Making Human Rights Law Work: New alliances of business & civil society

Interactive roundtable addressing how shrinking civic space affects corporate due diligence, and what to do about it. How does shrinking civic space affect the information required for effective corporate due diligence? And how can businesses, financial institutions, civil society and other stakeholders work together to address this problem? Human rights and environmental due diligence laws increasingly require companies and financial institutions to identify, prevent and address adverse human rights impacts. Effective implementation depends on access to reliable, independent information from civil society organisations, journalists, trade unions, researchers and affected communities. However, as civic space faces growing restrictions worldwide, this vital information ecosystem is becoming more vulnerable. This interactive roundtable examines why shrinking civic space is not only a civil society issue, but also a business, banking and justice concern. Bringing together representatives from business, finance, civil society and policy, it will highlight practical examples of cross-sector collaboration, including the Dutch KYC standard to reduce NGO de-risking and research on conducting human rights due diligence in restrictive contexts. Participants will explore how new partnerships can strengthen accountability and help translate human rights laws into effective practice. The event is part of the Hague Justice Week 2026. We will love it if you can join us for the discussion in person. As capacity is limited, if tickets sell out or if you are unable to attend in person, online participation is also possible: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/SR1goMQXRGuHKfjRw6kykA