IN 2011, the UN Human Rights Council created the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights with the primary goal of disseminating and implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles), and also to discuss good practices and provide support for capacity-building efforts on the subject, among other activities. Read more here.
Since the creation of the UN Working Group, Conectas and its partner organizations Dejusticia (Colombia) and Justiça Global (Brazil) have been monitoring and accompanying the group, leading them to create the Observatory of the UN Working Group (Observatory). Besides monitoring and accompanying the Working Group, the Observatory also proposes to fill the gaps in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, by stepping up the debate on issues such as access to justice and judicial remedies in cases of violations committed by companies. Another objective of the Observatory is to urge the Working Group to play a more active role, for example by maintaining a fluid communication channel with victims of human rights violations committed by companies.
In 2013, the Observatory prepared a review of the first two years of the Working Group (see the review here) and it also produced critical analyses of the reports released by the group, such as pilot surveys of States and companies and the relationship between indigenous peoples, human rights and companies. Read these analyses here.
IN 2014, CONECTAS will continue to monitor the Working Group, guiding the debate on the dissemination and implementation of the Guiding Principles in the countries of the Global South.
