Human Rights in Development Cooperation and Business

For many years, the LBI of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) has worked successfully in the area of Human Rights in Development Cooperation and Business, both conceptually and in practice. In both fields human rights need to be “translated” to be understood and operationalised. This approach is often called the “added value” of human rights, or, if taken in more depth, a “Human Rights-based Approach”. As these areas are very distinct and specific, a human rights-based approach must be contextualised to meet the objectives and interests of the various actors in these areas.

Both fields have experienced dynamic developments in recent years. For example, companies have been identified as potential new “duty-bearers” of human rights, meaning that they have the responsibility to respect and fulfil human rights in their sphere of influence, complementary to states which are the primary duty-bearers. In development cooperation, a growing number of actors follow a human rights-based approach to development as an effective and universally legitimised means to reach the overall aim of poverty reduction.

BIM offers advice and support on the practical application of a human rights-based approach to development cooperation and business.

Our activities at one glance:

• Consultancies
• Research and publications
• Lectures and workshops
• Implementation of projects
• Monitoring
• Audits

More details on these activities can be found in the specific thematic areas.