The Business and Human Rights Journal (BHRJ) published its first issue in 2016, and since then it has established itself as the focal point for cutting-edge debate on a full range of business and human rights (BHR) issues. It has helped to expand the scope of BHR thought and to create dialogue between ethical, legal and socio-political approaches, as well as between scholars and practitioners. We are now delighted to be announcing the formal launch of the BHRJ blog with its own dedicated section editors. The blog hopes to expand BHR discourse, to welcome a broader range of voices and cover a wider array of ideas than the print journal can offer alone.

Various articles in BHRJ are indicative of the range of BHR issues that this blog seeks to investigate and expand upon. Some of the major topics covered include the proposed binding treaty, extraterritoriality, feminist approaches, protecting human rights defenders, human rights at sporting events, and the rights of migrant workers. More expansively, Shane Darcy has considered tax avoidance as a BHR issue, and Sarah Joseph has considered the human rights responsibilities of media companies. Bonita Meyersfeld has proposed that mining operations have a responsibility to improve their local community, and Faris Natour has discussed the on-demand economy. Equally important are the role of UN bodies and the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, as well as the links between BHR and the actions and inactions of international and domestic law. At the more theoretical level, the nature, extent and form of BHR responsibilities continues to underlie many discussions, as does the division of responsibility between state and business actors. Critical approaches to the field, corporate power in the global economy, and the role of bottom-up social movements are also vital to understand BHR more holistically. This is of course just a small sampling of topics. We invite posts that critically engage with any BHR-related issue, and in turn push the boundaries of the field.

We welcome a broad range of perspectives, backgrounds and ideas. We hope to host articles from academics, policy-makers, practitioners, activists and others with an interest in the field. We are particularly keen to offer a platform to less-heard and emerging voices, including students and those with on-the-ground experience, as well as those in fields that connect to BHR, or have critical insights on BHR-related issues.

We accept longer-form theoretical and critical pieces, case analysis, discussions of legal and regulatory instruments, discussions of published work, of alternative approaches, responses to BHRJ articles, and of recent developments and news. We will also organize symposia around specific issues to encourage a range of perspectives on the given topic. We will consider submissions on a rolling basis and we are happy to work with authors to develop pieces if needed. We will generally use open calls on social media and other platforms and we will sometimes commission specific authors. We also appreciate ideas for symposia from potential contributors. For those considering publishing in the BHRJ Blog please see our ‘Guidelines for Contributors’.

It is our aim that the BHRJ Blog becomes an important forum for debate within the field and we very much hope that an eclectic range of voices will join us on this journey.

For updates, calls for submissions and news, please follow @BHRJournal, @David_Birchallz and @MulesaTCK on Twitter.

David Birchall and Mulesa Lumina
Editors of the BHRJ Blog