March 31, 2016--the Institute for Human Rights held academic lecture on the human rights responsibilities of enterprise. Speaker, Dr. Liang Xiaohui is a leader of "business and human rights" in China, as the main drafting expert to assist many industry organizations in China to develop a lot of social responsibility guidance documents, initiated many international social responsibility documents in UN and OECD. This lecture focused on the enterprise human rights responsibility and international agenda as well as enterprise practice. Prof. Zhang, associated professor, Co-director, and first-year Master students and some Ph.D students attended the lecture.

    Dr.Liang started with introducing a series of hidden human rights issues behind the cobalt supply chain in the Congo ( Kinshasa ). Dr. Liang said, the international companies, including Apple, Samsung and SONY, benefited from the African child labor. Cobalt is the key materials for lithium batteries, and lithium batteries widely applied to mobile phone and other electronic products, and more than half of the global supply of cobalt ore from Congo. In Congo, 20% of the cobalt ore come from the child labor hand. They suffered long hours, unsafe working conditions and skimpy pay. Enormous, long time exposure to cobalt ore dust would lead to serious physical harm to those children.

Then, Dr. Liang introduced the trade and human rights interaction in the process of internationalization of human rights in 19th Century as well as the business background behind the process. Dr. Liang pointed out that all industries and commercial enterprises are likely to have a direct, indirect, negative and positive effects on human rights. Subsequently, Dr. Liang introduced the endeavor that made by UN in human rights field to regulate business. The Human Rights Council recognized “Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights” in 2011, which identify the business responsibilities to respect and protect human rights. Finally, Dr. Liang concluded that corporate responsibility to respect human rights lied in human rights policy commitments, performance of their duty, effectiveness of remedy.

At the end of the lecture, Dr. Liang and students conducted a quiz interaction and posed with all participants.

Written by Lyu si