On January 14, 2021, the Social Responsibility Office of China National Textile and Apparel Council and the Development Department of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minmetals and Chemicals jointly held a seminar for Chinese stakeholders on "Business and Human Rights - Towards the Next Decade of Global Implementation".
In June 2021, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Guiding Principles) will celebrate their tenth anniversary. On July 7, 2020, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights launched a global project "Business and Human Rights: Towards the Next Decade of Global Implementation" (hereinafter referred to as the UNGPs10+ project). In the context of the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Guiding Principles, the project assesses the practices, gaps and challenges of all parties to date, and develops a vision and roadmap for continued expansion of implementation over the next decade.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Dante Pesce, Vice Chairman of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, made a keynote speech on "Global Perspectives on Business and Human Rights". Mr. Livio Sarandrea, Director of B+HR Program of UNDP Asia-Pacific Office, then made a keynote speech on "Development of Business and Human Rights in Asia". They respectively introduced the development status of business and human rights issues globally and in Asia, and expressed their expectations and support for Chinese stakeholders to continue to participate in this global agenda.
Since then, Dr. Liang Xiaohui, chief researcher of the Social Responsibility Office of China Textile Federation, made a report on "China's Policy Progress in the Field of Industry, Commerce and Human Rights", pointing out that the Chinese government and industry managers have realized the important influence of the business community on human rights, and therefore Policy shifts have been made since 2011, prompting companies to take responsibility for respecting human rights. He also suggested that international stakeholders should vigorously promote the application of the Guiding Principles at global, regional and national policy levels as a powerful tool to combat politicization and protectionism in business and human rights, and to promote a more sustainable globalization. Sun Lihui, Director of the Development Department of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minmetals and Chemicals, then made a speech on "The Practice of Chinese Industry in the Field of Industry, Commerce and Human Rights", pointing out that China's industry organizations advocate enterprises to pay attention to human rights protection through the formulation of standards, while enterprises use various Practice responding to human rights risks and fulfilling the responsibility to respect human rights.
At the end of the meeting, in the dialogue session titled "Prospects and Paths for the Global Implementation of the Guiding Principles in the Next Ten Years", more than ten representatives from Chinese universities, industry organizations, social organizations and enterprises focused on the Guiding Principles. Implications for China from implementation globally and elsewhere in Asia, key trends and global implications of China’s policies and practices in the area of sustainable development and responsible business conduct, future challenges affecting better implementation of the Guiding Principles in China and globally There were lively discussions on topics such as opportunities and the expectations of Chinese stakeholders for the global implementation of the Guiding Principles in the next decade.
More than 50 invited participants from various fields attended the conference online.