Ireland: CAO Participates in the Annual Galway Business and Human Rights Symposium

April 19, 2019 – CAO staff participated in a symposium on Non-Financial Reporting: Implications for business and human rights in Ireland in Galway, Ireland on April 2, 2019. The symposium was hosted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Participants at the symposium discussed the growing role of non-financial reporting in the context of international efforts aimed at advancing business respect for human rights. In addition to CAO, presenters at the symposium ranged from academic, public sector, civil society and private sector. Issues discussed included the importance of private sector reporting, differing national requirements on business to report, new EU reporting regulations, and various reporting frameworks.

CAO staff spoke about IFC/MIGA project level disclosure requirements, their applicability in international project finance, and CAO complaints raising concern regarding project level disclosure and ongoing reporting.  In particular, CAO staff highlighted cases where complainants raised concerns regarding reporting in local language and manner accessible to affected communities.

More information about the symposium can be found here.