UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights to visit Argentina

GENEVA (15 February 2023) – The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights will conduct its first official visit to the Republic of Argentina from 16 to 28 February 2023.

The visit is at the invitation of the Government to assess efforts to address potential adverse human rights impacts of business activities and identify good practices to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Argentina.

The expert delegation will include Pichamon Yeophantong and Fernanda Hopenhaym.

During the visit, the Working Group will meet authorities, civil society actors, human rights defenders, trade unions, indigenous peoples, community members and individuals affected by business operations and activities. They will also meet representatives of business enterprises, business associations and academia.

The experts will visit Buenos Aires City, and other locations, including the provinces of Buenos Aires, Neuquén, Catamarca and Chaco.

A press conference to share preliminary findings and recommendations will be held at 11:30am on Tuesday 28 February 2023 in the conference room of Hotel EFE, Salón ORO PB, Paraguay 474, Ciudad de Buenos Aires. The press conference will be live streamed and access will be strictly limited to accredited journalists. Please email natalia.montagna@un.org to register.

The Working Group will present their findings to the Human Rights Council in June 2023.

ENDS

The Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises was established by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. Its current members are: Ms. Pichamon Yeophantong (Chairperson), Mr. Damilola Olawuyi (Vice-Chairperson), Ms. Fernanda Hopenhaym, Mr. Robert McCorquodale, and Ms. Elżbieta Karska.

The Working Group is part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent human rights monitoring mechanisms. The Working Group reports to the Human Rights Council and to the UN General Assembly. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. The experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 (resolution 17/4), provide the authoritative global standard for action to safeguard human rights in a business context, clarifying what is expected by governments and companies to prevent and address impacts on human rights arising from business activity.

UN Human Rights, country page – Argentina