February 2026     

NEW YEAR - SUSTAINED FOCUS

Dear friends of the GCBHR,

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2026! As we look forward to the year ahead, the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights (GCBHR) remains focused on bridging the gap between research and corporate practice, specifically we are working on integrating human rights defenders in human rights due diligence processes, innovating business education for the commodity trading sector, and advancing the understanding of systemic child labor risks in global agriculture supply chain.

Overall, our objective is to identify transformative business models – we are looking forward to capturing our research and recommendations in a book co-authored with the Australian Human Rights Institute at the University of New South Wales.

The period from November 2025 through January 2026 has been one of the most active in the history of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights (GCBHR). From the halls of the UN to the frontlines of AI training and agricultural field research, our team has been working tirelessly to link high-level principles and measurable, real-world impact.

In this edition, we highlight our past engagements and preview Spring activities.

To stay informed about our work between newsletters, follow us on LinkedIn and visit our Insights page.

We are thrilled to see our community growing and look forward to using this momentum to shape the international discourse on corporate practice. Come to our next BHR get-together on March 3 at Le Scandale in Geneva.

Thank you for your continued support.

Warm regards,

The GCBHR Team

Highlights

RESEARCH & IMPACT

Fieldwork: Addressing Systemic Challenges in the Côte D’Ivoire

In January the GCBHR team conducted a Swiss National Science Foundation supported research trip to the Côte D’Ivoire. This mission focused on the agricultural sector—specifically cocoa—and the persistent challenges of child labor.

Our research is leveraging new earth observation technology to identify high risk regions and support companies in moving toward a holistic rights-based due diligence approach.

As we noted in our op-ed child labor is not a siloed issue, solutions need to be cross-sectoral. The findings from this trip will directly inform our upcoming policy papers this spring and our upcoming book launching later this year.

INFORMING THE DEBATE

Formalization of ASM

Our Director brought her expertise on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) to the Davos World Economic Forum panel on “Opportunities and Optimism: Delivering Critical Minerals at Scale” along with Mercuria and the Ministry of Mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We will continue advocating for the integration of the lessons learned from our analysis of ASM formalization from previous research between 2019-2025 that creates decent work for miners.

Throughout our research we continue to highlight the need to engage with women across supply chains and demonstrating how the formalization of ASM can drive women’s economic empowerment. Formalizing ASM requires long-term committed engagement to deliver transformation and remediation for human rights violations.  

Role of Private Sector in Atrocity Prevention

In January we participated in an expert seminar hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.  In a global landscape marked by rising violence and diplomatic gridlock, businesses are on the frontlines operating in a governance gap.  Atrocity prevention requires proactive engagement including collective diplomacy and heightened conflict sensitive due diligence that includes response plans to early warning signs such as internet shutdowns, discriminatory treatment of minorities, and misuse of dual-use technology to silence human rights defenders. Proactive prevention is required for any company operating in high-risk environments.

Technology

As we navigate an increasingly complex environment, we are expanding our research to include the critical cross-cutting theme of technology. We are looking into the impact of AI data centers on the environment, including local water usage. In December, we participated in the inaugural "AI for Human Rights Professionals" training at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as well as a roundtable hosted discussion organized by the UN OHCHR B-Tech Project and the Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights. Our key takeaways included the need for human-rights based approach to AI product design to avoid institutionalizing bias and a focus on the physical infrastructure of AI.

EDUCATION & INNOVATION

New Learning Models for Future Leaders: Commodity Trading Module

With support from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, we are finalizing our new commodity trading module for the UNIGE School of Economics and Management Master of Science in Commodity Trading program. Our first online module bridges academia and practice, featuring interviews with over a dozen experts from trading companies, government, and civil society provides students with firsthand knowledge of why upholding human rights is essential in global trade.

BHR Clinic: Training Future Leaders

Our Business and Human Rights Clinic continues to provide GSEM students with hands-on experience by solving real-world human rights challenges for our corporate partners. The 2025-2026 clinic partner is Mercuria, the students are developing training material for managing  human rights challenges in ASM.

If your company is interested in proposing a challenge for the upcoming semester, please reach out to us.

     YRS: Shaping the Academic BHR Discourse

The 10th anniversary of our Young Researchers Summit took place in St. Gallen this past September. The next Summit will take place in September 2027, if you are interested in applying or supporting the event please reach out to us directly. Watch our video on the 2025 Summit.

PAST EVENTS & HIGHLIGHTS

Teaching BHR in a Challenging Global Environment

We co-hosted the 9th Annual Meeting of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) with the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. The session "Teaching BHR in a Challenging Global Environment,” brought together academic, UN, and corporate leaders to develop strategic pathways for embedding human rights into the core curricula of finance, supply chain, and management programs. We continue to engage with the GBSN to enhance embedding BHR into core business curricula. Watch the panel recording

UN BHR Forum 2025

Director Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and the team contributed to critical discussions on mitigating risks in cocoa and sugar supply chains. Dorothée presented at the Development Dialogues on responsible ASM supply chains and participated in a high-level side event hosted by the UN Global Compact Brazil on Connected Global Value Chains.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Business and Human Rights Get-Together: Meet us in Geneva!

Save the Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Le Scandale, Geneva.

Join us for our first informal networking evening of the year! These "Get-Togethers" are a wonderful opportunity for professionals, students, and academics to connect in a relaxed setting and discuss the latest developments in the field. 

Feel free to share this newsletter in your network! 

Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights
Uni Mail, 40, Boulevard du Pont-d’Arve
1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland