News
The Centre for Child Rights and Business is co-organising a side session at the 2025 UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific together with the Global Human Rights Centre and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Date & Time: 19 September 2025, 13:45–14:45 ICT
Session Title: Fields to Fairness: Gender and Migrant Labour Rights in Climate-Vulnerable Agrifood Systems
Speakers: Dr Cynthia C. Umezulike, President of Global Human Rights Centre and human rights lawyer; Gayang Ho, Director of Research, The Centre for Child Rights and Business; Amit Choudhury, National Officer, IOM; more speakers TBC
Why this session matters
Agrifood systems and agriculture are on the frontline of climate change, where rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and land degradation increasingly threaten rural livelihoods. Women and migrant workers are particularly affected, often bearing the brunt of precarious, informal work while facing discrimination, limited protections, and systemic barriers to justice.
Although human rights due diligence (HRDD) is gaining traction through the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and regulatory frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), too often these processes overlook the intersecting realities of climate vulnerability, gender inequality and migrant precarity. The result is a cycle of superficial compliance rather than the meaningful accountability and systemic change that are urgently needed.
What we will explore
This panel discussion will bring together business, government and civil society perspectives to explore how to build more equitable, inclusive and climate-just agrifood systems. Our discussion will focus on:
Examining risks at the intersection of climate change, gender inequality and migrant labour in agrifood supply chains.
Scaling solutions through practical tools, stakeholder collaboration and integration into corporate supply chains and National Action Plans (NAPs).
Closing HRDD gaps by centring the lived experiences of rural women and migrant workers, and ensuring access to remedies and sustainable livelihoods.
Guiding our discussion are key questions such as:
How can businesses, governments, and civil society work together to create fairer remedies and sustainable livelihoods for rural women and migrant workers?
How can HRDD be strengthened to address intersecting vulnerabilities?
What inclusive and gender-responsive HRDD models show promise in shifting supply chains from box-ticking compliance to real accountability?
About the Forum
The 2025 UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum will gather stakeholders from across Asia and the Pacific under the theme “Anchoring Progress and Strengthening Regional Leadership on Human Rights through Crisis.” This year’s Forum aims to accelerate implementation of business and human rights standards, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and showcase leadership from the Asia-Pacific region.
Learn more about the Forum here.
We look forward to joining this important conversation and sharing how inclusive, gender-responsive approaches to HRDD can create fairer, more sustainable agrifood systems for workers and communities most affected by climate change.
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