Publications

Report on the first Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Business and Human Rights in Tanzania
- BHRT - CHRAGG - IPIS | March 21, 2019
This report presents a summary of the outcomes of the conference titled “Multi Stakeholder Conference on Business and Human Rights in Tanzania” which was held in Dodoma, Tanzania on the 21st of March 2019, at Royal Village Hotel. The conference was part of the project “Improving, monitoring, research and dialogue on business and human rights in Tanzania”, which aims at building local and national

Toolbox for Business and Human Rights
- IPIS | January 25, 2019
On the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FIDO/IFDD) has launched the Toolbox Human Rights. This toolbox bundles the most important human rights conventions and regulations into one comprehensive website. This website aims to help companies, organisations and their stakeholders to easily align their policies/practices i

Annual Report 2017
- IPIS | August 21, 2018
In its 2017 annual report, IPIS gives an overview of its research projects and activities. It covers the four research programmes that IPIS focusses on: natural resources, arms trade, conflict mapping and business and human rights. IPIS explains among others its mapping work of artisanal mining sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo, its work on Human Rights in mining in Northwest Tanzania an

Annual report 2016
- IPIS | June 23, 2017
In its 2016 annual report, IPIS gives an overview of its research projects and activities. It covers the four research programmes that IPIS focusses on: natural resources, arms trade, conflict mapping and business and human rights. In 2016, IPIS continued to be a rally point for hard to get data on natural resources, often visualised in maps. Our flagship map for 2016 is the interactive map of art

Artisanal Gold Monitoring Pilot – Progress reports
- Guillaume de Brier, Hans Merket | June 20, 2017
With the support of the Public Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA), IPIS set up its Artisanal Gold Monitoring Pilot in Mambasa (Ituri Province, DRC) between April 2016 and July 2017. The findings of the research are summarized in three progress reports, which can be found below, and a final monitoring report, which can be found here. Progress report August – September 2016

Annual Report 2015
- IPIS | August 31, 2016
Download pdf or open with issuu reader http://issuu.com/ipisresearch/docs/2016_10_10_ipis_jaarverslag_2015_20

Third Party Review of the Bisie Security Report
- IPIS | July 19, 2016
The so-called ‘Bisie Mineral Stock’ encompasses about 1,000 tons of cassiterite, extracted by artisanal miners at Bisie mines between November 2010 and June 2015. A number of bans on mining and mineral trade in this region, as well as some hesitance further down the supply chain to buy untagged minerals, meant that mineral production was not marketed, but stored in warehouses. From 2014 onwards, n

Coloured gemstones in eastern DRC: Tourmaline exploitation and trade in the Kivus
- IPIS | May 11, 2016
Responsible sourcing efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to date have focused predominantly on the so-called 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) sector. Nevertheless, the artisanal exploitation of other minerals including semi-precious gemstones, such as tourmaline, can also make notable contributions to local livelihoods […]

Business, Human Rights and Uganda’s oil. Part III: Respect and Remedy: Implementing corporate responsibility under the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights
- Chris Musiime, Gabriella Wass, Timothy Kyepa | December 31, 2015
The following is the third in a series of four reports exploring business and human rights issues in Uganda’s oil sector. This series is a collaboration between IPIS vzw and ActionAid Uganda. The 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights operationalise the 2008 Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework. In accordance herewith, this third report assesses the duty of businesses to respect

Thorns amongst the roses. A Cross-country analysis of human rights issues in flower farms in East Africa
- Anna Mlynska, Flavia Amoding, Gabriella Wass | December 31, 2015
Floriculture is one of Africa’s most lucrative export sectors and can bring significant benefits to producer communities, but only where operations are conducted in a manner that is sustainable and respectful of the rights of workers and communities. Thorns Amongst the Roses summarises the human rights impacts that the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), the Global Horticultural Worker

The Right to Water and Sanitation: A Practical Guide
- Andrés Zaragoza Montejano, Evie Francq, Francesca Restifo, Gabriella Wass, Jean-Benoit Charrin | June 1, 2015
This guide is designed to raise awareness on the importance of the right to water and sanitation. It is addressed to those who work at the grassroots, and aims at helping them with practical ways to address the challenges of poverty and water issues. The guide adopts a bottom-up approach to highlight the steps that citizens and communities can take together with governments to address water and sa

