The 2023 UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia Pacific, co-organised by the ILO, IOM, OHCHR, UNDP, UN Women, UNEP and UNWG, will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from June 6th to June 9th. Under the theme “From Commitment to Action”, the 5th UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum aims to build on ongoing dialogue on the challenges the business and human rights community needs to act upon and move from commitment to action.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) will serve as the central instruments and a foundation for the Forum to explore good practices and discuss complementary strategies for governments, businesses, rights holders, and other partners in advancing responsible business. In addition to raising awareness about these two instruments as well as related guidelines such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and legislative initiatives, the Forum will identify practical solutions and effective ways forward to advance responsible business.

The ILO will organise two sessions at the forum. The first session, "Decent Work in Supply Chains", will explore how supply chains can advance decent work, examine the roles of governments, social partners and enterprises, and discuss interventions and lessons learned in the Asia Pacific region. The second session, "A Safe and Healthy Workplace as a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work", will highlight the importance of this new fundamental principle and right at work for the business and human rights agenda, share experiences of governments, social partners and businesses in addressing occupational safety and health in the workplace, including violence and harassment.

Prior to the Forum, the ILO and the UN Working Group on Business and human rights will organise a training on UNGPs and MNE Declaration. The ILO will also organise a side session on "Building Labour Rights into Business Education" in collaboration with the Global Business School Network and the University of Geneva.

Objectives
The Forum aims to:

• Raise awareness and strengthen capacity in relation to the implementation of the UNGPs and the MNE Declaration into the next decade
• Take stock of the progress and challenges in promoting responsible business practices in the Asia-Pacific region and reflect on the lessons learnt to scale up progress
• Create an inclusive space for multi-stakeholder dialogue and facilitate peer-to-peer learning and promote collaboration and networking among a wide range of stakeholders, including rights holders, governments, businesses and industry associations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, trade unions, human rights defenders, academia, lawyers, and journalists

For more info: https://www.rbhrforum.com/
For registration (both in-person and virtual), please use the link.