Written Evidence Submissions to the UK Parliament Joint Select Committee on Human Rights Inquiry on Human Rights and Business

The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights Harriet Harman MP is undertaking an inquiry into human rights and business to considers progress by the UK Government in implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on business and human rights, by means of the National Action Plan published in 2013 and revised in May 2016
(http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/news-parliament-2015/human-rights-business-launch-16-17/).

The BHRE hasparticipated in two written evidence submissions by: London Universities Purchasing Consortiumand the International Learning Lab on Procurement and Human Rights. The BHRE encourages the UKgovernment to continue its world-leading commitment to the protection, respect and promotion of human rights in the context of business activities and particularly adopt measures to extend human rights obligations of public authorities in the context of public procurement.

The written submissions are available here:

• London Universities Purchasing Consortium
• International Learning Lab on Procurement and Human Rights
• Other written evidence submissions are available here: 
  http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/inquiry/publications/

Human Rights and Public Procurement – International Learning Lab Hits Its Stride

The International Learning Lab on Public Procurement and Human Rights was launched last year and is co-organised by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), the Harrison Institute at Georgetown Law, the Business, Human Rights and Environment Research Group (BHRE), the Public Procurement Research Group of Nottingham University, and the London Universities Purchasing Consortium.

This is a hot topic in public procurement, and only likely to get hotter, we suspect. Stories about conditions in electronics and garment factories for instance have hit the national press. Citizens and taxpayers are rightly horrified to think that ‘their’ money, being spent by contracting authorities via public procurement, may be helping support human rights abuses in those and other areas.

So the Learning Lab aims to be a platform and mechanism for:

• experience-sharing among procurement actors on approaches to integrating respect for human rights;
• generating knowledge about public procurement law and policy and human rights;
• producing and disseminating tools and guidance to build capacity to integrate human rights issues among procurement professionals; and
• promoting coherence between procurement and human rights in international and regional frameworks and initiatives.

In what appears to be a positive start, the Learning Lab recently launched its website (www.hrprocurementlab.org) which covers three main content-related sections: Thematic Hubs, Resources and Events.

Additionally, the Learning Lab also recently published its inaugural report, (available free to download here), titled “Public Procurement and Human Rights: A Survey of Twenty Jurisdictions.” The substantial piece of work (104 pages) was authored by Claire Methven O’Brien, Amol Mehra, and Nicole Vander Meulen, with contributions from Marta Andrecka, Olga Martin-Ortega, and Robert Stumberg. The report provides the following:

• An overview of key standards, issues, and policy or practitioner initiatives concerning the interface between public procurement and human rights
• Key findings from a 20-jurisdiction survey of law, policy, and practice on public procurement and human rights conducted in collaboration with local partners
• Recommendations on measures needed to bring public procurement into alignment with human rights and sustainable development.

Do take a look at the website and the report – and for more information about the Learning Lab’s activities, or to subscribe to the mailing list, please contact Nicole Vander Meulen at nicole@icar.ngo

This article first appeared online on Public Spend Forum Europe

Modern Slavery and Procurement Obligations – Dr Olga Martin-Ortega at LUPC/SUPC Event

Another of the strong sessions at the recent London Universities and Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia joint conference was “Managing Human Rights Risks in the Supply Chain: Responsibilities Under the Modern Slavery Act”. The speaker, a real expert on the topic, was Dr Olga Martin-Ortega, Reader in Public International Law at the University of Greenwich in London

She explained that human rights violations are enabled by the nature of the supply chain, and occur where there are governance and regulation gaps. Global supply chains are increasingly buyer-driven – it is often the brands at the end of the supply chain that hold power. There has been much more outsourcing over the past 20 years, so often the big brands don't make anything themselves, and rely on supply chains, often spread around may countries...

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