#2 Olena Uvarova & Anita Ramasastry on Due Diligence in Times of War

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.

Topics:

what is it about business and human rights in a country that is at war and under attack
examples of companies acting responsibly and not
heightened HRDD
complying with sanction is not the same as due diligence
role of business in post-conflict situations
what difference mandatory rules/due diligence make
the future of business and human rights from the Ukrainian perspective

Tune in!

Resources

UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, UNDP (June 2022): Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict-Affected Contexts: A Guide.
Frank Bold, ECCJ (June 2022), From rushed reactions to proper preparedness: Corporate due diligence in times of armed conflict.

“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.”

Anita Ramasastry in Frankly Speaking