Announcement: The Human Rights and Business Clinic is merging with the FAU Human Rights Clinic. Learn more about the Human Rights Clinic here.
The FAU Human Rights and Business Clinic (HRB Clinic) brings together students and academics at FAU with partner organizations to work on applied research projects. Led by doctoral researchers of the International Doctorate Programme “Business and Human Rights: Governance Challenges in a Complex World”, the Clinic serves the dual function of helping students harness research skills to deliver timely and impactful projects in partnership with an external organization, and provides academic research capacities to the partner organization. By bringing academia and practice closer together, the Clinic aims to deliver mutually beneficial and impact-oriented research.
Goals
- Use academic knowledge and expertise to respond to practice-led research.
- Provide students with professional experience in the field of business and human rights.
- Develop students’ research, writing, advocacy, and communication skills.
- Create project-driven connections between academics.
- Fill research gaps for partner organizations.
About the project
- The HRB Clinic partners with non-profit entities on practice-driven Human Rights and Business Research projects.
- The HRB Clinic operates through volunteer efforts, bringing together diverse skills and expertise.
- University students conduct research projects, under the supervision of doctoral researchers.
The HRB Clinic does not offer litigation advice.
Project 3: Project for filing a complaint to the OECD National Contact Point with the UK Barrister Krishnendu Mukherjee (Doughty Street Chambers)
Coordinators: Otgontuya Davaanyam, Eklavya Vasudev
Project 1: „THE GERMAN SUPPLY CHAIN ACT (LKSG) AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY“
in partnership with the Environment Defender Law Center (EDLC). April 2023 – August 2023
Summary of the project
This report presents the main findings of a comprehensive study on the main human rights impacts of the steel industry and the avenues the German Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) or the Act) offers to address these impacts.
Authors
FAU M.A Human Rights students: Mariana Malaquias Guimarães, Đorđe Popović, Köksal Avincan, Alice Kisumba, Sopiko Shaburishvili
Coordinators: Doctoral Candidate Bruna Singh and Doctoral Candidate Stephanie Regalia
Publications:
- Report:“THE GERMAN SUPPLY CHAIN ACT (LKSG) AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY”
- LkSG Guide
Project 2: “Just Transition Litigation Tracker” with the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Coordinators: Bruna Singh, Stephanie Regalia
Concluded Report: Unjust transition on trial: Communities and workers litigate to shape corporate practice
The report, Unjust transition on trial, and the related Just Transition Litigation Tracking Tool are the result of a research partnership between the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and the FAU Human Rights and Business Clinic.
The BHRRC briefing examines the rising trend of lawsuits against renewable energy and transition mineral mining firms for systemic human rights abuses.
The project involved seven master’s students from the FAU’s M.A. in Human Rights and M.A. in Development Economics and International Studies programs. They played a crucial role in the project, supporting the research and writing of the report.
Over the winter semester of 2023/24, the student team, supervised by Clinic coordinators Bruna Singh and Stephanie Regalia, had the opportunity to take a first look at an earlier version of the Just Transition Litigation database developed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. The students researched additional cases and produced a first interim report to explore the type of data, information, and lessons that could be drawn from an initial set of 54 cases. This interim report can be downloaded here.
