This short course will explore the field of business and human rights with a particular focus on human rights practice and what advocacy means from a community perspective.  We will ask fundamental questions about community lawyering, including how does one define “community” and how one works with communities who have been affected by business.  We will explore challenges that arise for practitioners as well as business as they engage with communities.  These discussions will include critical examination of such issues as to how communities represent themselves, the role of women in communities, and how communities interact with lawyers and the human rights system.  We will also examine the strengths and limitations of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which have become the overarching international standard for the field.  We will conclude our time together with an exploration of what set of principles could more centrally incorporate communities and rights holders’ perspectives into different business and human rights contexts and frameworks.  

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Tyler Giannini