3rd UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights
Dhaka, Bangladesh | 28-30 March 2022
Charting action to address business-related human rights abuses in South Asia
The 3rd UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights held from 28-30 March brought together people from across South Asia to Dhaka, Bangladesh – and virtually from around the world – to chart action to address human rights abuses resulting from business activities.
The forum – organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG), UNDP, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), with support from the Government of Sweden – featured two days of public plenary sessions that covered the informal economy, access to remedy, human rights due diligence, occupational safety and health, climate action, trade and investment, and ways to build momentum for bottom-up action.
In addition, it hosted safe spaces for closed door discussions among civil society organizations and human rights defenders, trade unions, national human rights institutions, and businesses. Country-focused sessions were held for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where discussions looked at the state of business and human rights in those countries.
During the week prior to the main forum, forum organizers partnered with leading organizations in the region to host side sessions on topics ranging from the reintegration of migrant workers, the construction sector in Bangladesh, and addressing human rights abuses in global supply chains, to amplifying indigenous voices and respecting children’s rights in the digital era, among others.
3rd UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights
3rd UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights
UN South Asia Forum: Inaugural Session
UN South Asia Forum: Business and Human Rights in South Asia – Where Are We Heading?
Remedying Human Rights Abuses in South Asia: Knocking on Doors Beyond the Region
Browse recordings of the sessions from the 2022 forum here.
LIST OF SESSIONS
Main plenary sessions
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Inaugural Session
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High-Level Opening Plenary: BHR in South Asia: Where Are We Heading?
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Remedying Human Rights Abuses in South Asia: Knocking on Doors Beyond the Region
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Human Rights Due Diligence: Shifting the Business Environment in South Asia
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Occupational Safety and Health in the Post COVID-19 World
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Informal Economy: Pathways to Promote Responsible Business
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People and Planet: Rights Holders in Climate Action
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Connecting the Dots: Building Momentum for Bottom-up Action
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Harnessing Trade and Investment for Responsible Business and Sustainable Development
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Closing Plenary
Safe space sessions and country sessions
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A Dialogue with Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Organizations
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A Dialogue with Trade Unions
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Dialogue with Business and Employers’ Organizations
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Peer Learning among National Human Rights Institutions
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Bangladesh Country Session
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India Country Session
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Nepal Country Session
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Pakistan Country Session
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Sri Lanka Country Session
Side sessions
- Fighting Forced Labor and Modern Slavery with Minor Ethnic Communities in South Asia
- Promoting Business and Human Rights in South Asia’s Small-Scale Fisheries
- Walking the Talk: Stories of Collaboration for India’s Informal Workers
- Child Online Protection and Mobile Network Operators
- Reimagining the Return and Reintegration of Migrant Workers in South Asia: A Business and Human Rights Perspective in the Context of COVID-19
- Power Imbalance in the Global Supply Chain: The Need for Social Dialogue
- Collapse of the Business-State Conflict of Interest Mechanisms: Challenge to the Business and Human Rights Paradigm
- Solutions to Address Social Conditions in the Leather-based Garment Supply Chain
- Sustainable Practises, Rights & Safety in Construction in Bangladesh: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective
- Indigenous Voices: Transforming Business Operations in Indigenous Territories
- Corporate Capture in South Asia: Cases of Resistance by Peoples’ Movements and Recommendations for a UN binding Treaty to Regulate Corporate Activity