APLU has joined the International Learning Lab on Public Procurement and Human Rights, a global network to generate knowledge, tools and guidance, and build capacity of local and national procurement agencies to integrate human rights into purchasing.
The International Learning Lab on Public Procurement and Human Rights was established by the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, the Harrison Institute for Public Law at Georgetown University, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The Learning Lab aims to be a network of central and local government procurement agencies and purchasing officers; representatives of other relevant government bodies, such as ministries; procurement professional associations; regional and international organizations; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); national human rights institutions (NHRIs); and relevant academics.
The Learning Lab’s global network will be a platform and mechanism for:
- experience-sharing among procurement actors on approaches to integrating respect for human rights;
- generating knowledge about public procurement law and policy and human rights;
- producing and disseminating tools and guidance to build capacity to integrate human rights issues among procurement professionals; and
- promoting coherence between procurement and human rights in international and regional frameworks and initiatives.
Prof Geo Quinot, director of APLU, also joined the Steering Committee of the Learning Lab. Other collaborators include the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), the Harrison Institute for Public Law at Georgetown University, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, London Universities Purchasing Consortium, Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham and the Business, Human Rights and the Environment Research Group at the School of Law, University of Greenwich.
More detail on the work of the Learning Lab can be found at www.hrprocurementlab.org.