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:...
Understanding One of the Worst Environmental Disaster in Brazil’s History
On November 5 2015, the Fundão dam—property of the mining company Samarco—collapsed, sending more than forty billion litres of ore tailings into a small town called Bento Rodrigues district, in...
Nigerian Farmers Can Sue Shell in Dutch Court: Precedent for Transnational Cases against Multinationals
A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in The Hague signals new hope on the horizon for victims seeking a judicial remedy for corporate negligence or human rights abuse....
Jade and Conflict in Myanmar: Regional Regulatory Instruments, Regulatory Gaps and Future Implications for Ethical Business
Global Witness has recently presented the findings of a twelve-month investigation which revealed how the jade industry in Myanmar, worth nearly half of the country’s GDP, is enriching the state...
Indigenous Rights Litigation meets Global Climate Change in Queensland Australia
Indigenous rights are currently going head to head with global climate injustice in Queensland, Australia. An important and novel judicial review case is afoot in the Federal Court of Australia,...
