Importance of human rights approach in achieving overall goals of sustainability emphasised

The School of Business Environment, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), organised an inaugural programme of its flagship capacity building programme ‘IICA Certified Business and Human Rights Professional’ in Manesar, on 17^th February 2024. The programme is developed in collaboration with the Business and Human Rights in Asia (B+HR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and supported by the European Union.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Praveen Kumar, Director General and CEO, IICA, emphasised on the national instruments embedded within the Constitution of India and other laws which promote human rights and he highlighted importance of ethical practices in business supply chain with particular focus on vulnerable sections.

Prof. Garima Dadhich, Head, School of Business Environment focused on creating BHR champions within businesses.

In her address in the inaugural session, Ms. Nusrat Khan, National Specialist BHR, UNDP, narrated the importance of human rights in achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as about 90 percent targets of SDGs are based on human rights.

Ms. Shubha Sekhar, Regional Director, Human Rights, Coca-Cola, shared practical insights in addressing reputational and legal risks and a social licence to operate for businesses, and emphasised on clarity of role of business and human rights professionals in businesses.

In his address on the occasion, Shri Viraf Mehta, Adjunct Faculty, IICA, highlighted the importance of human rights approach in achieving overall goals of sustainability.

In his remarks on the occasion, Dr. Ravi Raj Atrey shared a brief overview about the three months online learning and certification programme by IICA on Business and Human Rights and announced the nominations for the upcoming third batch of the IICA Certified Business & Human Rights Professional programme through the IICA website www.iica.nic.in.

The programme was attended by 30 corporate representatives from the domains of sustainability, business & human rights, CSR, human resources, etc. along with directors on boards of different companies as registered participants.

Human rights in corporate governance promoted to embed constitutional obligations and enhance supply chain due diligence and compliance. Integration of human rights obligations into corporate practice is emphasised, highlighting constitutional human rights obligations and the need for ethical supply chain practices. Clarity in the role of business and human rights professionals is urged to manage reputational and legal risks and secure a social licence to operate. A human rights based approach is framed as essential to achieving sustainability objectives and aligning corporate activity with the Sustainable Development Goals, operationalised through a certified capacity building programme for corporate representatives to strengthen governance, due diligence and compliance culture.