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Support lawyers in human rights and business

Nations United commitment to implementation at the national level of their guiding principles on business and human rights through national action plans (PNA). That is the main task that took the working group created for this purpose in 2012 to advance in the matter. Three years later, they are already 5 the countries that have adopted their NAPs (United Kingdom, Holland, Denmark, Finland and Lithuania) and other 25 that they have started their process of preparation and approval, Spain and Colombia.

Napa signify a different picture for the defense of human rights (HR) in the field of business activities. It will include new obligations for the company both State and, Therefore, It will require an adaptation of the existing judicial and extrajudicial mechanisms and the creation of new ones that will allow the repair of abuses committed both within and outside the national territory.

At the same time, Pilar III of the guiding principles power extrajudicial remedy of human rights violations in the business field. This includes mechanisms aimed at promoting mediation and arbitration, in order to avoid the obstacles identified in judicial.

Together with other institutions, Lawyers charge for both a leading role in the defence of human rights in the judicial field and the extrajudicial, both in country and abroad, on the occasion of the activities of companies operating internationally.

With the emergence of new legal standards, it becomes essential to make available to the legal profession knowledge and the tools necessary for the proper performance of their duties. The existence of new standards concerning the specific area of human rights and the special protection by such rights require, they do need a prompt and co-ordinated reaction of the institutions and bodies concerned, whose mission lies in awareness-raising and training in order to encourage a quick and correct application of the new standards.

The training of lawyers (both the internal and external companies, as those representing people whose rights have been violated) therefore acquires a special importance to the direct application of the principles guiding United Nations.

[In order to give legal responses to these needs, Sustentia Social innovation collaborates from 2014 with different legal institutions at the national and international level]

Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid (ICAM)
Fundación para la Abogacía Española (AED)
General Council of the Spanish legal profession (CGAE)
International Bar Association (IBA)
American Bar Association (ABA)
Globernance

– The collaboration with the Fundación para la Abogacía Española It is structured within the framework of the human rights of the Foundation classroom and in line with its objectives:

a) Contribute to the disclosure or reporting of situations of violations of fundamental rights that affect the most vulnerable groups in Spain, especially in what refers to its access to justice, at the same time proposing formulas of improvement.

b) Help facilitate a greater and better knowledge by the lawyers of legal peculiarities and care relating to legal aid in perspective of human rights to certain vulnerable groups.

This collaboration resulted in two conferences aimed at awareness-raising and training of lawyers in the field of business and human rights. First was a day at the headquarters of the Madrid CGAE (July of 2014), where Juanjo lamb and Vidal Martín carried out firstly "General introduction" to the field of business and human rights and then a deepening about "mechanisms of access to remedy through the State and enterprises (the judicial, mediation and arbitration)”.

In November of 2014, and in collaboration with the Consell de Col·Legis d’Advocats de Catalunya, held one day in Barcelona, where Carlos Cordero and Vidal Martin addressed the dilemmas facing "The company before human rights" and a "comparative analysis of cases and real initiatives and the response that foresee the principles guiding United Nations". In this session participated also Jordi Palou-Loverdos, of Aequitas-Center for mediation, thinking about "The mediation as a mechanism for access to the remedy" against violations of human rights.

– In collaboration with the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid (ICAM), Sustentia has developed internal documents of positioning in the field of business and human rights, and participated in the discussion concerning the determination of the thematic priorities of the College. The same, Sustentia will participate in the event VII meeting of Madrid, to be held between days 23 and 25 April of 2015, where Vidal Martin will take part in the round table entitled "the world of business and human rights".

– For his part, the General Council of the Spanish legal profession (CGAE) Social innovation Sustentia invited to participate in the XI National Congress of law, to be held in Vitoria between the 6 and the 8 may of 2015. His co-director, Carlos Cordero, It will take part in the panel "function Social de la Abogacia: the lawyer as essential in the defence and promotion of human rights".

– In addition the CGAE, as a member of the Working Group of the International Bar Association (IBA) for the elaboration of a guide for schools and associations of lawyers on business and human rights, requested together with the IBA Social innovation Sustentia technical assistance within the framework of the national consultations that are underway. Carlos Cordero and Vidal Martin took part in the consultations about the draft of the document would "Guide companies and rights human for of bar associations" (UPLOAD AND LINK DOCUMENT), held in Madrid in April of 2015.

– In their efforts to deepen the implications of the UN guiding principles for the profession, within its European regional event held in Berlin the American Bar Association (ABA) its opening session titled "United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights", so lawyers from us. UU. and in Europe they would have the opportunity to discuss novel aspects that they are ahead in this sense. The event, “2015 Europe Regional Forum: Transatlantic Deals and Disputes: What U.S.. and European Lawyers Must Know Today to Best Represent Their Clients"was held in Berlin days 26 and 27 March of 2015 and Carlos Cordero was part of the panel.

– The Institute of democratic governance Globernance, within your project Human Rights in Business, held during the days 19 and 20 February's 2015 the first Training Session of the four that is composed, aimed at generating capacities and knowledge above the challenges and legal practice for access to justice by victims. Carlos Cordero was invited as a speaker in one of the six panels, devoted to informal forms of Justice in the remedy of violations of human rights by business practice.

(Image Morguefile. Fountain of Justice, Berne)