Business & Human Rights

A graphic celebrating Human Rights Defenders Day. On the left, bold white text on a blue background reads “Happy Human Rights Defenders Day!” The graphic is divided diagonally, with blue on the left and light purple on the right. Illustrated line drawings depict different human rights defenders: a woman speaking into a megaphone beside a man holding a protest sign; a group of three people smiling and holding a large Pride flag overhead; and a defender taking notes while listening to a woman speaking. In the bottom right corner is the logo of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders with the tagline “In Solidarity & Hope.”

International Human Rights Defenders Day is a reminder that progress on human rights doesn't happen by accident. Each step forward happens because HRDs persevere, year after year, choosing to be lighthouses instead of hurricanes. We owe them an eternity of gratitude. #HRDday

Tomorrow: join our online event exploring the impact of fast fashion on our planet, and the people making our clothes.

🗓️Wednesday 10 December
⏰12:30-1:30pm (GMT)
🎟️ www.eventbrite.es/e/extraction...

The EU story defining the term corporate capture

Climate transition plans scrapped, no EU-level civil liability & CSDDD delayed to 2029.

Next steps: deal now goes to COREPER + Parliament for formal approval. Critical time for MEPs, governments, business & civil society to push back on rollbacks to #CSDDD & #CSRD.
#Sustainability #BizHumanRights

Council and Parliament strike a deal to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements and boost EU competitiveness Simplification: Council and Parliament reach a provisional agreement on sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements.

Big #EU Omnibus move this morning: Council & Parliament struck a provisional deal on #CSRD & #CSDDD, raising thresholds and dropping mandatory climate transition plans in the name of “simplification”.
Official text here: www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

Joint Statement: Time to release all human rights defenders and end their prolonged detention (EN/FR/ES) - UN SR Human Rights Defenders

Joint Statement: along with other mandate holders from the international & regional human rights systems, I call for the release of all human rights defenders in arbitrary detention around the world #FreeHRDs #RightToDefend

srdefenders.org/joint-statem...

The flag of the Philippines blowing from a pole against a blue and cloudy sky

#Philippines: Receiving disturbing news on repeated delays in the case against #WHRD Jazmin “Minet” Jerusalem, Director of the Leyte Centre for Development. I'm concerned the entire case against her has been initiated in retaliation for her legitimate human rights work and urge the State to drop it.

🚨 Last Call for Registration! 🚨

Join us at the #UNForumBHR taking place 24–26 November 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

👉 Don’t miss your chance — register now: indico.un.org/event/1011706/

🤝 Support the Forum: lnkd.in/dFJR_uNU

New report by Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance (co-chairs: Amar Bhattacharya, Vera Songwe & Nicholas Stern) lays out a feasible path to mobilising external finance of US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for climate investments in developing countries
www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...

The world is on the cusp of climate tipping points – the stakes could not be higher for COP30 - EUROPP Global warming is pushing the Earth past climate tipping points, causing irreversible damage to natural systems. The stakes could not be higher for COP30.

#COP30 is underway in Belém, & as the climate crisis worsens, pressure is on states to make progress in negotiations.

Below, read a thread of research-led commentary on what's at stake🧵🌏👇

First, Manjana Milkoreit @sthlmresilience.bsky.social on climate tipping points for @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social

UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities

Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam @lauratmurphy.bsky.social was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities www.theguardian.com/education/20...

When activists reach out to us, they're often stuck in a frustrating situation: corporate harm is clear, but the link to those responsible is hard to prove 🤯

SOMO's free helpdesk, The Counter, helps find that missing link🔍

Need help exposing corporate harm?
Get in touch ➡️ www.somo.nl/the-counter/

Freedom is Action: A Campaign for Ukraine A fundraiser for life-saving drone-jamming cars and trucks

Please join me in a new campaign to help protect Ukrainians in a very special way. My Ukrainian friends chose to call this campaign Freedom is Action. They are making an important point. One way to find our own courage is to act in support those who are showing it
snyder.substack.com/p/freedom-is...

Today, the European Parliament will vote on the Omnibus I proposal. And behind this vote lies a massive lobby campaign by ExxonMobil, our investigation reveals.

This is outrageous.

The EU cannot let those causing the crisis write the rules to get out of it.

www.somo.nl/how-big-oil-...

