The importance of stakeholder engagement in the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (887) ◽  
pp. 1047-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Dubach ◽  
Maria Teresa Machado
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Corporate Responsibility ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
The Past ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
Key Success Factor

AbstractOver the past forty years, there has been a steady rise in the expectation for companies to operate as responsible citizens. Today companies have at their disposal a variety of initiatives, and new levels of accountability have been reached with the advancement of international standards on, among others, corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Against this background, this article provides an overview of the most important guiding tools available on this subject and on how to promote peace and stability when operating in conflict-affected or high-risk areas. The article argues that ongoing stakeholder engagement is a key success factor in meeting the responsibility to respect human rights and that it has to be an integral part of a company's strategy, especially when operating in conflict-affected countries.

scholarly journals Government as a Key Duty Bearer in Transition Reforms from Socialism to Capitalism-The Case of Albania

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (32) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Arlinda Ymeraj
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Efficient Allocation ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Socialist System ◽  
The Government ◽  
Effective Distribution

The paper “Government as a key duty bearer in transition reforms from socialism to capitalism – the case of Albania”, addresses the way in which the government should exercise its power to ensure that citizens have equal access to social welfare services, enjoying their rights. Albania, like other Central and Eastern European countries experienced the past socialist system, which failed. The failure of the socialist system was the failure of the state: in political, economic and social terms. As far as economic policies are concerned, all data demonstrate the collapse of socialism, because the system was based on inefficiency, which eroded growth. Regardless of the principles of communist regimes adopted in former communist countries’ Constitutions, the past system brought neither equity nor justice, and therefore instead of “social cohesion”, the contradictions among social groups and categories, deepened. After the failure of socialism, Albania embarked on the new path aimed at establishing democratic regimes through the protection of human rights and at raising the standard of living. Albania has been proactive in ratifying international conventions relating to human rights in general and to vulnerable groups. Very recently, on June 2014, the European Council granted Albania candidate status, as a recognition for the reform steps undertaken in harmonizing its domestic organic laws and legislation with international standards. As part of these twin obligations from UN intergovernmental and EU processes, Albanian governments after the 90s have been progressively taking measures vis-à-vis efficient allocation of resources and effective distribution of social welfare. Nevertheless, Albanian citizens live in a dire reality. Therefore, after 25 years of transition, one of the main goals of reforms, “Efficient allocation of resources to boost growth and effective distribution of social welfare to enhance equity”, seems not to have been achieved. Undoubtedly, this influences the controversial opinions about the government’s control vis-à-vis government’s mode of functioning, advancing arguments that examine whether it is a question of abuse or that of concentration of power.

The eu “Conflict Minerals Regulation”: Potentialities and Limits in the Light of the International Standards on Responsible Sourcing

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Grado
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Conflict Minerals ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Responsible Sourcing

Business enterprises involved in the exploitation of mineral resources originating from conflict zones are at risk of financing armed activities and fuelling systematic violations of international law and human rights abuses. This article first analyses the initiatives developed by the UN and OECD aimed at encouraging companies to respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict by adopting “supply chain due diligence” practices. Second, it focuses on a recent Regulation adopted by the EU to tackle trade in certain minerals sourced from conflict-affected and high-risk areas in order to highlight its main positive aspects and challenges and, at the same time, to ascertain whether and to what extent this new legislation is consistent with the UN/OECD international standards on responsible sourcing.

Applying International Standards in Response to Oil Spills in Remote Areas

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1859-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Contingency Planning ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Risk Areas

ABSTRACT It is accepted international practice that the level of effort invested in oil spill contingency planning and preparedness should be related to the best available, location-specific risk evaluations. Accordingly, high risk and/or highly sensitive areas often see greater degrees of planning and pre-incident resource allocation than low risk areas. High risk areas typically include navigational ‘choke points’ for shipping or approaches to ports; highly sensitive areas would include areas of intense coastal tourism, mari-culture, or natural resources (e.g. coral reefs or mangroves). Naturally, levels of preparedness vary between countries for a variety of reasons including availability of resources (i.e. funding) or priorities. Whilst logical, this approach to contingency planning leaves open a gap in response capacity in so far as incidents do still occur from time to time in what are normally thought of as extremely low risk areas. Good examples are the infrequent, yet still important, incidents that occur from passing vessel traffic on long-distance, inter-continental routes. Other examples are incidents from scheduled shipping routes servicing remote areas or even passenger vessels visiting remote locations such as the Arctic or the Antarctic. Because remote areas are often characterised by a general lack of infrastructure and because local authorities in remote locations typically do not have appropriate funds, training and manpower to deal with unexpected oil spill incidents, the intensity and quality of emergency response and post-incident follow-up tends to depend on the involvement of outside parties. The question arises, what is appropriate “international practice” in response operations in terms of the types/methods of work undertaken, the termination standards applied, health and safety issues, and post-incident follow-up, such as monitoring studies. The intent of this paper is to discuss the meaning of “international standards” for oil spill response in the context of remote operations. Practical examples will be drawn from remote spills world-wide, including incidents in Tristan da Cunha (in South Atlantic), Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.

Dangerous Minds: Political Psychiatry in China Today and its Origins in the Mao Era. By Human Rights Watch and Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry. [New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002. 298 pp. ISBN 1-56432-278-5.]

