NEWS News

On November 27-29, 2023, JaCER participated in the 12th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum is the world's largest event on the theme of business and human rights, with a reported 3,993 participants from 144 countries. The central theme of the Forum was " Towards Effective Change in Implementing Obligations, Responsibilities and Remdies," and a total of 39 sessions were held. A summary of the meetings are as follows.

• At this year's forum, the agendas of environmental issues (climate change and energy transition), access to remedy, emerging issues and perspectives (AI), human rights defenders, withdrawal in times of conflict, and responsible advertising seemed to draw particular attention. In relation to Japan, Ms. Kimiko Hirata, President of the climate policy think tank "Climate Integrate" and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, spoke at the plenary session, emphasizing the need to link climate change and human rights issues.

• A total of six sessions were held on access to remedy. The themes of the sessions were "Towards effective remedy for persons affected by large scale land acquisition: progress and opportunities in Africa," "The centrality of the victims in access to remedy for impacts of companies on human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean," "Ensuring Access to Justice: the Essential Role of Human Rights Defenders," "Towards Effective Remedy in the Finance Sector," "Worker-driven remedy in global supply chains: a practical perspective," and "Enhancing Access to Justice and Effective Remedy for Migrant Workers in the Asia-Pacific: What is the Missing Link?"

• The forum also served as a salon where stakeholders and interested parties from around the world could meet and engage in direct dialogue, with many participants gathering at the Serpent Bar and other locations in the UN building to exchange ideas. JaCER also exchanged views with Mr. Dante Pesce, former chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights; the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, an international human rights NGO; the Access to Justice Lab at Macquarie University, Australia; Climate Integrate, a climate policy think tank; and BankTrack, an international NGO, among others. They also attended a dinner and review meeting hosted by the United Nations Global Compact Network Japan, and deepened their acquaintance with Japanese participants in the region.

JaCER also took this opportunity to visit the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to exchange views with the Center on Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), the Catalyst Initiative, the Human Rights Center at the University of Essex, the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance (SEA Alliance), Know the Chain, and other organizations. All of these organizations seem to think that supply chains are the bottleneck in business and human rights issues, and they conducted specialized analysis and research using a variety of data to understand the overall picture and trade flows.

JaCER will continue to use these opportunities to build relationships and exchange opinions with stakeholders around the world to provide effective remedy assistance.

The 12th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights Website

https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/sessions/2023/12th-united-nations-forum-business-and-human-rights