Vance Center Participates in 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva

The Vance Center’s Adaobi Egboka speaks during the panel at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Nov. 25, 2025. Photo credit: Vance Center

On November 25, the Vance Center’s Director of Africa Initiatives Adaobi Egboka participated in a panel discussion as part of the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

The session, “Gender-Responsive Human Rights Due Diligence in Times of Crisis: Addressing the Structural Causes of Gender-based Violence and Discrimination in Business Activities,” was co-organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, the Federal Public Defenders’ Office of Brazil, Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative (AESHI), and the Danish Family Planning Association.

The session explored how business activities disproportionately affect women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals, often exposing them to gender-based violence, exploitation, and unsafe working conditions. The discussion centered on closing regulatory gaps and promoting coordinated, intersectional strategies to improve corporate accountability and ensure effective prevention and response to gender-specific human rights issues.

Egboka discussed the challenges and gaps that companies and governments face when implementing gender-responsive solutions for women who are victims of gender-based violence in the workplace, especially in fragile or conflict-affected settings. She examined the role that civil society organizations play in holding businesses accountable for gender-based violence and ensuring that women’s voices, particularly those who are most marginalized, are reflected in efforts to shape legal frameworks for corporate accountability.

She also highlighted how CSOs can work more collaboratively with businesses and governments to develop gender-responsive policies that effectively address gender-based violence in corporate activities.

Watch the session here

The Vance Center’s Adaobi Egboka, second from left, speaks during the panel at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Nov. 25, 2025. Photo credit: Vance Center

Egboka shared some of the findings of a joint report published last year by the Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative, the Pan African Lawyers Union, and the Vance Center.

The report, “Mapping Legal Protections Against Workplace Sexual Harassment in Africa,” analyzes existing legislative protections and policies addressing sexual harassment in 22 selected jurisdictions across Africa. Egboka pointed to the report itself as an example of how civil society organizations can collaborate and produce actionable research on issues related to gender-based violence through critical legal analysis.

The report’s findings provide a tool for civil society groups to more effectively monitor businesses operating in countries with the fewest or least systematic legal protections and remedies, particularly regarding workplace sexual harassment. It also offers guidelines that encourage businesses to exercise additional caution when operating in countries with the least protections and remedies by strengthening their own internal reporting and investigation mechanisms.

Read more about the Vance Center’s Advancing Women in the Workplace program and other work on rights in the workplace.

The session featured insights from panelists Rafaella Mikos Passos, a Brazilian Federal Public Defender and Coordinator of the Federal Public Defenders’ Office’s National Observatory on Violence Against Women; Janina Mansel, Project Coordinator for Human Rights and Raw Materials with Mercedes-Benz; and Arvi Bastian, a researcher and advocate for the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals and Indigenous Peoples, from the Batak Toba Indigenous community in Indonesia.

Moderator Fernanda Hopenhaym, a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and Co-Executive Director of the Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER), led a discussion centered on how state institutions, especially justice systems, must adapt to political instability and economic fragility in contexts where business-related human rights abuses occur, in both formal and informal sectors.

The other speakers explored the challenges global companies face in integrating gender considerations into human rights and environmental due diligence, particularly in complex supply chains. Mansel highlighted some takeaways from Mercedes-Benz’s experience managing risks in raw material sourcing as an example of practical lessons that could guide broader corporate standards.

The conversation also emphasized the increased vulnerability of Two Spirit and LGBTIQ+ persons to discrimination and abuse in business activities. Speakers urged companies and governments to take concrete actions to ensure the meaningful participation of these communities in consultations and decision-making, especially in resource-heavy industries.

The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights is the world’s largest annual multi-stakeholder gathering focused on business and human rights. Each year, the Forum brings together representatives of governments, business, civil society groups, affected communities, and international organizations to advance the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It serves as a global platform for dialogue, learning, and the exchange of practical solutions to pressing challenges at the intersection of business and human rights.

This year’s Forum, under the theme “Accelerating Action on Business and Human Rights Amidst Crises and Transformations,” drew 3,650 in-person attendees, and more than 1,000 additional online participants.

The Vance Center’s Adaobi Egboka, second from left, speaks during the panel at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Nov. 25, 2025. Photo credit: Vance Center