in memory of Daan Schoemaker Date: Thursday 14 February 2013 Time: 15.30 – 19.30h Venue & route: De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Claude Debussylaan 80, Amsterdam

Nederlands Juristen Comité voor de Mensenrechten (NJCM, the Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists) and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek cordially invite you to the seminar ‘Human Rights as a Business Risk – from soft law to hard law’ at the offices of De Brauw in Amsterdam.

Humans rights violations as a business risk is currently a hot topic. It's no wonder a growing number of national and international businesses address human rights as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. Where most CSR initiatives have started out as non-binding ‘soft law’ arrangements, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ever-growing voice from corporations to respect human rights continues to gain credence and importance as a legally enforceable ‘hard law’ instrument.

This event is dedicated to the development of enforceable ‘hard law’ within CSR initiatives. The seminar will focus on how individuals and public organisations can use existing laws to seek legal redress for human rights violations in civil law claims. Three keynote speakers will share their thought-provoking experiences of transforming CSR as a concept on paper to one of accountability, while maintaining different yet complementary goals. The speakers will provide an overview on the union of business and human rights as it has developed and exists today. Thereafter, participants will have the opportunity to engage in an exchange of experiences, views and opinions during a panel discussion.

The seminar is organised by the board of the NJCM and its working group on Sustainable Development and Human Rights (DOEM) in memory of Daan Schoemaker who passed away unexpectedly in February 2012. Daan was a board member of the NJCM and worked for Sustainalitics where he was responsible for Global Compact Compliance services.

Chair

Jan van de Venis, Attorney at JustLaw, chair of NJCM working group DOEM, Worldconnector

Speakers

Alex Geert Castermans, Professor of Law at Leiden University
Liesbeth Enneking, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Molengraaff Institute for Private Law of Utrecht University
Frans Evers, Chairman of the Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
Tineke Lambooy, Associate Professor at Nyenrode University and the Molengraaff Institute for Private Law of Utrecht University

Additional panelists

Jasper Teulings, General Counsel at Greenpeace International
Maria Anne van Dijk, Senior Advisor on Environmental, Social and Ethical Risk and Policy at ABN AMRO

ENTRANCE: free of charge

REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Or contact Arjanne van Beelen: +31 (0)20-577 1388, arjanne.vanbeelen@debrauw.com

PROGRAMME