The Ombudsperson Institution attended the forum on Human Rights and Businesses

17/12/2012

6 December 2012 – From 3 to 5 December 2012, the representatives of the Ombudsperson Institution attended the forum on “Business and Human Rights”, which took place in Switzerland. Representatives from the institutions around the world attended this forum held at the United Nations Palace in Geneva.
United Nations Human Rights Council, by the Resolution 17/4 paragraph 12 established Forum on Business and Human Rights, which is directed by a work group. This was the first forum on Human Rights and businesses.

The Ombudsperson plans to establish a particular unit within the institution to handle cases related to this aspect of Human Rights. A concrete step towards achieving this goal was the roundtable organized some weeks ago by the Ombudsperson Institution, which in particular dealt with these issues. A number of social and economic partners, as well as the institutions and respective mechanisms have been invited to attend the roundtable. A number of recommendations have been issued and these recommendations will be part of the annual report 2012.