Updates & Resources
The Case for Change: Why human rights defenders need a UK law on mandatory due diligence
A new Peace Brigades International (PBI) UK investigation shows links between UK companies, environmental devastation and attacks on rights activists calling for law to ensure effective due diligence.
Modern Slavery Act Committee: UK’s response to modern slavery has not kept up with the advances of other nations
The Modern Slavery Act Committee summarises that international best practice has moved beyond requiring transparency to requiring companies to perform due diligence on their supply chains, and take action to eradicate modern slavery in their supply chains.
Business and human rights index report for Northern Ireland
The report assesses the corporate implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Northern Ireland. It finds that none of NI's top 20 companies could demonstrate full engagement with the basic expectations set out by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The highest score was 54%.
4 in 5 of the British public support new laws to prevent exploitation of people in supply chains
Yaeno Fernandez Amano, Fellow at Anti-Slavery International, explores the latest polling results regarding modern slavery and supply chains.
Opinion on the UK Law Commission’s options paper including a criminal offence of failure to prevent human rights abuses
Opinion: The failure to hold to account criminally UK companies (and companies which operate in the UK and/or have UK listings) which are complicit in human rights abuses abroad stands in stark contrast to more promising developments in countries such as France, with the Lafarge case, and Sweden with the Lundin case.
Effectiveness of mandatory human rights due diligence
Policy briefing analysing the evidence base on the effectiveness of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.
New BIICL Report Looks at Preventing Human Rights Harms
As developments around mandatory human rights due diligence laws are taking place rapidly across Europe, the report considers the legal feasibility of introducing into UK law a corporate duty to prevent human rights harms.
Report: A legal opinion on Boohoo's supply chain and liability under an mHRDD law
A new legal opinion on Boohoo’s Leicester supply chain finds the fast fashion brand could have been held liable under a UK mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence law called for by rights groups.
UK Government opens consultation on “world-leading” due diligence law
The UK's new Environment Act 2021 (the "Environment Act") introduces a prohibition on the use of "forest risk commodities" in UK commercial activities, unless those commodities have been produced in compliance with local laws. It also introduces due diligence and reporting obligations in relation to "forest risk commodities".
Due Diligence and Transparency Legislation
This brief sets out the key requirements for strong and effective human rights due diligence legislation and practices to address the business drivers of forced labour along the supply chain.
Civil Society Paper: Debating mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Legislation - a reality check
The paper takes some of the myths surrounding the introduction of human rights and environmental due diligence legislation and fact checks it against reality.
Global Resource Initiative recommends the introduction of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence
The Global Resource Initiative is a government-convened task force which looked at measures to tackle deforestation and land conversation for global supply chains to have a positive impact on people and planet. It recommended the introduction of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence for agricultural and forestry commodities with scope to extend it in the future. It was recommended that the financial sector should be covered by a similiar obligation.
Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability
Report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the UK’s commitment to human rights.