Good morning. I am honored to appear today before the Philippines Commission on Human Rights. My name is Marcos Orellana. I am the director of the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that defends the rights of people worldwide. We investigate human rights abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch has done research and advocacy on human rights issues in the Philippines for more than 25 years. My area of expertise is public international law, having lectured and published in the field for more than 20 years. The case before you has great significance for millions of people who are, and will be, impacted by climate change. It also has great significance for humanity´s sense of justice and responsibility towards the totality of life on the planet. In the time available to me, I will speak about two questions that directly concern the responsibilities of carbon majors—the largest companies producing crude oil, natural gas, coal, and cement who are also the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters—for human rights impacts resulting from climate change. The first question: What are the responsibilities of business enterprises under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights? The second, what are the key elements of the recent advisory opinion on human rights and the environment rendered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights? I. The Responsibilities of Business Enterprises under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights The first question concerns the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Back in 2011 the UN Human Rights Council adopted, by consensus, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These Guiding Principles reflect high-level agreement after decades of debate at the international level over the human rights responsibilities of business enterprises. One of the key achievements of the Guiding Principles was precisely their ability to gather political consensus at the United Nations. The UN Guiding Principles guide the implementation of the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework that the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, presented to the Human Rights Council in 2008. Under this framework, governments have obligations to protect against corporaterelated human rights abuses, business enterprises have responsibilities to respect all human rights, and victims are entitled to an effective remedy. Concise as it is, this framework reflects international legal developments in the field of business and human rights. Marcos Orellana – Remarks for Philippines CHR 23 & 24 May Hearing 1

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