11th UN Forum on business and human rights

(Русская версия прилагается)

Interpretation available in English and Russian

Session organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, in collaboration with Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business (PL) and Y. Mudryi National Law University (UA)

Brief description of the session:
In the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, following the transition from centrally-planned economies to capitalism, legal frameworks are often designed to promote the private sector. In some cases, particularly where there is entrenched corruption, this can lead to business exemptions from their obligations to respect human rights. In addition, informal employment and unemployment are increasingly widespread problems in the region, while legislation is lagging behind, leaving those working in the gig economy vulnerable and unprotected. These issues are being exacerbated and perpetuated by toxic working culture, ‘feudal’ management styles and a lack of engagement with stakeholders in the region. In this context, the upcoming European Union framework on mandatory human rights due diligence – which will have a spillover effect on the broader region due to supply chain structures - has a chance to provide an opportunity to address some of these issues, but risks sending insufficiently strong signals about the importance of meaningful and safe stakeholder engagement.

Key objectives of the session:
The session aims to touch on:

• New forms of labour relationships, with a focus on flexibility and vulnerability
• Importance of stakeholder dialogue
• De-regulation and its impact on labour rights
• Gender discrimination in the workplace 
• Provision of essential goods and services during armed conflict while ensuring respect for the rights of their employees
• Voluntary and mandatory human rights due diligence (HRDD), including heightened HRDD

Key discussion questions:

• How should vulnerable labour relationships be challenged and corrected/improved?
• What characterizes a good and meaningful stakeholder dialogue with workers (employees, contracted workers, temporary workers, delegated workers, people employed on civil law contracts, people on involuntary self-employement on B2B contract, etc.)?
• How should effective remedies be designed and implemented, and how should access to them be secured and ensured?

Background to the discussion:
The region faces a multitude of issues, which range from unfruitful efforts to develop strategies on labour law protections, to challenges to uphold workers’ rights during crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This general context makes the position of employees especially precarious and increases vulnerabilities of those who suffer from discrimination and don't have access to effective remedies. To address these issues, among others, requires efforts from States, business and CSOs to develop mechanisms to avoid the risk of silence on salient human rights abuses in labour relationships.

Additional background documents:

• Olena Uvarova, Responsible business conduct in time of war: Implications for essential goods and services providers in Ukraine