Human Rights Colloquium: Developing a legally binding instrument on business and human rights: Lessons from drafting global human rights treaties

Our next FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium will be held on 09 October 2025 from 6 to 7:30 pm and will feature Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski as speaker and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils as chair.

Description

The international framework on corporate responsibility evolves around the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights of 2011 (UNGP) which only contain non-binding standards for companies. Binding norms on business and human rights at the international level are still missing. An intergovernmental working group in the UN framework has been discussing and negotiating a legally binding instrument (LBI) on business and human rights for ten years, but has not reached a consensus yet. This paper suggests that experiences with drafting other international human rights treaties contributes to the understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the current process around the LBI. The paper identifies substantive and procedural elements in the negotiations of existing international human rights treaties, such as building on international consensus enshrined in non-binding declarations, aligning treaties with domestic policy preferences as well as including affected rightsholders and civil society organisations in the negotiations. The paper applies these findings to the negotiating process and contents of the LBI to suggest possible approaches for the way forward.

Speaker Bio

Markus Krajewski is Professor of Public and International Law at FAU’s School of Law. He is also the spokesperson of the International Doctorate Programme (IDP) “Business and Human Rights: Governance Challenges in a Complex World” at FAU and Co-Chair of the Committee on Business and Human Rights of the International Law Association (ILA).

Disclaimer/Media Notice

Photos and/or videos may be taken during this event for FAU CHREN’s documentation and public outreach (e.g., website, social media). By attending, you consent to this use — unless you inform us otherwise in advance or during the event. If you do not wish to appear in photos or videos, please let the organizing team know in advance or upon arrival.

☑️ RSVP

If you are planning to attend, please reserve a place by email to nathalie.schneider@fau.de