An Example of How a Little-Known U.S. Law can be Used as a Pre-Litigation Tool Overseas
When Esther Kiobel—who believes Shell collaborated with Nigerian authorities to commit gross human rights abuses, including the murder of her husband—could not find justice by suing Shell in U.S courts,...
Foreign Legal Assistance applications: a strategy to advance accountability for transnational human rights abuses
In 2014, 40 million liters of toxic mining waste spilled from the Buenavista del Cobre copper mine into the Bacanuchi and Sonora Rivers, contaminating the water source of over 25,000...
Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument on Business and Human Rights
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are the first global set of guidelines for states and companies to prevent and address the risk of adverse impacts on...
Environmental Destruction: A Shift in the International Criminal Court’s Priorities
A recent policy document announced by the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has reiterated the importance of focusing on the prosecution of individuals who have committed atrocities...
Sweating in the Park or in the Factory: Beyoncé’s New Sports Wear Company and Respect for Human Rights
In April, Beyoncé released her album Lemonade. In May, she launched her sports clothing brand Ivy Park. The former was hailed as a ‘new civil rights movement’, while the latter...
The Silicosis Ruling and Its Far Reaching Implication on Access to justice and the Mining Sector
In a landmark ruling handed down on 13 May 2016, the full bench of the South Gauteng High Court in South Africa granted approval for a class action brought by...
Scoring More Than Goals: How mega sporting events’ preparation should take human rights protection seriously
When Brazil was chosen to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there were celebrations all over the country. Football is widely recognised as a national passion; it is easier to...
Part II: The intersection of Business and Human Rights at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The previous post on the Kaliña and Lokono Peoples case explained how the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) tried to overcome its jurisdictional limitations in order to establish corporate...
Part I: The intersection of Business and Human Rights at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
In its recent judgment in the case of the Kaliña and Lokono Peoples v Suriname, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) referred to a hotly contested and popular topic:...
