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Global Business & Human Rights

Our Global Business & Human Rights blog features nuanced discussion regarding the responsibilities of multinational companies, governments and multilateral institutions towards sustainability, with a particular focus on international human rights.

Cuts to a Little-Known U.S. Agency Undermine the Global Fight Against Forced Labor
Blog December 01, 2025
For several decades, the United States has strengthened its efforts to stringently enforce anti-trafficking statutes at home with practical partnerships to prevent forced labor abroad…
As the Global Energy Transition Advances, Business Centered on Rights Remains Good Business
Blog July 28, 2025
The U.S. regulatory landscape is quickly evolving and in flux, with the Executive Branch further increasing the use of executive authority to unilaterally and rapidly transform longstanding federal practices and policies…
As Governments Push Back on Corporate Human Rights Responsibilities, Influential Stakeholders Push Forward
Blog April 28, 2025
In a blog article before the November 2024 election, our GBHR Practice discussed how the pushback on ESG will not stop the tide towards higher human rights standards for companies…
Recent Developments in E.U. and U.S. Human Rights Law Signal an End to Voluntary Corporate Standards
Blog August 11, 2024
Over the next few years, lawmakers and regulators in many jurisdictions will be deepening their implementation of new human rights laws that impose significantly higher compliance burdens for companies. Concerns over whether companies can tolerate the increasing challenges associated with compliance are fast being supplanted by the belief that companies must build ESG risk management systems into their cost of doing business…
New E.U. Law Advances Global Efforts to Eradicate Forced Labor in Supply Chains
Blog June 26, 2024
On April 23, 2024, the European Parliament adopted, by an overwhelming 555-6 majority, a landmark law that will establish a sweeping and forceful regulatory regime to prohibit any products made using forced labor from being sold (including online) within, imported into, or exported from the E.U. market…
House Bill Proposes to End Funding for State Department Programs Involved with Forced Labor in China
Blog April 08, 2024
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a new measure, H.R. 4039, which would prohibit any funding for programs within the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development that involve materials or products with linkages to forced labor abuse of Chinese minority communities in the Xinjiang region…
Congress Begins 2024 with New Federal Human Rights Guidance in Sight
Blog February 01, 2024
A few days before Christmas, the Senate followed the House in bringing its legislative year to a swift but unsatisfying end. Although enough bipartisan goodwill was mustered to pass a massive National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, lawmakers remain embroiled in bitter partisan squabbles that are paralyzing critical federal funding measures…
Foley Hoag Conducts Independent Human Rights Impact Assessment Commissioned by Microsoft
Blog July 06, 2023
Microsoft commissioned Foley Hoag to conduct a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) on the impact of Microsoft's cloud and artificial intelligence technologies.  Specifically, we sought to understand the impacts that such technologies have on communities of color in the United States when those technologies are licensed to law enforcement agencies.  Microsoft commissioned the HRIA in response to a shareholder letter expressing concern regarding the human rights impact of certain Microsoft……
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ABOUT

Foley Hoag’s Global Business and Human Rights practice provides counsel to multinational companies, governments, and multilateral institutions regarding social, political, and environmental challenges.

Our advice to clients encompasses legal and reputational risk management with respect to human rights, including labor rights and the rights of indigenous peoples; the design and implementation of stakeholder engagement programs; and professional auditing services, ranging from due diligence desk-top analyses to on-the-ground human rights impact assessments and the monitoring of social, human rights, and environmental initiatives.

In addition, we provide clients with crisis management and mediation services with respect to disputes with impacted communities and stakeholder groups, ranging from indigenous peoples to non-governmental organizations.