Addresses how responsible businesses can mitigate the risk of association with human trafficking and forced labour in their operations or supply chains. The dilemma for business is how to detect, prevent and take corrective measures against these hidden forms of exploitation. The webinar also explores suggested best practices to help companies mitigate related risks.

Addresses the issue of how responsible businesses can ensure that their procurement of minerals does not profit armed groups in producer countries, or provide such groups with incentives to control strategic mining areas and trading routes through violent means. In particular, the webinar examines the risks posed by conflict minerals to multi-national corporations (MNCs); for example, in terms of relevant legal requirements in the United States or the protection of company reputations. Additionally, the webinar explores suggested good practices to help MNCs mitigate these risks, including supply-chain due diligence and traceability initiatives.

Presents what children’s rights mean for business and how companies can respect and support in their decisions, activities and relationships. In this context, the webinar explores new resources developed by UNICEF and Save the Children that follow and build on the Children’s Rights and Business Principles. Among these new resources a set of tools developed by UNICEF is presented. The set of tools provides companies with practical guidance on how to integrate child rights considerations into broader risk management processes. These tools have been designed to explore the connection between children’s rights and business.

Addresses the relationships between businesses and the communities in which they operate, focusing specifically on the extractive industry. Business arguments for proactive and robust human rights due diligence are presented, and participants explore how even unanticipated and unintentional impacts on the rights of local people can pose risks to a company’s productivity, reputation and social license to operate in a region. Panelists shared practices taken to avoid negatively impacting the human rights of local populations and lessons learned that apply across sectors.

Provides an overview of how responsible businesses can mitigate the risks associated with human trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers in their operations and supply chains. Participants will examine situations where migrant workers form a significant part of the workforce and do not have adqueate protection from the government. Issues include violation of international standards, lack of monitoring mechanisms or human rights trainings for relevant state authorities. The webinar will also explore best practices to help multinational companies detect, prevent and take corrective measures against such hidden forms of exploitation.

Explores how responsible businesses can best ensure that workers within their supply chains located in developing and emerging growth countries enjoy adequate safety protection within the workplace. In particular, the webinar examines the challenges faced by companies with supply chains in regions with weak or poorly enforced national occupational health and safety regulations or those that have limited resources to upgrade their systems to international standards, as well as companies that witness a rise in the costs of production due to investment in health and safety education for their suppliers. Additionally, the webinar explores a range of relevant good practice as well as examples of multi-national companies that have addressed this issue.

The paper discusses how the adoption of pro-growth policies tends to result in lower levels of poverty, especially through opportunities for job creation. In particular, the paper calls for policies that promote greater access to credit and the protection of minority investors in order to reduce such levels of poverty. It also highlights the symbiotic relationship between a number of the Sustainable Development Goals, thus emphasising the importance of integrating the SDGs into government policies.

A collections of videos from the 5th Annual Women's Empowerment Principles Event in New York. These videos feature panelists showcasing what UN Global Compact participants are doing to contribute to gender quality and strengthening the Women's Empowerment Principles. Closing remarks by H.E. His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

Internationally-accepted frameworks now exist that define the responsibility of all companies with respect to human rights. This also extends to investors, who increasingly are looking to integrate human rights effectively and consistently into investment decision–making and corporate engagement. The webinar focuses on a new report, Investing the Rights Way: A Guide for Investors on Business and Human Rights, which aims to assist investors in evaluating human rights–related issues across their portfolios.

In many countries, businesses come across human rights challenges that affect Indigenous peoples, including discrimination, child labour and forced labour, lack of voice and/or effective participation in decision making processes, lack of decent work opportunities, and recognition of their land rights. This webinar, conducted by ILO experts on indigenous peoples, discussed contributions by government, enterprises, employers’ and workers’ organizations to the realization of indigenous peoples’ rights, as enshrined in ILO Convention No. 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples.

The recent factory-building collapse in Bangladesh, claiming the lives of over 1,100 workers, provided a stark reminder that there is more to be done to ensure better and safer working conditions for workers in Bangladesh, as well as across other regions. This webinar reviews how companies can help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Panelists include representatives of Better Work (ILO/IFC), who share global experiences and solutions, and leading companies in the garment and mobile telecommunications sectors, who discussed some of the practical steps they have taken to improve worker standards in their supply chains.

The private sector can respect and support the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals by, for example, implementing non-discrimination policies beyond minimum legal requirements or dedicating resources to support LGBT rights outside the workplace. Business action to respect and support LGBT rights is an example of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Global Compact human rights principles in practice. This webinar introduced LGBT human rights from the UN perspective, including increased attention to the issue since the Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 17/19 – the first UN resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity. The webinar also presented examples of businesses working to respect and support LGBT human rights in line with UN goals and the tangible benefits they realize as a result.