Attracting investment in agriculture has been a key policy goal of governments in the global south. Development partners have supported these policies. But what do governments hope to achieve by attracting investment in the agricultural sector? Why are companies interested in investing? What is in it for local communities? And what is the role of… read more
By Rumbidzai Maweni
July 10, 2019
In June 2019, the Business and Human Rights Arbitration Working Group, a private group of international lawyers and academics, published the Draft Arbitration Rules on Business and Human Rights, an initiative which proposes to create an international private judicial dispute resolution avenue for parties involved in business and human rights disputes. This post reviews the proposal in light of recent attempts to address business and human rights in the context of international arbitration with a specific focus on the Bangladesh Accord arbitrations.
If a company wants to use a community’s land for eucalyptus plantations, the community should think carefully about whether this is a good idea. Civil society organizations that support communities can use this briefing to help communities understand the potential environmental impacts the community should be aware of. The briefing explains plantation forestry and the… read more
In its current form, the international investment treaty regime may stymie the business and human rights agenda in various ways. The regime may incentivize governments to favour the protection of investors over the protection of human rights. Investment treaty standards enforced through investor-state arbitration risk adversely affecting access to justice for project-affected rights holders. More… read more
Land contracts (also known as investor-state contracts, or concession agreements) show what commitments a forestry, farming or renewable energy company has made and what the government has said the company can do on the land. These promises define the positive and harmful effects the company’s project could have on community members’ livelihoods and human rights,… read more
Date: April 1, 2019, 6:15pm – 8:00pm
Location: Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, New York
Date: February 19, 2019, 12:10pm – 1:10pm
Location: Columbia Law School, Room 105
By Thierry Berger and Jesse Coleman
March 5, 2018
During investor-state arbitrations, the rights and interests of local communities are often overlooked. A recent webinar discussed mechanisms that are getting the concerns of local communities on the table.
Date: February 6, 2018, 7:00am-8.30am EST/ 12:00pm-1:30pm GMT
Location: Webinar
By Jesse Coleman and Kaitlin Cordes
October 10, 2016
As food systems become increasingly globalized, and commodity markets more complex, policymakers face the ever more difficult task of identifying and addressing multiple risks to food security. One risk that has largely escaped attention in global food policy discussions is the potential for high-frequency trading to exacerbate commodity market volatility, with corresponding negative impacts on the world’s hungry.