2003 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 1091-1093
Author(s):  
Ann Kent
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
Global Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Psychiatric Theory ◽  
China Today

This report on the political misuse of psychiatry in China today and in the past, based primarily on the indefatigable research of Robin Munro, combines human rights concerns with the insights of forensic psychiatry. Munro has adopted the research methodology of Soviet psychiatrist Semyon Gluzman, who proposed three approaches to the study of political psychiatry in any one country: personal examination of victims; the systematic study of the different schools of psychiatric theory; and the examination of a range of psychiatric publications. Although only the third method is available to researchers of the situation in China – a fact that reveals China's lack of transparency in this area – Munro has made good use of it. The result is a searching examination that throws light on the complex interrelationship between political dissent and mental illness in China and on the tendency of its officials, and even its forensic psychiatrists, to conflate or confuse the two. A comparative global context to the study is provided in several sections: a review by psychiatrist Robert Van Doren of the Soviet experience in political psychiatry; a discussion of international standards in ethical psychiatry; a guide to political psychosis; and a historical overview of law and psychiatry in China before and after 1949. Fourteen major documents are included in the appendices, of which the most interesting and disturbing are debates between Chinese psychiatrists during the Cultural Revolution, and a survey of the current situation in China's mental hospitals, or ankang.

scholarly journals Epidemiological features of human brucellosis in Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia province, China: a cross-sectional study over an 11-year period (2007–2017)

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e031206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Li ◽  
Lifei Li ◽  
Jingbo Zhai ◽  
Lingzhan Wang ◽  
Bin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Human Brucellosis ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
North West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Risk Areas

ObjectivesTo describe the epidemiology of human brucellosis in the past decade and provide evidence of disease control in Tongliao city, which is one of the highest-risk areas of human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia province, China.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsClinically and bacteriologically confirmed human brucellosis cases.Primary and secondary outcome measuresAn analysis of the reported cases of human brucellosis during 2007–2017 was carried out to describe the age, sex and occupational distributions of the cases. The time series analysis model and the geographical information system were explored to describe the seasonality and spatiotemporal distribution, respectively, at the county level.ResultsA total of 13 938 cases of human brucellosis was collected in Tongliao from 2007 to 2017; the majority was aged 25 years to 59 years (85.4%) and the male-to-female ratio was 2.64:1; most of them were agriculturalists (81.9%) and pastoralists (12.4%). The incidence rates increased dramatically from 9.22/100 000 in 2007 to 69.16/100 000 in 2011 with an annual increase of 14.99%. They decreased during 2012–2016 (annual decrease of 8.37%) and rose again in 2017 (44.32/100 000). The disease peaked during March–July, with a clear periodicity and trend of monthly anterior displacement since 2012. Jarud Banner, the region located in the north-west of Tongliao, had the highest accumulated incidence rate (130.1/100 000) compared with other counties. The high-risk regions were spread from the north-west to the south and east of Tongliao during the past decade.ConclusionsThe prevalence of human brucellosis in Tongliao was aggravated during the past decade and peaked during March–July. High-risk areas were mainly concentrated in the counties with extensive prairies and livestock.

Industry Partnerships, Key Success Factor to Win in the Biosimilars Space

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Godrecka-Bareau
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Airline Industry ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
The Past ◽  
Promised Land ◽  
Industry Partnerships ◽  
Key Success Factor

Over the past few years, biosimilars became the promised land of the pharmaceutical industry. Seven out of the top ten drugs are biologics. And all are about to lose patent protection by 2020, representing an underlying pool of $60bn branded sales. While it looks like the next Eldorado is in front of us, the biosimilars market is also a challenging opportunity, where the players have to deal with high R&D costs, unclear regulatory pathways, and uncertainty around business models. To make the biosimilars opportunity a sustainable market, it has to be profitable. In this article, I would like to discuss how innovative business models can help biosimiliars players to de-risk and ensure profitability. Looking at the example of the airline industry and analyzing the development chain for biosimilars, I would like to propose options to de-risk investments, optimize costs, and maximize sales.

1610: High-Risk Patients Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy Today are Less High-Risk than in the Past

2005 ◽  
Vol 173 (4S) ◽  
pp. 436-436
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Kane ◽  
Martha K. Terris ◽  
William J. Aronson ◽  
Joseph C. Presti ◽  
Christopher L. Amling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Radical Prostatectomy ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
The Past ◽  
Risk Patients

Provision of Remedies for Violation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Comparative Study of the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-318
Author(s):  
Roman Girma Teshome
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Regional Monitoring ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
To Receive

The effectiveness of human rights adjudicative procedures partly, if not most importantly, hinges upon the adequacy of the remedies they grant and the implementation of those remedies. This assertion also holds water with regard to the international and regional monitoring bodies established to receive individual complaints related to economic, social and cultural rights (hereinafter ‘ESC rights’ or ‘socio-economic rights’). Remedies can serve two major functions: they are meant, first, to rectify the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage sustained by the particular victim, and second, to resolve systematic problems existing in the state machinery in order to ensure the non-repetition of the act. Hence, the role of remedies is not confined to correcting the past but also shaping the future by providing reforming measures a state has to undertake. The adequacy of remedies awarded by international and regional human rights bodies is also assessed based on these two benchmarks. The present article examines these issues in relation to individual complaint procedures that deal with the violation of ESC rights, with particular reference to the case laws of the three jurisdictions selected for this work, i.e. the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems.

Les héritages chrétiens: quel avenir?

Moreana ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (Number 176) (1) ◽  
pp. 175-190
Author(s):  
Bernard Bourdin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Politics And Religion

The legacy from Christianity unquestionably lies at the root of Europe, even if not exclusively. It has taken many aspects from the Middle Ages to modern times. If the Christian heritage is diversely understood and accepted within the European Union, the reason is essentially due to its political and religious significance. However, its impact in politics and religion has often been far from negative, if we will consider what secular societies have derived from Christianity: human rights, for example, and a religious affiliation which has been part and parcel of national identity. The Christian legacy has to be acknowledged through a critical analysis which does not deny the truth of the past but should support a European project built around common values.

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