How can HRIAs help address/reduce legal risks related to business and human rights?
As part of the road-testing process of the Guide to Human Rights Impact Assessment and Management, IBLF, IFC and the UN Global Compact will be hosting the third, quarterly, online discussion on human rights impact assessments (HRIAs). This online discussion will be open for three days from Tuesday October 27, 2009, 10AM UK time to Thursday October 29, 2009, 5PM UK time.
Open to any company, the objective of this dedicated discussion is to assess and discuss the risks and opportunities around HRIAs from a legal perspective. This will be done through three complimentary angles:
· What? What is the nature and scope of legal risks relate to human rights for companies? What are the trends at the international, regional and national levels? How will this evolution (if any) affect business' strategies and operations in the near and long-term future?
· How? How well are legal risks addressed in existing HRIAs (and especially in the IBLF/IFC/UNGC Guide)? What kinds of tools, mechanisms and/or approaches can complement the legal risk analysis component of an HRIA?
· Who and with whom? How are internal counsel (regional and at headquarters) and external counsel involved with HRIAs, how should they be involved, and what should their roles be? From a legal perspective, who are the most relevant stakeholders that should be involved in an HRIA? How should they get involved - risks and opportunities?
Rachel Nicolson, Senior Associate, Allens Arthur Robinson and Jonathan Drimmer, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP will lead the discussion as joint guest contributors (see their biography below).
All participants are encouraged to post comments and questions throughout this three-day discussion. Rachel and Jonathan will be online at least once a day to contribute to the discussion as it unfolds. The discussion will take place in a secure online forum. All participants will be issued with anonymous identities. A limited numbers of places will be allocated to non-company stakeholders. These will be issued on a first come, first served basis.
If you are interested in participating in this online discussion, please contact Kathrin Bauer, Programme Manager at IBLF on Kathrin.Bauer@iblf.org, or +44(0)20 7467 3659.
Rachel Nicolson is a Senior Associate in Allens Arthur Robinson's Corporate Responsibility and Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice groups. Rachel has particular expertise advising on legal risk management and litigation involving 'corporate responsibility' issues, including corporate human rights obligations, international law and standards, foreign corrupt practices, environmental impacts of major projects and community/landowner issues. Rachel primarily advises the resources and banking and finance industries. This has included advice on establishing human rights policies and compliance programs, advising with US counsel on actions brought in the US under the Alien Tort Claims Act, and advising on potential risk of tort-based litigation, regulatory action, shareholder action and insurance related exposure in respect of issues such as the actions of security forces at project sites, resettlement of project affected persons, climate change impacts and engagement with state-owned enterprises. Rachel has advised on legal issues in relation to Australia, the US, the UK, Africa and Asia, including China. With others at Allens, Rachel has been assisting the UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights since late 2005. Before joining Allens, Rachel spent several years managing law reform and other World Bank and Australian government-funded development projects in the Asian region.
Jonathan Drimmer is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the firm's Litigation and International Regulatory and Compliance departments, and heads its Business and Human Rights practice area. His practice focuses on representing and advising clients in developing preventative compliance strategies, in navigating discrete questions and problems, and in enforcement proceedings and litigation related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Alien Tort Statute ("ATS"), cross-border U.S. government enforcement efforts, corporate social responsibility initiatives and other such areas. A former Deputy Director for the Office of Special Investigations of the Criminal Division for the US Department of Justice, Mr. Drimmer is a frequent author, speaker and commentator on corporate human rights issues, the ATS, and other areas of international practice. For many years he has taught courses related to business and human rights at Georgetown Law Center, and other international legal issues. Mr. Drimmer is also a Lexis/Nexis Contributing Expert on international legal issues. He is a graduate of Stanford University, and UCLA Law School.
RSS Subscription