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.