UN Human Rights Podcast

Business Redefined, Episode 4: Rachel Coburn Walden, Unilever

In  our final episode, we hear from Rachel Coburn Walden, Global Head of Human Rights at Unilever. Rachel describes herself as an entrepreneur within the business world, having spent 12 years of her career in politics.  
These days, the only way for a business to thrive, is to have a social conscience. 
"Every business that wants to survive for the long term is economically, environmentally and socially responsible," she says. And the only way to achieve this, is to have respect for human rights as the foundation of everything it does. 
 

Business Redefined, Episode 3: Emily Ray, Human rights and law, Harvard University

"What I want is for us to steer away from the idea that human rights are some scary, amorphous concept and instead think about them as set of guidelines for treating one another with basic dignity," said Emily Ray, a human rights and law expert from Harvard University. 
In episode 3 of Business Redefined, exploring how human rights are a fundamental part of doing business, Ray discusses how human rights cuts across all facets of business.  She is in conversation with Ibon Villelabeitia. 
 

Business Redefined, Episode 2: David Chemutai, Indigenous rights activist

Welcome to episode 2 of Business Redefined, exploring the connection between business practices and human rights. 
When delving into the issues surrounding human rights and business, one could do well to consider the challenges facing indigenous communities. Many business ventures -- from agriculture to energy -- involve interactions with Indigenous Peoples and use of ancestral lands. And sometimes these challenges lead to human rights violations. 
David Chemutai coordinates the Benet Mosopisyek community in Uganda, who have experienced some of these land rights difficulties. He spoke with Ibon Villelabeitia about the challenges his community has faced in terms of participation, consultation and equity.  

Business Redefined, Episode 1: Belinda Christine Borck -- Tony's Chocolonely

Welcome to Business Redefined -- a UN Human Rights Podcast Series. In this series, we will explore why human rights is a fundamental part of business and economics with interviews with experts. In this first episode, we hear from Belinda Christine Borck, Global Public Policy Lead for Tony's Chocolonely. Tony's Chocolonely is a global chocolate company that works to end exploitation in cocoa farming and its supply chains, while offering outstanding chocolate. 
During a recent Business and Human Rights Forum, in Geneva, Switzerland, she was asked why it's essential to anchor business and economic activities in human rights. She's interviewed by Ibon Villelabeitia. 

Moving beyond racism, discrimination and colonialism

In this episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk takes a closer look at the legacies of racism, systemic discrimination and colonialism, as part of the commemoration of the International Day for People of African Descent. He is in conversation with three former participants in UN Human Rights’ Fellowship for People of African Descent.  They are:
Mia McMorris, from Jamaica, who works for the Centre for Reparation Research at the University of the West Indies,
Sefa Adzua from Austria, who develops projects and programmes to promote the empowerment of Black people in Austria;
Dandara de Olivera from Brazil, an advocacy specialist at the Transformative Anti-racist Education System and is a youth and race specialist for ActionAid Brazil.
 

Ruth Dreifuss : Défenseure de la justice sociale

Ruth Dreifuss est une économiste, syndicaliste et femme politique suisse. Elle a été la première femme élue présidente de la Confédération suisse. Elle a consacré une grande partie de sa carrière à la lutte pour l’égalité des droits entre les femmes et les hommes, ainsi qu’à une plus grande justice sociale, tant au niveau national qu’international. Dans le premier épisode de notre série, Ruth parle de l’évolution des droits au fil des décennies et explique pourquoi les droits humains sont véritablement fondamentaux. Elle s'entretient avec Dima Yared du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme.
(Ruth Dreifuss is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who was the first woman to be elected as President of the Swiss Confederation. She has spent much of her career fighting for equal rights for men and women and for greater social justice both nationally and internationally. In the first of our occasional series, Ruth talks about the change in rights over the decades and why human rights are truly important. She is in conversation with UN Human Rights' Dima Yared. This podcast is in French. )

Minfulness and Diplomacy: A conversation with Jon Kabat-Zinn

In this special episode, we take a look at mindfulness and how it can be useful in the world of diplomacy and humanitarian work. During the International Mental Health Week, the UN Human Rights Office Wellbeing Unit’s Mindfulness Initiative hosted an insightful event on "Mindfulness in UN Work and Diplomacy." The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, discussed how mindfulness can enhance resilience, well-being, and effectiveness for UN staff and diplomats, benefiting both their work and the communities they serve.

Humanity Unites: Pride Month

In this episode of Humanity Unites, we commemorate PRIDE month with conversations about monitoring and protection of LGBTQ+ rights with UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity Graeme Reid. We also learn more about the fight for transgender rights and recognition before the law with activists Daniel Benitez Posada from Fundacion Grupo de Accion y Apoyo a Personas Trans (GAAT) in Colombia and Wannapong “Nhuum” Yodmuang from the Asia Pacific Transgender Network based in Thailand.