The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights is the world’s largest gathering focused on businesses’ human rights impacts. The Forum brings together leading speakers, influencers and experts to share best practices and lessons on efforts to move the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights from paper to practice, and more than 2,000 participants from across the world.
In 2017, twenty-five percent of the participants represented private sector, whose interest in the forum has been on the rise. There will also be representatives from e.g. governments, civil society organizations, corporate responsibility networks, labor alliances and universities. In this three-day event, they engage in discussions on the most topical business-related human rights issues, sharing ideas and practices on how to better respect and protect human rights in a business context.
Networks and tools for better management of human rights – for free
The UN Forum is an excellent place to find answers to questions related to business and human rights. The three-day-event has been divided into smaller thematic discussions, from which participants can choose the most interesting sections or days. The program is broad and comprehensive, offering every participant interesting takeaways: food for thought, resources, networking opportunities and inspiration to improve the management of human rights impacts. The Forum is also a great place to gain international visibility to your organization’s human rights management practices.
The 2018 Forum focuses on ”Business respect for human rights – building on what works”. Under this theme, the Forum aims to drill down on what has been working to date in terms of government, civil society and business practice, but also on what is not working and where current efforts are falling short, and how to fill the gaps.
Join the popular FIBS Delegation to the Forum!
FIBS’ business delegation to the Forum raised many thanks last year, and therefore FIBS will host a delegation to the Forum again in 2018. As a member of FIBS’ delegation you will gain access to the Forum pre-meeting in Helsinki and selected visits to chosen stakeholders in Geneva. The delegation is open for participants from FIBS’ member organizations. Please note that the participants of the delegation are responsible for all their practical travel arrangements.
“UN Forum on Business & Human Rights was like a great fireworks show – a continuous flow of new information, examples and ideas to strengthen companies’ human rights impact management. Being part of FIBS’ delegation helped me network with other participants and supported sparring ideas together.” – Tytti Nahi, Advocacy Manager, Fairtrade Finland
“It was a great experience to see a massive forum and all its interesting events. Participation of different parties was also positive – NGOs, governmental organizations, companies. FIBS’ delegation group brought clarity to the event and FIBS’ stakeholder visits complemented the program well.” – Kati Ihamäki, Vice president, Sustainable development, Finnair
- The UN Forum will be organized from Monday 26th of November to Wednesday 28th of November 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Pre-meeting for FIBS’ delegation takes place on 8.11. in Helsinki – Read more and register here
- FIBS will also host an after-meeting on 3.12. at 14.00-15.30 at FIBS’ premises (Eteläranta 10, Helsinki), please mark it on your calendar as well.
Please note that you will be expected to register to the Forum officially via the organizer’s website. The official registration and final program of the Forum can be viewed here.
Further information
Riikka Leppänen, 044 973 9963, riikka.leppanen(at)fibsry.fi
