Negotiations towards the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on July 13-16, are in full gear. In line with ongoing trends in the landscape of development assistance, deliberations thus far have shown a strong promotion, especially by Northern countries, of increased reliance on private sector sources for development funding. Two new studies set out to interrogate what does this mean for the language on human rights accountability of the private sector that we should expect to see negotiated in the conference, and whether expectations are being met by reality.
As put by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “As businesses assume an ever-expanding role in the development and economic spheres their adherence to the human rights responsibilities outlined
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