Representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), national human rights institutions, a labor union, an employers’ organization, and United Nations agencies met to discuss the issues and initiatives on business and human rights in Asia, and their access to justice component. They met in a workshop held on 11-12 March 2017 in Mandaluyong city that was jointly organized by the Asian Consortium for Human Rights-based Access to Justice (HRBA2J-Asia), Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) and the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center (HURIGHTS OSAKA). The GOJUST – Human Rights Project (through CHRP) and HURIGHTS OSAKA financially supported the workshop.
Background of the Workshop
The workshop was organized as part of HRBA2J-Asia’s work on the business and human rights issue agreed upon in its Pattaya meeting in 2012. The Northeast Asia group of HRBA2J-Asia and HURIGHTS OSAKA collaborated in pursuing the business and human rights initiative. Aside from preparing two publications (Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia [2014] and the Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia – A Facilitator’s Training Manual [2016]),1 they also organized meetings linking the refugee issues to business and human rights held in Makati city in January 2016 and in Seoul in June of the same year.2 These meetings followed the HRBA2J-Asia meeting in Makati city in 2014 on general discussion on business and human rights.3
Workshop Program
The workshop had three basic parts:
a. Review of context of access to justice in relation to business and human rights – issues and practices - in Asia;
b. Discussion of concrete responses to the human rights issues arising from corporate operations in South, Southeast and Northeast Asia;
c. Discussion of possible regional platform on "Business, Human Rights and Access to Justice."
For further information, please contact HURIGHTS OSAKA.
Endnotes
1 HURIGHTS OSAKA, “A Facilitator's Training Manual on Business and Human, Rights,” FOCUS Asia-Pacific, March 2016, volume 83,
https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section3/2016/03/a-facilitators-training-manual-on-business-and-human-rights.html.
2 See HURIGHTS OSAKA, “Business, Human Rights and Refugees,” FOCUS Asia-Pacific, June 2016, volume 84,
https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section3/2016/06/business-human-rights-and-refugees.html.
3 See HURIGHTS OSAKA, “Workshop on Business and Human Rights,” FOCUS Asia-Pacific, December 2014, volume 78,
https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section3/2014/12/workshop-on-business-and-human-rights.html.