Business & Human Rights in Tanzania: what’s on the agenda?
- Anna Bulzomi, Gabriella Wass, Lisa van Besouw | March 26, 2015
On 18 and 19 August 2014, IPIS organised a workshop on Business and Human Rights in close cooperation with the Tanzanian national human rights institution, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance. The workshop, which took place in Dar es Salaam, was designed and facilitated by IPIS researchers, Anna Bulzomi and Gabriella Wass, together with Business & Human Rights Resource Centre r

IPIS Insights: Diamonds in the Central African Republic
- Filip Hilgert, Fiona Southward, Lotte Hoex, Yannick Weyns | December 22, 2014
Since May 2013 the Central African Republic has been suspended from the Kimberly Process (KP) – a measure maintained by the mechanism’s annual plenary in Guangzhou, China, this November. The CAR’s transitional authorities have been seeking at least a partial lifting of this export ban so that the country might benefit from the much needed revenues its diamonds can generate.1 However, the authoriti

The Adverse Human Rights Risks and Impacts of European Companies: Getting a glimpse of the picture
- IPIS | October 20, 2014
This report presents the findings of a study undertaken by IPIS and commissioned by the European Coalition for Corporate Justice on the extent to which European companies are identified in concerns about adverse human rights risks and impacts. Gathering concerns raised regarding the human rights risks and impacts of companies listed on the UK’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and the German DAX 30, the

Working paper on China North Industries Group Corporation
- IPIS | October 14, 2014
The International Peace Information Service (IPIS) and the Omega Research Foundation (Omega) have undertaken a comprehensive review of one of China’s largest state-owned companies. Norinco – known formally as China North Industries Group Corporation (CNGC) was established in 1999 and consists of at least 46 member units which then have several subordinate companies, joint ventures and associate co

IPIS Insights: The EU draft law on conflict minerals due diligence: a critical assessment from a business & human rights standpoint
- Anna Bulzomi | April 4, 2014
On the 5th of March 2014, the European Commission proposed a responsible trading strategy for minerals from conflict zones. The proposal took place within a specific and timely context. As IPIS has long documented, the exploitation of natural resources can have adverse human rights impacts. Businesses operating in conflict-affected or fragile regions should therefore ascertain whether their direct

Business & Human Rights in Uganda: What’s on the Agenda?
- Anna Bulzomi, Gabriella Wass | March 5, 2014
A few days after attending the annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, IPIS Business & Human Rights Analysts Anna Bulzomi and Gabriella Wass boarded a plane to Kampala, Uganda, to run a two-day training with ActionAid Uganda for businesses and NGOs on “What does business & human rights mean, and how can we bring about a healthy relationship between the two?” This document s

Boundary spanning: moving towards strategic stakeholder engagement
- Anna Bulzomi | February 3, 2014
In today’s globally expanded production and supply chains, most companies have a hard time living up to their commitment to operationalize business & human rights principles. Countless multinational companies, State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in different countries, and across all industry sectors, have faced allegations of labor rights violations, human r

IPIS Insights: The 2nd Annual United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, Geneva 2013
- Anna Bulzomi, Gabriella Wass | January 14, 2014
From the 2 – 4 December 2013, IPIS attended the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights. The Forum was established by the Human Rights Council and is under the guidance of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. Around 1,700 people registered for this year’s Forum, spanning Civil Society Organisations, individuals who have been adversely affected by business activity, State de

Business, Human Rights, and Uganda’s Oil – Part II: Protect and Remedy: Implementing State duties under the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights
- Chris Musiime, Gabriella Wass | December 18, 2013
The following is the second in a series of four reports exploring business and human rights issues in Uganda’s oil sector. This series is a collaboration between IPIS vsw and ActionAid Uganda. In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, this second report assesses the duty of the Ugandan, British, French and Chinese States to prevent, investigate, punish and redress