Stakeholder engagement is an often mentioned but under-explored concept and practice in the business and human rights space. While businesses are called on to engage with stakeholders, including rights-holders, they tend to do so in unsatisfactory ways. However, there are gaps in the law and guidance about how to undertake effective stakeholder engagement, which exacerbates the problem. This event will cover some legal and practice gaps in the area of business engagement with rights-holders and will present current practices in this area.

• Professor Ugljesa Grusic, legal advisor to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and UCL Professor of Private International Law, will chair the event.
• Lara Blecher, PhD Candidate at UCL Laws, will speak to her recently released UCL policy brief on why mining companies and investors should engage with rights-holders.
• Dr. Allison Lindner, Member of the UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Development’s Academic Circle, and UCL Lecturer in Law, will speak about the importance of engaging with stakeholders from the informal economy and the challenges that arise in doing this.
• Dr. Diana Salazar from UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture will talk about her work with affected rights-holders through the London Mining Network.
• Roger Featherstone, a rights holder affected by BHP and Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project in Arizona, will speak about his extensive experience of direct engagement with companies and investors.

Please join us on 14th January 2025, at 6pm in the Keeton Room at Bentham House to hear from this outstanding panel of experts.

This event is supported by the UCL Institute for Human Rights