About the Forum

The UN Forum is the world's largest annual gathering on business and human rights with some 2,300 participants from government, business, community groups and civil society, law firms, investor organisations, UN bodies, NHRIs, trade unions, academia and the media.

Over three days, participants take part in 60+ panel discussions on topics that relate to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights  (the "Protect", "Respect" and "Remedy" Framework), as well as current business-related human rights issues.

The Forum is the foremost event to network, share experiences and learn about the many initiatives to promote corporate respect for human rights. For a summary of the 2015 Forum discussions, click here.

Previous participants include:

• Sharan Burrow, Secretary General, International Trade Union Confederation
• Paul Bulcke, CEO Nestlé
• Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom
• Mo Ibrahim, Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
• Hina Jilani, Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan & Member of the Elders
• Irene Khan, Director-General, International Development Law Organization. Former SG of Amnesty International
• Paul Polman, CEO Unilever
• Mary Robinson, President, Mary Robinson Foundation on Climate Justice
• John Ruggie, Architect of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics & Professor at Columbia University

Companies, law firms & investor organisations:

Allen & Overy, Anglo American, Aviva Investors, Barrick Gold Corp, BG Group, BNP Paribas, BP, Cartier, Chevron, Clifford Chance, Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, Daimler, De Beers, Deloitte, DLA Piper, Ericsson, EY, Ferrero Firmenich, General Electric, Google, H&M, Heineken, Hermes Investors, Hess Corporation, Hilton Worldwide, Hitachi, KPMG, Linklaters, L'Oreal, Mars Inc, McDonald's, Michelin, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Monsanto, Nestlé, Nokia, Novo Nordisk, Orange, P&G, Pfizer, Philip Morris International, Primark, PwC, Richemont, Rio Tinto, Sakhalin Energy, Samsung, Shell, Statoil, Syngenta, Telecom Italia, Telenor, Telia Sonera, Total, UBS, Unilever, Walt Disney Company.

Civil Society:

Amnesty International, BHRRC, Earth Rights, FIDH, Human Rights Watch, ICAR, IHRB, ITUC, Oxfam, PODER, Shift, SOMO.

Business and employer organisations:

B Team, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), Electronics Industry Corporate Citizenship Coalition, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (GBI), International Council on Mining and Metals, International Chamber of Commerce, IPIECA, International Organisation of Employers, US Council for International Business, World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

International & regional bodies:

ASEAN, AU, CoE, EU, FAO, UN Global Compact, ICRC, IFC, ILO, OAS, OECD, OHCHR, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNICEF, WEF.

Watch 2015 participants discuss some #BizHumanRights issues

• Lene Wendland (OHCHR), Dante Pesce (WG on Business & Human Rights) and Dwight Justice (ITUC) on the Forum and issues discussed
• Dan Bross (Microsoft) on the journey of meeting the corporate responsibility to respect human rights
• Debbie Stothard (FIDH) on the shrinking civil society space
• John Morrison (IHRB) on restoring trust in mega sporting event
• Rebecca MacKinnon (Ranking Digital Rights) on balancing state security demands and with the right to privacy and freedom of expression
• Bennett Freeman (GNI) on the human rights challenges in different sectors
• Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples' Rights) on the importance of companies obtaining free prior informed consent
• Erol Kiresepi (Santa Farma Pharmaceuticals) on the value of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Shauna Leven (Global Witness) on the need for greater transparency

The UN Human Rights Council, under paragraph 12 of its resolution 17/4, established the Forum to serve as a key global platform for stakeholders to ”discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles and promote dialogue and cooperation on issues linked to business and human rights.” It is guided by the Working Group on Business and Human Rights.

Statements