04/15/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/15/2021 03:42
Minister Coveney launches new human rights guidance for business enterprises
Press release
15 April 2021
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, will today launch new guidance human rights for business enterprises. The guidance was developed by a multi-stakeholder group as part of the implementation of the National Plan on Business and Human Rights.
Speaking in advance of the launch, Minister Coveney said: While business enterprises are, in general, a force for good around the world, there are cases where businesses may impact human rights. These impacts may be through direct activities or through business relationships- in other words - through operations and the value chain.
Minister Coveney launches new human rights guidance for business enterprises
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, will today launch new guidance human rights for business enterprises. The guidance was developed by a multi-stakeholder group as part of the implementation of the National Plan on Business and Human Rights.
Speaking in advance of the launch, Minister Coveney said: While business enterprises are, in general, a force for good around the world, there are cases where businesses may impact human rights. These impacts may be through direct activities or through business relationships- in other words - through operations and the value chain.
Disinformation, abuse and harmful content published on technology platforms poses an urgent threat to society as life increasingly moves online.
Every minute, 500 hours of video are posted to YouTube and 243,000 photos are uploaded onto Facebook, according to the World Economic Forum. On Facebook alone, 11.6 million pieces of content on child nudity and sexual exploitation of children were removed in the third quarter of 2019, a substantial increase on the previous quarter. Bullying, fake accounts to spam or defraud and terrorist propaganda is also spreading rapidly.
For now, Facebook is largely policing itself for harmful content.
The world s biggest social media company employs 35,000 people to develop technology that can constantly scan for illegal activity, hate speech or disinformation on its website and app.
By Cynthia Thyfault, Global BioFuture Solutions, Founder and CEO
Special to The Digest
In an exclusive Special to the Digest, Cynthia Thyfault, Global BioFuture Solutions, Founder and CEO shares a 2-Part Series on ESG Investing and the Bioeconomy. In this first part, we look at the importance of ethics in ESG investing and how to establish ethical frameworks.
Environmental, social and governance, or ESG investing, is a form of sustainable investing that considers an investment’s financial returns and its overall impact. An investment’s ESG score measures the sustainability of an investment in three specific categories: environmental, social and corporate governance.
TODAY
March 17, 2021
Facebook is addressing the criticism it’s faced for its role in human rights abuses by putting its values on paper in a new “corporate human rights policy” collecting “the human rights standards [it] will strive to respect.” Under the policy, Facebook is committing to providing an annual report on its impact on human rights and a fund for human rights defenders.
The company plans on reporting its “most critical human rights issues, like risks to freedom of expression” to its board of directors. The fund for defenders is concentrated on offline support for activists and journalists, but Facebook’s director of human rights Miranda Sissons says it will continue to support digital security efforts like “thwarting unauthorized access” to activists’ accounts, as well.