This session will examine the range of human rights issues facing global companies in today’s increasingly integrated world economy. It will examine labor and workplace safety issues for manufacturers outsourcing their products, security issues facing the oil and mining industries in conflict zones, privacy and internet freedom issues facing the information technology sector, and issues of child and forced labor facing the agricultural sector. In each of these areas companies are being asked to develop sustainable business models that address these challenges while at the same time remaining competitive and profitable.
This session will focus particular attention on how smart global businesses in each of these sectors are working collectively with other companies and with other stakeholders to help set a framework for addressing these important but challenging issues. It also will explore the ways in which stronger national legal systems can help re-enforce these efforts.