International Business and Human Rights

Deadline to Register: April 19, 2016

Business lawyers have been known to quip that “business and human rights are mutually exclusive.”  In today’s international environment, that attitude may expose indifference to important interests of international business clients.  In fact, businesses that ignore human rights issues in their international activities can incur significant risks and potentially large liabilities.  After the Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed in Bangladesh in 2013, U.S. and European clothing manufacturers were forced by the pressure of events to contribute millions of dollars to compensate victims.  As another example, Chevron was ordered by local courts to pay billions of dollars for environmental damages in Ecuador.  Although the amount that Chevron will ultimately pay is still uncertain, there is no question that it has paid a significant cost in connection with the damage done in the foreign environment.

Indeed, there is a swiftly expanding and detailed array of soft-law principles that could soon crystalize into legally enforceable rules.  The United Nations, the OECD, the World Bank, the ABA, and NGO’s are promulgating guidelines and principles holding businesses responsible for human rights.  These are becoming more influential and exerting a greater degree of pressure to comply as globalization increases.  This presentation will review the leading cases and authorities in the area of International Business & Human Rights, providing background and discussing best practices for the road ahead.

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