In the opening scene of Kyoto, the narrator invites us to cast our minds back to the 1990s.
He asks us to remember what it felt like to live then—when the only way seemed to be up. A collective belief that we were learning from the past, and each year, the world was getting better. 🌎✨
“The worst we were worried about back then was a technology bug as the year moved into 2000!”
The laughter in the room showed just how much that resonated for the audience.
I remember that feeling so vividly. I remember my first law school courses in the year 2000, diving into the rule of law, international governance, politics. There was a sense that the big wrongs of the past—colonisation, dictatorships, slavery, world wars, trade wars—were mostly behind us. In their place: structures, institutions, international law, human rights, and a globalised world designed to lift us all.
It felt like progress was inevitable and the only way forward.
Fast forward a quarter of a century—and the direction we were taught would be the future, is not where we are right now.
We’re seeing democratically elected leaders dismantling the very systems meant to keep people safe. Climate disasters—earthquakes, fires, floods—are accelerating. Democracy is backsliding. We now have fewer democracies than autocracies for the first time in more than two decades.
It’s disheartening. It’s alarming. It’s a lot.
But—(and yes, you knew a “but” was coming)—this is also where we rise to the moment.
The Kyoto play now on stage in London is a powerful reminder of that. Amid deep division, climate scepticism, and oil industry interference, one man refused to accept no for an answer. With persistence, patience, humour—and some negotiation-by-exhaustion—Argentinian diplomat Raúl Estrada-Oyuela ensured we would get the first ever legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Cometh the moment, cometh the human.
We are living in historic times. Are we doing everything we can to shape the world ahead of us? And—are we looking after ourselves as we do it? 💛
At our Be Human Rights Confident Collective last Thursday, we explored two questions:
🔹What has helped you stay grounded, especially in light of recent developments?
🔹What’s your view on the direction of travel for business and human rights, and the Omnibus in particular?
We heard some beautiful grounding strategies: diving into a good book 📚, being in nature 🌱, moving our bodies 💪, and finding strength in community🤝.
And on the second? Your insights highlighted both how far we’ve come—and how far we still need to go. One thing is clear: we keep pushing forward, together.
And speaking of forward momentum—the votes are in!
Here are your top BHR films 🎥 that you added to my list (here):
Oh yes, the votes are also in for the ‘Stop-the-Clock’ directive ☺️
See below for an update on that. We have some time to negotiate, and negotiate we must. We all want, and need, due diligence that’s practical, feasible and meaningful. See here and here for recent discussions on these points.
Have a good week ahead and enjoy the sun if you have it! ☀️
Anna ⭐
