GENEVA –The Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, Alena Douhan, with the support of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, will hold an International Conference on Sanctions, Business and Human Rights at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 21 and 22 November 2024 (Room XXVI). The conference will bring together various stakeholders, including States, civil society and humanitarian actors, academics and legal professionals to discuss unilateral sanctions, overcompliance, and their impact on human rights, as well as avenues to mitigate or eliminate sanctions’ adverse humanitarian and human rights impact. It will also formally present the Guiding Principles of Sanctions, Business and Human Rights and the Commentary thereto prepared by the Special Rapporteur for further discussion. “The Guiding Principles are intended to present principles, guidelines and benchmarks for States, international organisations, businesses and other actors and to be used as an instrument to encourage adherence to the rule of law at the international arena, to avoid and/or minimise over-compliance and to ensure promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with international law,” the Special Rapporteur said. “The Guiding principles do not create any new international legal norms but rather demonstrate how already existing customary and treaty norms of international law shall be applied in sanctions’ environment. “It is of critical importance that the international community pays particular attention to the compounding effects of States and business over-compliance with sanctions and mobilises for the protection of human rights in sanctions contexts,” Douhan said. The conference will also address principles of international law applicable to sanctions environments, human rights-based approaches in business activities, the obligations of due diligence, precaution and humanity of States and businesses, sanctions regulations from the perspective of international law including human rights law and measures to enhance the effectiveness and efficacy of humanitarian response and assistance in sanctions environments. The event will include three sessions: High-Level Conference, 21 November,10:00 – 13:00 CET (UN Web TV) Humanitarian stakeholders’ session, 21 November, 15:00 – 18:00 CET Academics and Legal Professionals’ session, 22 November, 10:00 – 18:00 CET The Special Rapporteur invites all relevant stakeholders to submit proposals and comments on the Guiding Principles and the Commentary. Relevant information about the International Conference on Sanctions, Business and Human Rights can be accessed through the conference’s dedicated webpage. The expert: Alena Douhan, Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. For inquiries and media requests, please contact: hrc-sr-ucm@un.org For media inquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or John Newland (john.newland@un.org) Follow news related to the UN"s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts