Commerce has a larger role to play in human rights, says Law Society
Date Published: 27-07-2010
Commerce has a larger role to play in human rights, says Law Society
Human rights demands should be key factors in business activity and commercial law says the Law Society ahead of a major human rights conference focused on business and human rights.
The joint symposium of the Law Society and the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre on September 17-18 at the university will debate the relationship between human rights issues and business, looking at a range of topics, including how human rights can determine how the public and private investors will invest.
The symposium follows on the back of a UN report compiled with input from 20 leading corporate law firms from around the world which found that there is ‘limited to non-existent’ coordination between corporate regulators and government agencies tasked with protecting human rights.
“The UN project highlights the impact commercial decisions have directly and indirectly on the rights of the individual and that many businesses have failed to consider their role in protecting human rights”
Law Society President Linda Lee says:
“The business community must accept its obligations to consider the human rights implications of commercial decisions. This symposium attempts to explore the space where business and human rights interact and find ways to move forward.
“The UN project highlights the impact commercial decisions have directly and indirectly on the rights of the individual and that many businesses have failed to consider their role in protecting human rights.
“The conference has been designed to debate these issues and to show how commercial practices can be developed to give sufficient weight to the importance of informed decision-making in relation to those rights.”
A series working sessions will see academics and legal professionals discussing key topics, including a session on the health industry and the conflict between commercial constraints and adequate rights of access to medicines, as well as how human rights feature in hospital management.
Other issues to be considered during the conference are the relationships between human rights and commercial law, employees’ interests, investment and the recent global financial crisis.
The final session will focus on the increasing trend for companies being liable for complicity in human rights abuses.
For details of the symposium and how to attend visit http://international.lawsociety.org.uk/node/7915
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Notes to editors:
The Symposium on Business and Human Rights is jointly organised by the Law Society of England and Wales and the University of Essex. It is supported by the Law Society Charity.
Journalists can contact the Law Society of England & Wales Press Office on +44 (0)20 7320 5764.
