The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Philip Alston, will conduct a country visit to the United States in December 2017. In response to his call for input, CCSI sent a submission focused the United States’ role in the international investment regime, and the United States’ international investment agreements (IIAs), noting… read more

By Nathan Lobel
September 26, 2017

CCSI invited UN officials, policy makers, civil society leaders, and academics to Columbia for a one-day conference to discuss the Global Pact for the Environment. The Global Pact aims to serve as a legally binding “umbrella text” for international environmental law that would establish a universal right to a healthy environment. Panelists presented their hopes for the Pact’s potential impact, including expanding human rights protections, influencing state policy-making, and catalyzing a holistic rethinking of other international agreements (like those on trade or investment). They also weighed in on fundamental questions for drafters and negotiators to address before the Pact is ready for ratification, like whether the Pact should be fully legally binding, whether it should use a narrow or broad definition of “environment,” and whether it should be designed for use in international or domestic courts.

Date: September 20, 2017, 8:30am – 6:00pm
Location: Faculty House, Columbia University, New York

This briefing note, co-authored with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, outlines a new approach to conducting human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of business operations or projects, which brings together project-affected people, the company, and other stakeholders to jointly design and implement an assessment. The aim of this… read more

This discussion paper, co-authored with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, proposes a new approach to conducting human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of business operations or projects, which brings together project-affected people, the company, and other stakeholders to jointly design and implement an assessment. The aim of this… read more

Date: January 30, 2017 12:10-1:10pm
Location: Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 546

In January 2017 CCSI made a submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, regarding its draft General Comment on “State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Context of Business Activities.” CCSI’s submission focused on: (1) host and home states’ obligations as they relate to international… read more

On May 12, 2016, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment hosted a one-day workshop on international investment and the rights of indigenous peoples. This outcome document synthesizes the discussions that took place during the May 12 workshop. The workshop was… read more

Date: October 20, 2016 12:10-1:00pm
Location: Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 807

Date: May 12, 2016
Location: Ford Foundation, New York