- Forum focusses on bridging gaps and accelerating access to remedy; sessions can be followed in person or virtually.
BANGKOK, Thailand, (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) is co-organizing the 6th United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific (2024 UN RBHR Forum), from 24 to 27 September 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG).
This year’s theme is “The Remedy Blueprint: Bridging Gaps and Accelerating Access,” focusing on exploring practical and innovative approaches to remedy and enhance the effectiveness of grievance mechanisms to ensure they are contextually appropriate, relevant to specific business sectors and designed with input from rights holders.
The 2024 UN RBHR Forum will convene stakeholders to explore what solutions are still needed to realize access to effective remedy and justice in Asia and the Pacific. The Forum will focus on the following three parallel tracks: Domestic remedy, Transnational remedy, and Complementary strategies to facilitate access to remedy.
The Forum aims to:
- Assess progress and challenges in promoting access to remedy in Asia and the Pacific, and reflect on lessons learned;
- Outline the role and importance of international frameworks, domestic legislation, sector-specific approaches and complementary mechanisms in facilitating access to remedy;
- Stimulate innovation and foster multi-stakeholder dialogue and peer-to-peer learning to promote access to effective remedy.
The ILO will organize two main sessions:
The ILO will also deliver “Training on the UNGPs, the ILO MNE Declaration, and OECD Guidelines with a Focus on Access to Remedy” on 24 September 2024, from 14:30 to 16:00 ICT. This training will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the common elements across the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (ILO MNE Declaration), and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD MNE Guidelines), with a special emphasis on the mechanisms for access to remedy as outlined in the three instruments.
A side session “Accelerating the Integration of Labour Rights in Management Education in Asia-Pacific” will be organized on 24 September 2024, from 16:30 to 17:30 ICT, in partnership with the Global Business School Network, the University of Geneva, and Winrock International. Sessions can be attended in person or virtually.
