12 December 2018 

• In landmark statement major brands & investors say protection of human rights defenders & civic freedoms is essential for profitable & sustainable business
• Citigroup, HP, ICMM, the International Organisation of Employers, Nestlé & Unilever among others issued statements on the importance of respecting human rights
• The Human Rights Defenders World Summit launched an action plan demanding business & financial institutions adopt a zero-tolerance policy on violence or threats towards defenders
• More than 200 CSOs signed an open letter calling on govts. & development banks to respect human rights and safeguard those who defend them

• Bulletin explores concerns around the Zero Draft treaty & suggests three tests the treaty must meet in order to be effective; also includes new case profiles

• Is reputational risk a sufficient motivation to ensure companies comply with the Modern Slavery Act? Dr. Jolyon Ford, Australian National University

• Identities in the crosshairs—censoring LGBTQ internet content around the world  Miles Kenyon, Adam Senft & Ronald Deibert, CitizenLab
• We invited Netsweeper to respond; response provide

• Amid broader restrictions on civil freedoms, Poland bars 13 environmental activists from entering country & participating in COP24
• Guide launched on how investors can address social dimension of climate change
• Fifty company CEOs sign open letter appealing world leaders to urgently address climate change

• Areas of focus include corporate accountability in supply chains, migrant & informal worker rights, and transnational collective bargaining

Institute for Human Rights and Business

APA News (Senegal) 

• We invited Kenya Commercial Bank to respond; response provided
• We invited Equity Bank & Stanbic Bank to respond; they did not

Network for Community Resource Governance

• Letter from NGO alleges new, less fertile, location led to reduced food production & that company did not fulfil pledges to provide food & supplies
• We invited First Quantum Minerals to respond; it did not

Quartz Africa

• Demand for cobalt is rising as it forms a major component of lithium-ion batteries in smartphones & electric vehicles
• Move is part of govt. bid to increase natural resource revenue; research shows significant loss of revenue is due to corruption in sector

Microsoft; Reuters; Wall Street Journal

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Juneau Empire

Thomson Reuters Foundation; Guardian (UK) & others

• UK to investigate Top Glove & WPR, which supply the National Health Service
• Top Glove also supplies Australian company Ansell
• Articles include company comments

Asahi Shimbun

Quartz

• FGV supplies palm oil to companies including Cargill, Hershey's, Mars & Nestlé

Jakarta Post

Industriall & others

Euractiv

Guardian (UK)

Human Rights at Sea

• Ordeal has lasted more than a year, with workers suffering from mental & physical health problems
• The UAE Federal Transport Authority has placed a ban on the company as a result
• We could not invite Elite Way Marine Services EST to respond because the company's operations have been suspended

Gulf Business

Times of Oman

• Development Officer: Monitoring and Evaluation
• Research & Projects Intern (New York)

• Bangladesh Accord (Head of Workplace Programs)
• International Labour Rights Forum (Cotton Campaign Coordinator)
• Mott MacDonald (Social Scientist; Senior Social Safeguards Consultant)
• PILnet (Deputy Director)
• Institute for Human Rights and Business (Built Environment Programme Manager)
• International Committee of the Red Cross (Private Partnerships and Philanthropy Trainee)
• International Alert (IT Assistant)
• MSI Integrity (Human Rights Analyst)
• Anti-Slavery (Business & Human Rights Officer)
• British Institute of International and Comparative Law (Research Assistant)
• Center for Economic and Social Rights (Program Officer)