Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Project on Public Finance and Human Rights

The Project on Public Finance and Human Rights is a joint initiative between the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, the University of Connecticut’s Business and Human Rights Initiative, and American University Washington College of Law's Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law. The Project supports research and scholarship on the the intersections between human rights and central banking, international financial regulation, development finance, and sovereign debt. The Project also supports a network of scholars, practitioners, civil society activists, and policy makers interested in reexamining the relationship between all aspects of public finance, human rights, and environmental and social sustainability. The Project hosts public roundtables, invitation-only workshops, and working group meetings designed to convene subject matter experts to interrogate issues, concepts, and ideas arising in this groundbreaking new area of study.

Projects & Initiatives

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Project Partners

Centre for Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria is an internationally recognised university-based institution combining academic excellence and effective activism to advance human rights, particularly in Africa. It aims to contribute to advancing human rights through education, research, and advocacy.

Business & Human Rights Initiative The Business and Human Rights Initiative at the University of Connecticut seeks to develop and support multidisciplinary and engaged research, education, and public outreach at the intersection of business and human rights.

Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law AUWCL's Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law has worked with students, faculty, and the international legal community to provide support for human rights initiatives in the U.S. and around the world through teaching, scholarship, and service.

People

Workshop on Law, Debt and Sustainability: Re-Thinking DSAs (co-hosted with the Sovereign Debt Forum)

June 20, 2022

Roundtable Discussion on "What Role Should Central Banks Play in Dealing with Environmental and Social Challenges like Climate Change and Inequality?"

October 22, 2021

A presentation and discussion on the Financial Services Human Rights Benchmark by: David Kinley (University of Sydney Law School) and Kym Sheehan, with a response by: Ariel Meyerstein

September 23, 2021

"The Financial Services Human Rights Benchmark Project and its Potential Applicability to South Africa's Financial Sector"

September 15, 2021

"Unavoidable Power and Unaccountable Impacts? The Roles and Responsibilities of Central Banks in Global Economic Governance"

October 22, 2020

Online workshop on central banks and international human rights
- October 1, 2020
Expert Reference Group meeting on central banks and human rights responsibilities
- March 27, 2019
Expert Working Group on international finance and human rights
- April 17, 2017

Publications

Publication International Standards and the Role of Central Banks in Global Financial Governance This policy brief discusses the implications of this development and recommends standards that should be used to guide central banks in their global governance activities.

Publication Distrust, Disorder, and the New Governance of Sovereign Debt This article examines the use of creditor committees in the current era of sovereign debt, focusing on factors that influence the conduct of debtors and their creditors vis-à-vis each other. Drawing on our observations, we consider the potential value and limitations of creditor committees in the context of sovereign debt governance.

Publication A Global Leviathan Emerges: The Federal Reserve, COVID-19, and International Law This essay briefly documents the actions taken by the Fed and the basis for its unique influence in the global financial system.

Publication The Multilateral Development Banks and the Management of the Human Rights Impacts of their Operations Because the MDBs’ projects are similar to those undertaken by private financial institutions and contractors, understanding how MDBs deal with the human rights issues that arise in their operations can help deepen our understanding of the human rights responsibilities of these other actors, thereby adding a useful input to the broader ‘business and human rights’ debate to which this volume is dedicated.

Publication Soft International Law and the Promotion of Financial Regulation and Responsibility This paper is a contribution to a book exploring how hard and soft international law are used in advocating for social change.

Publication Why Central Banks Need to Take Human Rights More Seriously This article briefly describes how central banks have human rights responsibilities. Second, it describes how both their monetary and financial operations have unavoidable human rights impacts, which need to be incorporated into their decision making and governance procedures.

Publication A Human Rights Based Approach to International Financial Regulatory Standards This article argues that international standard setting bodies should adopt a human rights approach to standard setting. The benefits of doing so will exceed the costs.

Publication International Financial Regulatory Standards and Human Rights: Connecting the Dots This paper’s hypothesis is that the international standard setting bodies (SSBs) could improve the quality of their international standards by incorporating a human rights analysis.

Publication Guarding the Guardians: The Case for Regulating State-Owned Financial Entities in Global Finance This article examines the regulation of international financial institutions under the Dodd-Frank Act. It also outlines a global governance framework based on international comity to address the unique and wide-ranging implications of governments in the market.

Public Finance Project

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