Advancing Human-Centric Protections for Entrepreneurs: Addressing Gaps in the LBI Framework and Tackling Discriminatory

Advancing Human-Centric Protections for Entrepreneurs: Addressing Gaps in the LBI Framework and Tackling Discriminatory Practices

This side event, organized by the International Probono Legal Services Association (IPLSA) in collaboration with Justice Pour Tous Internationale (JPTi), Global Gaze Network (GGN), and Global Impact Alliance (GIA), will focus on safeguarding the rights of entrepreneurs and SMEs. It will address systemic disparities in the UNGPs and LBI frameworks, which treat SMEs as abstract entities and exclusively as duty bearers rather than rights holders. The event will also tackle the challenges posed by a cumbersome, over-regulated business environment that stifles entrepreneurial freedom and free trade, exacerbated by the mainstreamed Risk-Based Approach, which leads to over-compliance. These issues are compounded by unilateral coercive measures, including politically motivated sanctions and boycotts. Such practices disrupt supply chains, limit economic opportunities for SMEs, farmers, and workers, and deepen inequality and marginalization.

About the Event:

Entrepreneurs, particularly SMEs—the backbone…