A clarion call of concern over the often-dangerous crossroads between business and human rights has been sounding of late, most prominently trumpeted by Harvard Professor John Ruggie as Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights and Business… Last month, Team Ruggie announced a collaborative study with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)…to examine just such a juncture: so-called stabilization clauses in contracts between host governments and project finance investors… The concern: when governments strengthen domestic human rights regulations, often to comply with international law, do these clauses exempt companies from compliance or governments from enforcement obligations? What is happening in practice on the ground? To answer these questions empirically, Team Ruggie added human rights lawyer Andrea Shemberg in June to work with Motoko Aizawa, head of the policy and standards unit of IFC’s environment and social development department… One of the key questions Shemberg is asking is why stabilization clauses exist in the first place… In addition to identifying whether and to what degree stabilization clauses negatively impact human rights, the study will advance recommendations for solving these problems. [refers to BP]