Business and Society Exploring Solution
- a dispute resolution community
www.baseswiki.org
LAUNCH OF BASES WIKI
A NEW ONLINE RESOURCE ON ACCESS TO NON-JUDICIAL REMEDY
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights is pleased
to announce the launch of BASESwiki. This new on-line resource is focused on the non-judicial
mechanisms available around the world to help companies and their external stakeholders resolve
disputes.1 It is a global, interactive forum where anyone can share, access and discuss information
about these mechanisms and the resources and experts that can support their use.
During two years of consultations by the SRSG on issues of access to remedy, stakeholders from all
sides have reported that access to non-judicial grievance mechanisms is hampered by the lack of
readily available information about them. This information gap has also prevented effective
learning about different models of mechanism and how they can be improved. And it has made it
harder for companies to benefit from information about the outcomes of non-judicial processes as
an indicator of how to prevent future disputes from arising.
BASESwiki seeks to redress this information gap. It is a resource for all stakeholders - companies,
NGOs, mediators, lawyers, academics and government officials. And it will cover mechanisms
based in companies, industry associations, multi-stakeholder initiatives, government agencies,
national, multilateral and international institutions. BASESwiki can currently be accessed in
English, French and Spanish. Chinese and Russian language portals will follow in the first few
weeks of 2009, followed shortly by Arabic.
The content of the wiki will be built over time by and for its community of users. Users can also
make suggestions about how the site should develop, new areas it should cover or how it could be
better organized to enable searching. The site will shortly have a new ‘community portal’ where
users can network, exchange ideas, and share information about relevant events.
The SRSG encourages all interested parties to contribute information about relevant mechanisms or
experts in this field. To get involved, simply go to www.baseswiki.org and register for full access to
start editing and adding to the site. The site includes instructions on how to contribute. Your
participation is essential to ensure the success of this new resource in advancing improved access to
ever more effective means of non-judicial remedy! Please join us!
In the event of questions, please contact admin@baseswiki.org
1
BASESwiki is being developed in cooperation with the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy
School and with the support and collaboration of the International Bar Association and Compliance
Advisor/Ombudsman of the World Bank Group. Separate work is on-going under the SRSG’s mandate with regard to
judicial mechanisms for remedy.