Anti–Slavery Agenda for local Business & Human Rights Forum

The Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Forum meets today to examine the steps Northern Ireland businesses are taking to protect and respect human rights.The focus of the October meeting will be on Modern Slavery. Forum members will hear presentations from Aidan McQuade, Director of Anti-Slavery International.

Chair of; the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Chief Commissioner, Les Allamby commented:

”We are welcoming seven new businesses to the Forum today, including four from the agri-food sector. The Forum is an excellent opportunity for businesses to showcase their best practice in ethical trading and engage with experts on how to prevent human rights abuses. Many local businesses understand the value of human rights and we are delighted that local businesses are leading the way in adopting human rights policies and practices.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The event will be held at 10am on Thursday 6 October at Clare House.

2. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution. It is an independent statutory body first proposed in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) and established in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act (1998). It is answerable to Parliament at Westminster.

3. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is the current chair of the Business and Human Rights Forum, and provides the Secretariat.

4. The Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Forum was established in 2015 to share information and good practice amongst businesses. The forum has members from businesses (large and SMEs), NGOs, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

5. The work of the forum follows the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. More details are available here