ZABALA invites you to the event on protecting human rights in business

The 14th edition of the European Development Days, an annual event by The Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG DEVCO), will take place on 15 – 16 June 2021 with a focus on The Green Deal for a Sustainable Future. ZABALA, an expert in social innovation, collaborates with DG DEVCO and will host an event on how to combine sustainable business activities while respecting human rights. ZABALA is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and has a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Human rights

Many of the areas with high biological diversity on the planet are inhabited by indigenous people who share a strong cultural, social and economic relationship with their traditional lands. Protecting Indigenous Rights is the best way to protect local biodiversity and the environment.

The European Development Days provide a great occasion to raise these problems at the international level and start to change the paradigm on business and human rights. The event organised by ZABALA and the International Network of Human Rights will bring together indigenous people, the public and private sectors and field experts to discuss and set a common ground for further work on rights-based approaches in business.

Good practices from the community dialogues

The event will host a debate on the instruments and processes available to safeguard Indigenous Peoples rights in the development of business activities in their lands. The experience of community dialogues from different countries of Latin America will be presented to foster processes focused on the due diligence implementation and spaces of dialogues with local and indigenous communities from both the environmental as well as gender perspective.

Beyond showcasing the good practices from the community dialogues, further practical guidelines will be discussed to help in building relationships of mutual trust among the actors, recognizing and ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ rights and their role as environmental custodians and reinforcing national frameworks that guaranty respect for human rights.

The event will raise awareness of Indigenous People challenges to help with their protection. Processes and steps will be defined to ensure respecting the human rights in any business project.

Speakers

On the 16th of June, the event will be moderated by Susana Garayoa from ZABALA Innovation, an environmental journalist. Highly regarded international experts will participate as speakers: Lottie Cunningham, Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, Roberto Ordoñez, Uitoto indigenous community, and Sebastien Porter, European Commission – DG for International Partnerships.