Was also pleased to join a panel today launching the Don't Buy Into Occupation coalition's 2025 report - the most ambitious look so far at corporate & financial involvement in Israel's violations of international law in the OPT.

Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIQr...

"Human rights are the solution. The key to the future that we must all work towards."

Important words from Melissa Powell (UN Global Compact) at UN Forum closing, referencing recent COP in Belem: Not a trade-off b/t human rights & climate considerations, we must view both as part of the same fight.

Session chair Jelena Aparac notes: "Accountability is crucial to break the cycle of impunity."

As several speakers noted, responsibly disengaging and bringing human rights harms to an end does not exempt businesses from the responsibility of providing remedy for harms caused/contributed to.

Mauricio Lazala (OHCHR) builds on this: On human rights, businesses must "do their long homework" - complexity of conducting hHRDD in conflict areas doesn't exempt them from responsibility of doing so.

Relevant e.g. to businesses that have cited "difficulty" to justify failures to exit Russia...

During a discussion on heightened human rights due diligence (hHRDD) in conflict zones, Heartland Initiative pres Sam Jones discusses the concept of "inmitigable risk": When investors cannot meet human rights responsibilities in a conflict zone, their responsibility is to consider disengaging fully.

Tense moment when a Chinese government representative accuses a human rights activist from Hong Kong who had asked about Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang of "intervening in China's internal affairs" and "wasting the UN's valuable resources"

Good Q from a human rights activist in Peru: in conflict zones, shouldn't businesses focus on prevention over remedy - i.e. making sure they avoid doing business in regions where links to harms are likely?

A panelist notes investors have a responsibility to consider this as part of due diligence.

In a session on investors & human rights, a mutual fund advisor notes: "Waving an NGO report in a company's face" is "not a productive way" for investors to push clients to improve rights outcomes.

Would be good to unpack why some companies are so allergic to being confronted with NGO reports...

Was pleased to join a panel yesterday on the launch of the OHCHR's BHR Helpdesk. BankTrack has previously asked the OHCHR for guidance on how to apply the UNGPs to banks - hope this helpdesk will allow us to further clarify banks' human rights responsibilities.

www.ohchr.org/en/business-...

Reminder: I'll also be representing BankTrack at a Forum side-event this week to introduce the Don't Buy Into Occupation coalition's fifth annual report on European FI links to Israel's violations of international law.

Taking place on Wed - registration still open!

pressclub.ch/dont-buy-int...

Pichamon Yeophantong, Chair of UN Working Group on Biz & Human Rights, echoes this - we need "genuine multi-stakeholder dialogue" to lead us through this crisis.

Hoping next 3 days can model that dialogue - incl. by asking tough questions on why so many businesses are backsliding on human rights.

The Israeli government will only stop its campaign of genocide & engineered starvation if our governments, and governments around the world, move from empty condemnations to real pressure.

Join us on Monday outside the Foreign Office at 5:30pm to demand SANCTIONS NOW on Israel.

We're out. A final question from me about whether the bank could respond to questions about its investment in sanctioned Russian government bonds was left unanswered.

A Ukrainian shareholder directs further questions about RBI's plans for an exit from Russia to Andrii Stepanenko, Raiffeisen's only Ukrainian board member.