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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.

Cuts to a Little-Known U.S. Agency Undermine the Global Fight Against Forced Labor
Blog December 01, 2025
For several decades, the United States has strengthened its efforts to stringently enforce anti-trafficking statutes at home with practical partnerships to prevent forced labor abroad…
Recent Developments in E.U. and U.S. Human Rights Law Signal an End to Voluntary Corporate Standards
Blog August 11, 2024
Over the next few years, lawmakers and regulators in many jurisdictions will be deepening their implementation of new human rights laws that impose significantly higher compliance burdens for companies. Concerns over whether companies can tolerate the increasing challenges associated with compliance are fast being supplanted by the belief that companies must build ESG risk management systems into their cost of doing business…
New E.U. Law Advances Global Efforts to Eradicate Forced Labor in Supply Chains
Blog June 26, 2024
On April 23, 2024, the European Parliament adopted, by an overwhelming 555-6 majority, a landmark law that will establish a sweeping and forceful regulatory regime to prohibit any products made using forced labor from being sold (including online) within, imported into, or exported from the E.U. market…
House Bill Proposes to End Funding for State Department Programs Involved with Forced Labor in China
Blog April 08, 2024
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…
2021 Marked by SEC Focus on Climate-related Disclosures
Blog November 03, 2021
With the third quarter coming to a close and year-end reporting just around the corner, public companies should be giving careful thought to the evolving landscape for climate-related disclosures. While it did not promulgate any new rules in 2021 regarding these disclosures, the SEC has been actively commenting on climate change disclosures, and new rules are almost certainly on the way. Since 2010, the SEC has made clear that its existing disclosure regime requires issuers to assess and…
Congress A Step Closer to Making Corporate ESG Disclosure Mandatory
Blog June 25, 2021
On June 16, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would impose new ESG due diligence and disclosure requirements on publicly traded companies.  H.R. 1187 – the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2021 – would require publicly traded companies to disclose their commitments to ensuring that environmental, social (human rights), and good governance standards (ESG) are reflected in their operations, activities, and supply chains. The Legislation's Impact on ESG Due…
President Biden's “Climate-Related Financial Risk” Executive Order Pushes Forward on the Administration's ESG Commitments
Blog June 01, 2021
On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order to address predicted financial instability in the federal government as a result of climate change. This Executive Order showcases a dramatic change in how the Biden Administration's stance towards climate-finance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-based investments will differ from the previous administration. The Executive Order, titled “Climate-Related Financial Risk” seeks to “bolster the resilience of our rural……

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ABOUT

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.