The Institute

Homa – Human Rights and Business institute was created in 2012 and started from the recognition of an academic and legal gap in the production of qualified knowledge, and in the academic-legal advice to the Civil Society and Government organizations on themes related to the violations of Human Rights by Business, especially when it comes to reaching effective protective measures, and accountability mechanisms for Business and their violations.

Our organization understands that human beings must be the focus of every institution. For that reason, we choose as our name the term “Homa”, which means man/human being in the Esperanto language, which was created with the intention of being a universal language.

In that sense, and different from the main nomenclature in that field of study “Business and Human Rights”, we call it Human Rights and Business Centre, exactly because we believe that the theme should be regarded under the logic of these rights protection. That being said, these must come before the business in that legal, political, and academic discussion.

Our objective

Our objective is to produce qualified knowledge and offer academic-legal advice on violations of Human Rights by business for the Civil Society and the government. Focusing on the protection of Human Rights and the centrality of the affected people.

How we work

We develop research lines around “Human Rights and Business”, informing, raising awareness and training actors of the society on the theme, and we offer academic-legal advice for the cooperation of the organized Civil Society and Government.

For this purpose, our action is supported by other academic entities, organized sectors of the Civil Society and even the State. Having a bigger and closer relation to the testimony of the affected by Human Rights violations.

In that scenario, Homa has been following since 2013 the international agenda on Human Rights and Business, developed at the United Nations, which includes the negotiation of an International Treaty on the theme at The Human Rights Council. The Centre was present in all sessions of negotiation of the binding instrument, as well as in several informal consultations, and ordinary sessions of the Council. Homa is part and advise the “Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity”, that has more than 200 social movements and organizations throughout the world. In 2017, we were invited, on the figure of the coordinator Manoela Roland, as experts on the field to speak to members of the Working Group at the 3rd Negotiation Session at the UN in Geneva.

In the same way, Homa worked along with the Conselho Nacional de Direitos Humanos – Brazil on the formulation of the draft of the Resolution No. 05, of 12 March 2020, of the CNDH. The resolution considers new National Guide Lines for a Public Policy on Human Rights and Business. The resolution, created in a democratic process and with the participation of the Civil Society, was used as a counterpoint to the Federal Decree No. 9.571/2018 and with a demonstration of the democratic creation of a normative mechanism of public policy on the theme in Brazil. Also regarding the national context, Homa is part of a research team called Rede de Pesquisa Rio Doce, acting on the case of the Fundao dam collapse in Mariana, Minas Gerais. The group along with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights also filed a suit on the case. Besides that network, the Centre also integrates the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service Working Group on Human Rights and Business.

Our lines of research and action

Line | National public policies on Human Rights and Business

That line has the research objective of finding legal solutions for the challenges on the development of national public policies of Human Rights and Business, with especial interest on the study of mining activities that violate the human rights, and the monitoring of the situation in cooperation with federal agencies, justice institutions, social movements, other groups of research that are part of the Rede de Pesquisa Rio Doce, and of the monitoring of legal socio-environmental consequences of the Doce river basin disaster in Mariana, and of the Paraopeba river in Brumadinho.

Line | International Treaty on Human Rights and Business

The work of Homa, in that line, consists of the legal analyses of the Treaty key elements, aiming to have a better efficiency on the protection of the Human Rights, and rupture with the dominant business logic. That work is constantly being developed in partnership with the civil society, in a way that the Centre can be the spokesperson for the demands of the affected people. The results of the work incorporate the elaboration of reports and technical opinions, production of scientific papers, event organization, besides the assistance and training of the civil society.

Line | Vulnerable Groups and Communities in the field of Human Rights and Business

That line has the objective of promoting studies and products aimed to the protection of the most vulnerable groups and communities that were affected by major business activities, focusing on indigenous people and the questions related to race, gender and sexual orientation. It was noticed through the process of studying the theme of Human Rights and Business the need for an approach focused on those vulnerable populations, and that because there are specific demands, since the violations undergone by these people are different and often deeper, hence reproducing and increasing the inequality already experienced by those groups.

Line | Regional Human Rights Protection Mechanisms and Courts of Popular Initiative

Given their respective dimensions and impacts, The Regional Protection Mechanisms and Courts of Popular Initiative play a strategic role in the protection of Human Rights. In view of its relevant actuation, Homa initiated the study of the agenda of Human Rights and Business in these jurisdictions. That line aims to study resolutions, declarations, consultative opinions and decisions of Human Rights violation cases that have the business activities linked to it, as a way of analyzing its contribution to the international jurisprudence, and also to the discussion of the national agenda at the UN. The work includes the constant jurisprudence monitoring, and the production of reports, technical documents, and scientific papers

Line | International Migrations, Human Rights Violations and Transnational Corporations

In order to ensure greater protection to individuals who are forced to migrate from their place of origin, the legal framework for victims of serious human rights violations in migration situations, whether internal or international, has been expanded. In turn, in view of the increasing migratory flow and the growing repercussion of human rights violations caused by the actions of transnational companies, Homa will begin a study in 2021 in order to analyze the relationship between both phenomena. Thus, the line seeks to understand the influence of the actions of transnational companies in migratory flows, especially in forced flows, and the subjective survival strategies that migrants use to face new realities. The work includes the analysis of cases, the production of reports, technical papers and scientific articles.

Scientific Journal | Homa Publica – International Journal on Human Rights and Business

Homa Publica – International Journal on Human Rights and Business was the first international Brazilian journal on the theme, with the purpose of consolidating the theme in the academy. Its objective is to be a mean for the publication and dissemination of academic research focused on the protection of Human Rights against business violations. The journal aims to gather the main researches on the theme, with the intention of being a source of cutting-edge researches for society. The submission of articles is permanently open.

Latest News | Newsletter

Our newsletter aims to periodically inform its members of the newest activities about the theme “Human Rights and Business” in Brazil and in the world, more focused on what is happening in Brazil. The content is divided into documents, events, news, and opportunities.

Our numbers

+ 40

Published studies

+ de 3.000

Downloads of our documents

9.617

Times our site has been accessed in 2020

3.553

People have accessed our website in 2020

+ 2.750

Followers on Facebook

+ 1.180

Followers on Instagram

+ 480

Followers on Twitter

+ 330

Youtube subscribers

Our Journal

Published editions

Published articles

+ de 8.587

views of articles made

Months is the average time to approve the submission

Our events

Events held

International Seminars

+ 800

Attendees present

187

Speakers present

International speakers present

Our Newsletter

726

Registered persons

Newsletters sent

9.914

Open E-mails

+ 720

News about Business and Human Rights released

1.582

News accessed by people