Northern Ireland Business & Human Rights Forum
The Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Forum was established in 2015.
It is a multi-stakeholder platform which allows Government, business, and civil society to engage on business and human rights.
Our work is directed by its members with reference to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
It is an open forum to discuss human rights issues in relation to business in Northern Ireland and share good practice.
Forum meetings are three times each year and hosted by members of the forum.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission provides the forum’s Secretariat and chaired the Forum for its first year.
The current Chair of the Forum is Glenn Bradley, Ethical Trade Manager at Hardscape, while the Vice-Chair is Barbara Henry, HR Policy and Compliance Manager at Caterpillar.
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Video by EHRC.
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Policy Statement
The Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Forum has produced a human rights policy statement which reflects the values of the forum. It is open for all to sign up to, but this is not a pre-requisite of joining the forum or attending forum meetings.
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Our Work
We submitted evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Human Rights and Business Inquiry in July 2016.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission further submitted a detailed policy response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Human Rights and Business Inquiry in July 2016.
Our Chief Commissioner, Les Allamby, recently submitted an oral statement to the 35th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on business and human rights. You can watch the joint statement written by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission here or read it here.
We have produced a Guide for Businesses in Northern Ireland on Business and Human Rights.
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How to join us!
The forum is always open to new members. Forum meetings are held quarterly.
The next Forum meeting will be scheduled shortly, and details will be available on this page.
Please get in touch if you are interested in attending future meetings or receiving updates on the Forum.
For further information, contact Zara Grant at: zara.grant@nihrc.org
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Useful resources
MODERN SLAVERY RESOURCE DOCUMENT
We have put together this interactive document, containing links to resources on Modern Slavery. We hope you find it to be a valuable resource.
NORTHERN IRELAND ACTION PLAN ON BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS
In March 2019, the Northern Ireland Business & Human Rights Forum adopted the below Action Plan on Business & Human Rights. The document is framed within the three pillars established by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.