GE Joins Global Business Initiative on Human Rights

GE’s experience in joining the Business Leaders’ Initiative on Human Rights (“BLIHR”) was invaluable in framing our approach to this topic. When BLIHR’s charter expired in early 2009, GE and other member companies were eager to form a new business organization that could continue to help shape what human rights practices in a business context should look like. Accordingly, GE became a founding member of the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (“GBI”). While in many respects GBI is designed to simply continue the good work, guidance and tools developed by BLIHR, its charter also includes bringing into the discussion of business and human rights “new players in new geographies.” The focus is to attract business members from, and hold convenings in, six underserved regions: South Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Latin America, Francophone Africa, and Middle East/North Africa.

In carrying out this charter in these distant regions of the world, GBI endeavors to collaborate with regional businesses, local NGOs in the human rights space, and the UN Global Compact.

In December of last year, GBI held its second convening in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was a great success, especially due to the inclusion of various business representatives from Egypt. In light of the current uprising in Cairo, certain statements made by Egyptian attendees during the course of the day have now taken on new meaning. Several speakers expressed appreciation for the opportunity to be at such a session focused on human rights. They noted the importance of the discussion on business and human rights but then observed that, regrettably, the topic was too “political” for them to carry on the conversation outside the protection of the meeting walls.

The meeting was also notable in that it coincided with John Ruggie’s trip to Cairo to discuss the topic of business and human rights with Egyptian government officials. John Ruggie is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights. This allowed GBI members the opportunity to attend a general session of government ministers and also allowed for Professor Ruggie to kick off the GBI convening. This coalescence is also entirely in keeping with GBI’s operating model. That is, GBI was successful in bringing together representatives from Egyptian companies, local NGOs and the Global Compact to discuss endemic human rights issues. By serving as a catalyst and prompting dialogue among these parties, GBI companies hope to benefit from ongoing discussions among key players in important emerging markets, like Egypt and the Middle East, with their share of human rights issues.