For the first time a session on the Pacific will feature at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights.
Delegates speaks prior to the opening of a session of the Human Rights Council on the Palestinian territories situation on March 23, 2015 in Geneva. Photo: AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI
Representatives from civil society and some Pacific governments will gather in Geneva on Thursday to discuss human rights challenges in the region that are caused by companies.
As well as outlining the key business and human rights challenges in the Pacific, the extractive sector and the climate crisis are also on the agenda.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an international NGO, has been working closely with participants of the session titled, 'Advancing the Human Rights Agenda in the Pacific'.
Amy Sinclair, a regional representative for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. Photo: RNZ Pacific
The NGO's Pacific researcher, Amy Sinclair, said corporate human rights abuse in the Pacific often flew under the radar.
"Some companies going into the region are not adhering to international standards which is causing significant issues for the communities that are coming up against the projects, who might be experiencing pollution in their water ways or even death from when food sources, or water sources are poisoned," Ms Sinclair said.
"The key sectors where we're seeing harm resulting in the Pacific are mining... but also other sectors like tourism, where we're seeing some irresponsible property development which can then harm local communities when reefs are destroyed... also increasingly in the fishing sector, where modern slavery on tuna boats has been shown to be a major area of concern."
In conjunction with the Pacific session in Geneva, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre will launch an online portal.
As well as providing resources for Pacific activists and advocates, Ms Sinclair said the portal would expose corporate human rights abuse in the Pacific to the rest of the world.
"One of the key drivers for the portal is really to shine a light for the first time into the shadows because there has been scant attention paid outside of the Pacific, internationally, to the abuses that are playing out."
