Business & Human Rights Resource Centre:
An introduction for development specialists
“I am often asked: ‘What do you think is the worst human rights problem in the world today?' I answer in a way people don't quite expect. I say, 'extreme poverty'.”
Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, now Executive Director, Ethical Globalization Initiative
A. Sections of the website that development specialists find particularly useful
Our website contains thousands of articles and reports about companies’ impacts (positive and negative) on development in over 180 countries. Many sections of our website relate to development, including:
Over 3600 company-specific subsections, including reports about their activities with an impact on development & poverty
2. “Issues” section includes:
- “Poverty/Development/Economic & social rights"
- “Linking development & human rights”
- “Project financing/loans”, “Impact assessment”, “Displacement”, “Cultural issues”
- “Disclosure/use of payments to govts.”
- “Globalisation”, “Trade”, “Sanctions”, “Export regulations / Export credit agencies”, “Import regulations”
- “Indigenous peoples”, “Women”, “Gender discrimination”
- “Children”, “Child labour”, “Migrant workers”
- “Education”, “Digital divide”, “Housing”, “Access to water”, “Microcredit”, “Privatisation”
- “Supply chain/‘Fair trade’/Procurement”
3. “Principles” section includes:
4. “UN & intl orgs” section includes:
- ““UNDP”, “UNCTAD”, “World Bank”, “IFC”, “IMF”, “OECD”, “WTO”, “NAFTA”, “CAFTA”, “FTAA”, “APEC”
- “African Development Bank”, “Asian Development Bank”, “European Bank for Reconstruction and Development”, “European Investment Bank”, “Inter-American Development Bank”
- “UN Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights”
5. “Company policy/steps” section includes:
B. Development specialists on our International Advisory Network
Our International Advisory Network is chaired by Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and President of Ireland. It includes people recognised for their development expertise, for example:
- Alpha Fall, Director of Programmes, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (Gambia)
- Margaret Flaherty, Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Daria Caliguire, former Director, Intl. Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECSR-Net)
- Cristina Echavarria, former Director, Mining Policy Research Initiative (Uruguay)
- Oded Grajew, President, Instituto Ethos; former Special Advisor to Brazilian President Lula da Silva
- Viraf Mehta, Chief Executive, Partners in Change (business partnership organisation associated with ActionAid India); former Director of Tata Steel’s rural development programmes (India)
- Felix Morka, Director, Social and Economic Rights Action Center (Nigeria)
- Tomasz Terlecki, Executive Director, CEE Bankwatch Network (Czech Republic)
- Sune Jef Skadegaard Thorsen, international lawyer specialising in business & human rights, Director of Lawhouse.dk (Denmark)
- Svetlana Tsalik, former Director, Revenue Watch, an initiative of the Open Society Institute
- Anuradha Vittachi, Director, OneWorld International Foundation
- Martin Kalungu-Banda, former Senior Policy Adviser, Private Sector Team, Oxfam GB; former Regional Social Performance Manager of BP Africa
- Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki, Director, African Women's Development & Communication Network (Kenya)
C. Development expertise among our Academic Partners
Our Academic Partners include several leading institutions with a focus on development-related issues, including:
- South Africa: Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape
- Thailand: Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University
- Chile: Institute of Indigenous Studies, Universidad de la Frontera
- USA: Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
D. Development specialists among our trustees and staff
Our trustees and staff include:
- Sumi Dhanarajan (trustee): Head of Private Sector Team, Oxfam GB
- Annabel Short (Senior Researcher): MSc Development Studies; former journalist in environment & development issues; contributor, “Why women are essential for sustainable development”
E. Companies we have invited to respond to concerns about their impact on poverty & development
Our free Weekly Updates are sent to over 3500 opinion leaders worldwide. Before including concerns about a company’s conduct in the Update we invite the company to include its response alongside. This ensures balance, and encourages companies to address concerns raised by civil society. We have sought and received responses to concerns about companies’ impacts on developments in all regions, for example:
- Angola: Global Witness report & Financial Times article raise concerns that loan to Angola's state oil company Sonangol will perpetuate corruption & poverty. Calyon, Deutsche Bank, KBC, Natexis, Royal Bank of Scotland responded. Standard Chartered, Banco Espirito Santo, Commerzbank did not. Click here
- Ghana: AngloGold Ashanti, to ActionAid’s concerns that its operations exacerbate poverty, harm health & environment in Obuasi. Click here
- USA: McDonald’s, to tomato pickers’ allegations that the company is using a new weak voluntary certification programme instead of adequately addressing working conditions & low pay. Click here
- Thailand: Thai Labour Campaign says women making footballs earn “poverty wages” – adidas responded, Mikasa did not. Click here
- India: Coca-Cola, regarding a protest by over 1000 people in Tamil Nadu against a proposed bottling plant, concerned it will further exacerbate water scarcity. Click here
You can sign up for our updates here.
F. Further examples of development-related reports on our website
- Global: Save the Children draws attention to high levels of child poverty in resource-rich developing countries, and calls on company leaders to increase their financial transparency in these countries.
- Brazil: How companies can contribute to food security – report by Instituto Ethos.
- Ethiopia: Oxfam says Starbucks exacterbating farmers’ poverty: the company & NGO then agree to work together towards a solution.
- India: Tata Steel’s rural development programme assists 650 villages in Jharkhand & Orissa.
- Global: Broad coaltion of development, human rights & environmental groups calls on World Bank & G8 nations to end subsidies for international oil industry that come “at the expense of the environment and impoverished countries”.
- Colombia: Business coalition established to help rehabilitate former paramilitaries.
- Global: “Trading Away our Rights: Women Working in Global Supply Chains”, report by Oxfam.
- Global: Development agencies, Deutsche Bank & other firms launch $75 million fund for micro-entrepreneurs.
