, At GBI’s Monday evening session, “Are human rights dead?”, participants enjoyed a discussion considering the wider trajectory of human rights and responsible business amid an increasingly turbulent global landscape. The discussion contrasted sharply with last year’s discussion, when optimism around imminent regulatory progress shaped expectations. This year, John Morrison and Gerald Pachoud noted a palpable shift to geopolitical volatility, renewed impunity, and mounting challenges to the universality of rights, all contributing to a sense of uncertainty about where the global system is heading.
Against this backdrop, the conversation explored what long-term trends still point to progress, why short-term political incentives can undermine that progress, and how misperceptions about what has been achieved may be fuelling today’s backlash. John and Gerald debated whether business and human rights has become too insular, how to reconnect with adjacent global agendas, and what it would take to revitalise human rights as a practical, people-centred project. They also reflected on dilemmas companies face in complex environments, the widening gap between state commitments and practice, and the need for renewed creativity in how leverage, cooperation and norms are built.
The evening concluded with the launch of GBI’s new compendium of practice-based insights, distilling our What “good” looks like series across a range of human rights due diligence topics, designed for both practitioners and policymakers.
Watch or listen to the session to hear the discussion in full
Access the compendium here