Multi-Stakeholder Consultation to Integrate Gender-Sensitive and Gender-Responsive Frameworks in Business Activities

Participants in the consultation Participants in the consultation

5 February 2019

At our consultation hosted for the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Business and Human Rights (WG), around 40 participants – academics, representatives of international organizations, members of UN treaty bodies, the private sector, business associations and civil society – discussed key issues and challenges related to the application of a ‘gender lens’ to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles).

‘This consultation will feed into the work of the WG, which is currently developing guidance on applying a gender lens to the UN Guiding Principles. A guidance document will be presented by the WG in its June 2019 report to the UN Human Rights Council’ explains Felix Kirchmeier, Coordinator of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Identifying the Gender Dimension of each ‘Pillar’ of the UN Guiding Principles

Participants focused on all aspects of the UNGPs – the state obligation to protect, the business responsibility to respect and access to remedy – to integrate a gender-sensitive and gender-responsive framework in business activities.

‘We both discussed obligations and responsibilities of states and businesses on issues like gender integration in corporate policy commitments, gender-sensitive remediation, how to respond to discriminatory laws, policies, norms and practices, or gender-responsive adjudication of disputes by courts or non-judicial mechanisms’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier.

Consultation on a Gender Lens to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Presentation and Discussion of the Geneva Academy Report

The consultation was also the occasion to present our new publication Responsive Due Diligence for Business Actors: Human Rights-Based Approaches and discuss its main recommendations.

‘Surya Deva, Chair of the WG, welcomed the publication as it provides in-depth analysis on one of the areas to be covered by the WG, which is the question of gender-responsive due diligence’ explains Felix Kirchmeier.

About our Research Project on Human Rights and Gender Equality in the Context of Business Activities

This project aims to support the WG’s consultation process to apply a ‘gender lens’ to the UN Guiding Principles and thus contribute the promotion and protection of human rights and gender equality in relation to the business sector via research on international human rights law and policies related to gender equality guarantees and their application to business activities.

Additionally, it allows the Geneva Academy to host an international conference in Geneva to help the WG finalize its process of global consultations.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

A GHRP training course News

Training Opportunities 2025: Engage with UN Human Rights Mechanisms

28 January 2025

The Geneva Human Rights Platform is launching its 2025 training programme, designed to empower stakeholders engaging with UN human rights system.

Read more

ECHR Logo News

In Highlight: ECHR Knowledge Sharing Platform

13 May 2025

Via its DHRTTDs Directory, the Geneva Human Rights Platform provides a comprehensive list and description of such key tools and databases. But how to navigate them? Which tool should be used for what, and by whom? This interview helps us understand better the specificities of the current highlight of the directory: ECHR Knowledge Sharing Platform

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

George Floyd protest in Washington D.C. Project

Promoting and Protecting the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association and Civic Space Worldwide

Started in June 2020

This project aims at providing support to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Clément Voulé by addressing emerging issues affecting civic space and eveloping tools and materials allowing various stakeholders to promote and defend civic space.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more