Business activities and enterprises significantly affect children in all aspects of their lives. As the Committee on the Rights of the Child highlighted, “children are both rights-holders and stakeholders in business”. Children are potential consumers targeted by marketing strategies and possibly using harmful or unsuitable products and services, off and online. Many are workers in the formal or informal economy. They are family members of business employees and, as such, they may be directly affected by their working conditions and environment. Children are also members or residents of communities and environments, which are affected by business activities or in which business operates. Children are “often disproportionately affected by the adverse impact of business activities”. Yet, the impact of business on children and their rights is often still invisible to many stakeholders: governmental bodies, decision makers within the business sector but also human rights advocates.

The aim of this virtual side event, which will be held on Wedneday October 21 from 1pm to 2:30pm CEST, is to create a platform to exchange on priorities to be raised and addressed during the 6th Session of the open-ended inter- governmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG) from October 26 to October 30, 2020. This event will hear from diverse and relevant stakeholders on how they are addressing the impact of business activities and enterprises on the lives of children and youth and how a legally binding instrument could regulate and mitigate the negative impact on their rights.

Panellists:
• Anita Goh, International Commission of Jurists: Presentation of the legal analysis
• Emanuella Ribeiro Halfeld Maciel, Clínica de Direitos Humanos, Federal University of Minas Gerais,
children rights violations and mining tailing dams (Brazil)
• Gabriela Kühn, ECPAT International – Case study on child protection from sexual exploitation in the
context of business activities
• Cristina Duranti, Good shephard sisters international foundation – Case study child rights violations
in the context of mining, DR Congo

The side-event will be held on Zoom at the following link:
http://bit.ly/ChildRightsSideEvent (Meeting-ID: 857 4944 6537 Access code: 749664)

Please register here if you wish to attend the event and check the concept note for additional information!

Event Contacts:
Child Rights Connect: Maty Diawara – programmes2@childrightsconnect.org
DKA Austria: Ingrid Pintaritsch – ingrid.pintaritsch@dka.at