[ad_1]
NEW YORK, 20 October (IBNS): Independent human rights experts at the UN hail business leaders who have decided to pull out of a high-level conference on The investments to be held next week in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, to worry about the fate of a dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
Dante Pesce, chairman of the UN working group on business and human rights, said Friday in a statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that the decision Companies and senior executives to withdraw "highlights how companies can use their address human rights concerns."
Among those who have withdrawn are the HSBC banking group, the car pool giant, Uber, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Thirty delegates and companies reportedly withdrew from the event.
The US Treasury Secretary and the UK Secretary of International Trade also announced that they would not leave, even though many sponsors and other companies are still expected.
"Business leaders need to focus on maintaining civic space wherever they do business," said Pesce. "Only in an environment where journalists and human rights defenders are able to speak freely can companies identify and effectively prevent negative human rights impacts."
Khashoggi was last seen on October 2, when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and there is no indication that he had ever left the building.
Other UN human rights experts have requested an investigation into the Khashoggi case earlier this week, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has asked governments Saudi and Turkish to ensure that a prompt, thorough, effective, impartial and transparent investigation is conducted.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has repeatedly asked that the truth be established. His spokesman told reporters Thursday that the joint Saudi and Turkish investigation was to take place before any international investigation conducted by the UN, "if all parties involved request it, or if there is a legislative mandate from a United Nations organ. "
The Working Group on Business and Human Rights presented a report to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, in which it highlighted concrete steps that companies must take to avoid an erosion of human rights. These principles are reflected in this year's United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights and in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
UN / Elma Okic Edit
[ad_2]
Source link
