Listen to Olena Uvarova, Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and Anita Ramasastry, Professor at the University of Washington School of Law and former member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, many European companies have struggled with the challenges of conducting business in the region responsibly. Frankly Speaking has invited Olena Uvarova, Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, and Anita Ramasastry, Professor at the University of Washington School of Law and former member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
The two leading experts share insights on the role of business in armed conflict, such as how the exit of international companies posed a threat to Ukrainians. They discuss whether there is any justification for business to stay in Russia and the difference human rights due diligence makes in responding to a global crisis, whether it’s a pandemic or an armed conflict.
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“We've seen in places like Myanmar and we're seeing in Ukraine, if companies haven't already developed that muscle memory of doing due diligence, it's going to be a problem when a conflict arises. Because to go from ground zero to heightened is going to be very, very challenging. We found that there were companies that didn't know who owned the property they were on, hadn't really examined whether their contracts were with people that had ties to the military. So that's step one, due diligence needs to be there as a framework.”
There's very little pressure being applied to companies by investors looking at how they're actually behaving and treating human rights as a core business priority. This needs to change.
Investors shouldn't just take companies' word for what they're doing; they should investigate what the companies are actually doing regarding human rights.
Germany's NewClimate Institute has produced the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor report, evaluating the transparency and integrity of climate pledges of 51 major companies across different sectors and geographies.
