The National Human Rights Commission of Korea hosted a special lecture by Michael K. Addo, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on the issues of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on May 18, 2015, at the President Hotel in Seoul, Korea.
The NHRCK organized the lecture in a bid to provide an opportunity to raise awareness on international trend on business and human rights among personnel in charge of business and human rights in businesses and to have discussion on encouraging human rights management in businesses.
The Working Group was initiated in June 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, and is composed of 4 Commissioners including the Chairperson.
Chairperson Addo, a lawyer of Ghana and professor of the Law School of the University of Exter in England, has been publishing various papers on human rights including freedom of expression and working as an advisor at various international institutions including the OHCHR and ICJ.
During the lecture, Chairperson Addo gave speech on the reason of emergence of the issue of business and human rights, introduced the UN implementation guidance on business and human rights, and explained the state’s duty to protect, corporates’ duty to respect, and approach to remedy.
He also explained why businesses should apply the value of human rights to their management, and what are the challenges that they will face in carrying out human rights management, and the NAP on business and human rights.
The NHRCK wishes that the special lecture served as an opportunity for businesses to recognize a need to implement human rights management and for public institutions to lead human rights management, resulting in spread of human rights management across Korean businesses.
