Investors and civil society professionals need to talk. Investors have become better attuned to the risks of human rights harms in their portfolios and are seeking better ways to mitigate them. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are becoming savvier about financial instruments and models and the potential for leveraging the influence of institutional investors and corporate lenders to prevent harm to workers, communities, and consumers. Yet communication between CSOs and investors remains weak and the potential for collaboration to promote human rights is underdeveloped.

The CSO-Investor Dialogue Table, a joint initiative of Rights CoLab and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University, addresses this need. Through regular informal meetings, the Dialogue Table will build trust between financial professionals and human rights advocates in order to produce effective collaboration on human rights.

Rights CoLab Co-Founders Joanne Bauer and Paul Rissman will facilitate the Dialogue Table.

Click here for the Concept Note.

Photo by McDobbie Hu on Unsplash