ICIP passes on the torch of the secretariat of the International Network on Business and Human Rights

ICIP has passed on the torch of the Technical Secretariat of the International Network on Business, Conflict and Human Rights Research (BCHR Network) to the African Law Foundation (AFRILAW) in December.
ICIP, within the framework of the work program on Business and Human Rights, has held the secretariat of the network for the last three years, since its inception. The functions carried out include the holding of an annual conference with the participation of network members (made up of universities, research centers and NGOs from around the world), the publication of a monthly newsletter and management of the website.
AFRILAW, the organization that is taking over, is a Nigeria-based NGO dedicated to the promotion of human rights and social justice. Its coordinator, Okereke Chinwike, is a legal expert on human rights and development and has extensive experience in the field of business and human rights. The many organizations he has collaborated with include OECD Watch Network, International Advocates Working Group (IAWG), BankTrack/EPA Campaign, Coalition for Human Rights in Development, USA, Human Rights Defenders in Development Campaign Advisory Committee, Africa Coalition on Corporate Accountability (ACCA), Leigh Day LLP, UK, ICoCA, Private Security Governance Observatory, International Accountability Partnership (IAP), Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and the Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development (GFLJD).
AFRILAW was the only candidate nominated to take over the BCHR Network secretariat. The challenges it has set include strengthening contacts between stakeholders and policymakers, and strengthening the promotion of research.
BCHR Network
The International Network on Business, Conflict and Human Rights Research brings together members from universities, NGOs and research centers that are relevant in the field of armed conflict and the promotion of world peace. Participants include, for example, the universities of Georgetown, Quebec, Sorbonne, Leiden, Greenwich, Ottawa and Australia; and centers and foundations such as SIPRI, Fafo, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Global Witness, PeaceNexus and DCAF.
The network’s main objective is to investigate the causes, dynamics and consequences of business activity in contexts of armed conflict, the impact of this participation on human rights and the legal responsibilities that may arise. The initiative to create such a research network came in the autumn of 2011, when ICIP organized its first international seminar on business and human rights in Barcelona, with the aim of sharing the various agendas on this subject. These seminars continued, with subsequent editions in Barcelona in 2013, in London in 2014, and in Geneva in 2015, after which the group was formally established.