Business & Human Rights in Tanzania: what’s on the agenda?
March 26, 2015On 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
December 22, 2014Since 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
IPIS Launches our Business and Human Rights Learning Programme in Tanzania
October 29, 2014IPIS always endeavours to conduct research in collaboration with local partners. For example, our four paper series on the role of the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Right (UNGPs) in Uganda’s oil sector has been a collaborative effort between IPIS and ActionAid Uganda. Recently, IPIS’ funders – the Belgian Development Cooperation – decided to fund a pilot learning
The Adverse Human Rights Risks and Impacts of European Companies: Getting a glimpse of the picture
October 20, 2014This 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
October 14, 2014The 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
April 4, 2014On 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?
March 5, 2014A 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
February 3, 2014In 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
January 14, 2014From 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
December 18, 2013The 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
Practice What You Preach: Theory and Practice of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan in Chad
December 11, 2013The past decade has seen a staggering increase in Chinese investment flows in Africa, leaping from USD 392 million in 2005 to USD 2520 million in 2012. Although there is a growing understanding that China’s impact on sub-Saharan Africa is far-reaching and complex, and that Chinese investments on the continent are highly diversified, the majority of business & human rights analysts have tended
In search of clean water: human rights and the mining industry in Katanga, DRC
November 26, 2013Today, around 1,8 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the most water-rich country in Africa, 51 million people lack access to potable water; only 26% of the population has access to safe drinking water. This is one of the lowest access rates in the world. In the Katanga province, rich in cobalt and copper, some industrial mining co
IPIS Insights: Kimberley Process: observations from the sidelines. Part I
November 20, 2013Ten years after the launch of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) this paper is the first in a two part series providing an overview of where the Kimberley Process and international efforts to combat the trade in conflict diamonds currently stand. It will analyse some of the present challenges facing the system and some of the potential solutions on the table. This part (Part I) will
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals
October 5, 2013On an yearly basis, IPIS takes part in the OECD Forums on Responsible Mineral Supply Chain. These meetings provide the opportunity to review and discuss the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Minerals and to present IPIS’s findings to a wide audience. Read IPIS’ news on the Forum IPIS at the OECD Forum on responsible mineral supply chain April 28, 2017 IPIS is delighted to part
IPIS Insights: Why businesses should assess human rights impacts from the outset of projects. SOCO International Oil Company in Virunga National Park, DRC
August 5, 2013SOCO International, a British oil company, is prospecting for oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park – a World Heritage Site. For the past year, their presence has been criticised for putting a fragile environment at risk. However, more recently, their impact on human rights has also been questioned. Below, IPIS looks at why it is so vital for companies to employ rights-re
Business, Human Rights, and Uganda’s Oil. Part I: Uganda’s oil sector and potential threats to human rights
July 12, 2013The following report is the first of a series of four collaborations between IPIS Research and ActionAid International Uganda. The series sheds a light on the oil sector in Uganda, its possible impact on human rights, and how government, companies, and civil society can best enable a positive bond between oil and the welfare of the Ugandan people. This first report opens by providing a situational
Upstream Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Final Report on one-year pilot implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten
January 1, 2013Final Report on one-year pilot implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten. This report is the final in a cycle of three reports on the pilot implementation by upstream companies of the “Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas”. The goal of the report is to p
Upstream Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Cycle 2 Interim Progress Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten
June 20, 2012Cycle 2 Interim Progress Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten. The following report is the second in a cycle of three on upstream companies’ implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten to the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. The objective of the following is to report on progres
Violence against women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Whose responsibility? Whose complicity?
November 1, 2011IPIS contributed to the research for and writing of this ITUC report. Summary: Eastern DRC has been ravaged by war and violence since the mid-1990s. Civilians carry the greatest burden of the conflict. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to such attacks. Hundreds of women and girls get sexually violated in their homes and at their workplace. Fuelled and motivated by Congo’s minerals, rebel a
Upstream Pilot Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas
November 1, 2011Baseline Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten IPIS executed the research for and the writing of this OECD report. The present baseline report is the first in a cycle of three reports on the implementation by upstream companies of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and Hi