More than 45 charities, campaigners and trade unions have signed our open letter urging UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband to back an ambitious outcome on just transition at the UN Climate Summit #COP30.

River Wye pollution prompts UK's largest environmental lawsuit Livestock and water companies are accused of “extensive” pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk rivers.

The biggest environmental pollution claim ever brought in the UK has been filed at the High Court, BBC News reports.

Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland and solicitors Celine O'Donovan and Benji Gourgey represent thousands of claimants taking action.

https://leighdaylaw.info/3VRwm2r

Bananos del Ecuador: queja de sindicalistas ante la UE – DW – 29/09/2025 Exposición indebida a plaguicidas, jornadas extensas y violación del derecho de asociación: las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores del banano de Ecuador son objeto de una queja presentada a la ...

"If affected workers are not allowed to unionise, who will defend them?"

Our joint complaint based on the EU-Ecuador Trade Agreement highlights Ecuador's failure to protect labour rights & the environment in the banana industry.

In Deutsche Welle: dw.com/es/bananos-d...

@actionaidfr.bsky.social

2025 Trafficking in Persons Report - United States Department of State

The U.S. State Dept’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report has just been released. It assesses anti-trafficking efforts across 180+ countries with tier rankings and country narratives on prosecution, protection, and prevention. ⛓️
#BizHumanRights
www.state.gov/reports/2025...

NGOs urge Brazil to prevent fossil fuel capture of COP30 climate summit NGOs urge Brazil to keep fossil fuel firms out of COP30 Over 200 civil society groups are asking Brazil's COP30 team to commit to a "polluter-free" climate summit in Belém

More than 200 civil society organisations call on Brazil’s COP30 presidency to do more to protect the UN climate negotiations from the “unchecked” influence of the fossil fuel industry and other high-emitting businesses driving the climate crisis

Repression of free speech is no laughing matter.

Comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which falls during the seventh anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder, should use their platform to defend free speech in Saudi Arabia.

When states act in the public interest, the rich and powerful can sue them in VIP courts to protect their profits. 😱

That system is called the Investor-State Dispute Settlement - and it must be dismantled.🚨

Together with 5 partners, we've published 10 recent cases of ISDS: 10isdsstories.org

We can't let billionaire corporations get away with mistreating their workers to further pad their profit margins. We applaud Senator Hawley and @warren.senate.gov's bipartisan pressure on Amazon’s unfair schedules that prevent workers from managing child care, education, or a second job.

‘This is not just jobs, it’s livelihoods’: Burnley Council leader demands government action as Boohoo confirms closure Burnley’s council leader has written to the government calling for urgent intervention after Boohoo confirmed it will close its national distribution centre in the town, putting more than 1,200 jobs a...

Debenhams faces shareholder revolt over executives' pay and bonuses. Meanwhile, it is kicking 1200 workers on the street, or around 3% of jobs in Burnley: www.burnleyexpress.net/business/bur...

"Israel has committed genocide in #Gaza" - concludes UN Commission of Inquiry.

All states have legal obligations to end the genocide & punish those responsible.

"The absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity"

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel... #HRC60

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

Follow the session on "Fair trade, fair work: Rethinking human rights and labour migration in the context of global value chains" on 18 September 2025, 09:00-10:15 GMT +7 as part of the RBHRF in Asia-Pacific. Link to join online: undp.zoom.us/j/86132670187

I'm proud to stand in solidarity with Hilton Hotel workers in Houston who are on strike against corporate greed.

If Hilton can afford to spend $2.9 billion to buy back its own stock and pay its CEO $28 million, it can afford to pay workers a living wage of at least $23 an hour.

Please join us for a consultation on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in Southeast Asia on 16 September 2025 from 14:00 – 15:30 at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, in person or online!

@maypichamon.bsky.social

We're #hiring for a Private Sector Adviser!🚀

You will manage and deliver Anti-Slavery International's private sector advisory work and manage our advocacy relationships with our business network.

📅Deadline: 11:59 PM GMT, 28 September 2025.

Iranian woman human rights defender Hasti Amiri sits at a table, smiling at the camera. She has long dark hair, wears a green plaid shirt with a dark scarf draped around her neck, and her arms are folded on the table.

Hearing disturbing news that Iranian human rights defender Hasti Amiri was sentenced to three years in prison. Her peaceful advocacy for prisoners' rights and against the death penalty is protected under international law, and I demand that the sentence is revoked immediately.