A/HRC/4/99 page 4 thus far been on so-called front line businesses, i.e. those that interact with communities directly such as the extractive industries and infrastructure, there is now a growing interest in finance because the financial sector provides the means for front line industries to operate and can be a source of leverage. II. HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES FOR THE FINANCIAL SECTOR 7. The second session was moderated by Daniel Taillant (Executive Director, Centro De Derechos Humanos y Ambiente, Argentina) and aimed to provide an overview of human rights issues in the financial sector. 8. As the flow of finance across national borders has increased, financial institutions (FIs) have come under increasing scrutiny for their role in operations that may cause or facilitate human rights abuses. Today, many FIs and their key stakeholders share the view that they bear responsibility for the human rights impacts of their operations. 9. While FIs face risks related to human rights in their own operations, they must also grapple with the fact that their activities can enable - or disable - human rights impacts caused by others. The involvement of FIs in large-scale projects has been criticized because of the negative impact on human rights of those projects, such as through environmental damage, forced relocation of local communities with inadequate compensation, or threats to the food supply or environment of indigenous peoples. Panellist presentations 10. Michael Kelly (UK head Corporate Social Responsibility, KPMG) presented a study conducted by F&C Asset Management and KPMG in 2004, “Banking on human rights: confronting human rights in the financial sector”. The study identified various human rights issues in the financial sector related to risk management, such as staff security and reputation risks. The study also identified business benefits related to human rights, such as reduction of litigation risk and improved stakeholder relations. The study found that there was no commonly accepted definition of human rights and no common approach to human rights across banks. Mr. Kelly said that since the report came out, there was little evidence that human rights have been systematically integrated into credit risk assessments. Nevertheless, the level of debate has increased and expanded beyond the private sector and beyond project finance. Finally, Mr. Kelly listed the types of guidance that are now needed, such as tools for business training and implementation, and identification of broad principles based on existing voluntary codes for the whole finance sector. 11. Titi Soentoro (international campaigner, NADI/Solidaritas Perempuan) shared examples of projects in Asia financed by large public and private financial institutions (FIs) that are alleged to have caused significant environmental and social harm. Protesters against these projects were allegedly harassed by State authorities, communication with affected communities was insufficient or non-existent, and there has been little or no response from the FIs involved.