What are the obligations of multinational enterprises and international investors as regards the environment and human rights and how are they implemented? The Business and Human Rights project is based on the Guiding Principles of the United Nations on Business and Human Rights and on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. It sets out the new international obligations in these fields and the legal mechanisms for implementing them. This project at UniDistance Suisse is carried out in cooperation with the NOVA Centre on Business, Human Rights and the Environment in Lisbon.
Business and Human Rights is a growing field looking at the impact of business enterprises on human rights. It is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In this field, legal scholars from public international law, private international law, comparative law, corporate law or criminal law, among others, combine expertise to develop new regulatory frameworks to ensure that companies conduct due diligence in their global value chain with regard to human rights. Scholars also increasingly look at how companies may be held accountable through civil or criminal liability regulations.
Publications
- Bueno Nicolas and Christine Kaufmann, The Swiss Due Diligence Legislation: Between Law and Politics, 6(3) Business and Human Rights Journal (2021) 542 – 549. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2021.42
- Bueno Nicolas, Diligence des entreprises, travail des enfants et minerais : Ce qui va changer, Plaidoyer (5/2021) 21-24.
- Bueno Nicolas and Claire Bright, Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence through Corporate Civil Liability, 69(4) International & Comparative Law Quarterly (2020), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589320000305
