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Global Business & Human Rights

Our Global Business & Human Rights blog features nuanced discussion regarding the responsibilities of multinational companies, governments and multilateral institutions towards sustainability, with a particular focus on international human rights.

House Bill Proposes to End Funding for State Department Programs Involved with Forced Labor in China
Blog April 08, 2024
House Bill Proposes to End Funding for State Department Programs Involved with Forced Labor in China
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a new measure, H.R. 4039, which would prohibit any funding for programs within the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development that involve materials or products with linkages to forced labor abuse of Chinese minority communities in the Xinjiang region…
European Union Approves Global Magnitsky-Style Human Rights Sanctions Regime
Blog December 08, 2020
European Union Approves Global Magnitsky-Style Human Rights Sanctions Regime
In a landmark development, the European Union's Foreign Ministers on December 8 approved an “Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy” that establishes a new mechanism for targeting systematic violators of human rights from any country in the world. The human rights community has colloquially termed the Action Plan “Europe's Global Magnitsky Act”, an homage to the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that was passed by a wide bipartisan margin in Congress and signed into……
Australia's Two Modern Slavery Acts
Blog August 31, 2020
Australia's Two Modern Slavery Acts
The Australian Government has launched an online register that publishes companies' statements on their compliance with the country's Federal Modern Slavery Act of 2018. The website, which is searchable and available to the public, marks the first government-run website tracking companies' compliance with efforts to eradicate modern slavery. Unlike comparable legislation passed recently in other jurisdictions, including the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015, Australia's Act makes reporting……
As the United States Targets China's Human Rights Abuses, Companies Should Prepare for Stricter Due Diligence on Forced Labor
Blog July 20, 2020
As the United States Targets China's Human Rights Abuses, Companies Should Prepare for Stricter Due Diligence on Forced Labor
As the United States seeks to take more forceful action punishing China for its escalating human rights abuses against Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang autonomous region and the citizens of Hong Kong, international businesses whose supply chains intersect with China should be prepared for new legislation and regulatory enforcement that could result in penalties. Companies will need to take additional steps to ensure their due diligence processes account for potential human rights……
COVID-19 and Global Human Rights: Shifting Priorities for Governments, Civil Society, and Companies
Blog April 16, 2020
COVID-19 and Global Human Rights: Shifting Priorities for Governments, Civil Society, and Companies
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant global public health crises since the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-20. The spread of the Coronavirus through every continent and major metropolis has led to unprecedented policy responses from governments both large and small. As a result, the human rights community is more closely scrutinizing the impact of these responses, while many company operations are more likely to overlap with the pandemic and evolving government policy in some……
Trump Administrations Proposed Prosecution of Pipeline Opponents: Weighing Human Rights Obligations and Congressional Support
Blog July 10, 2019
Trump Administrations Proposed Prosecution of Pipeline Opponents: Weighing Human Rights Obligations and Congressional Support
The Trump Administration is using the reauthorization of a pipeline safety statute as an opening to insert new provisions that would give U.S. authorities broader latitude to thwart and criminalize the activities of protestors opposing hydrocarbon pipeline projects.  The provision would apply to both existing pipelines and those that are under construction, with at least the partial intent of targeting large-scale protests that have encircled construction of oil transport infrastructure……
Pioneering Dutch Law Raises Global Standards for Eliminating Child Labor in Supply Chains – Understanding the Dimensions of Compliance
Blog June 07, 2019
Pioneering Dutch Law Raises Global Standards for Eliminating Child Labor in Supply Chains – Understanding the Dimensions of Compliance
The Dutch Senate recently adopted the Child Labour Due Diligence Act, a new measure with far reaching implications for the sourcing, manufacturing, and consumption of products that contain inputs from the bodies of child laborers. The new law is the product of protracted negotiations that have taken place over several years in the Dutch Parliament.  The Dutch House of Representatives approved the legislation in February 2017 with 82 of the chamber's 150 Members of Parliament in favor…
UDHR at 70: Taking Stock of Human Rights Today
Blog December 10, 2018
UDHR at 70: Taking Stock of Human Rights Today
As we mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights today, some might say that we have little to celebrate. The significant human rights gains of the early post-Cold War years appear to be coming undone as authoritarian populists take hold in countries that once seemed firmly in the democratic fold. For all of our solemn promises to “never again” permit the perpetration of genocide and crimes against humanity…
New Anti-Trafficking Legislation May Spur Closer Look at Manufacturers' Supply Chains
Blog September 28, 2018
New Anti-Trafficking Legislation May Spur Closer Look at Manufacturers' Supply Chains
On September 26, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 2200).  The bill would reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.  In July 2017, the House passed its version of H.R. 2200. Of potential consequence for companies, Section 133 of H.R. 2200 would enhance the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor that is issued and updated periodically by……
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Foley Hoag’s Global Business and Human Rights practice provides counsel to multinational companies, governments, and multilateral institutions regarding social, political, and environmental challenges.

Our advice to clients encompasses legal and reputational risk management with respect to human rights, including labor rights and the rights of indigenous peoples; the design and implementation of stakeholder engagement programs; and professional auditing services, ranging from due diligence desk-top analyses to on-the-ground human rights impact assessments and the monitoring of social, human rights, and environmental initiatives.

In addition, we provide clients with crisis management and mediation services with respect to disputes with impacted communities and stakeholder groups, ranging from indigenous peoples to non-governmental organizations.

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