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Christy Hoffman, UNI Deputy Secretary,  addressed participants at the UN forum on business and human rights in Geneva on Wednesday.  At a session to consider how "multi stakeholder initiatives" can advance human rights, Hoffman said that the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety is different from past efforts in some critical ways.  

The backbone of the accord is a binding contract between brands and global unions, which gives the unions a powerful role in its implementation and enforcement.  Under the Accord, the brands must take specific steps to ensure that their suppliers operate safe factories, putting "due diligence in the supply chain" into practice. There is a grievance mechanism which satisfies the third pillar of the Guiding principles:  access to remedy.

"With 120 brands signed on - covering 1800 factories - it is clear that the Accord is the leading effort to create conditions for a safe and sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh.  We continue to welcome new signatories to our effort and in particular would encourage the prominent Swiss retailers, Migros and Coop join us.  They, too, should take responsibility for safe factories in Bangladesh, " Hoffman said.