Business, Rights, Action, Values, Ethics - BRAVE 2026

Second Council of Europe Business and Human Rights Forum

17 September 2026 Strasbourg (in-person only)

The Council of Europe Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law is deepening its engagement in business and human rights, recognizing that corporate conduct significantly impacts human rights across Europe. Aligned with this mission, the Council's objective is to support corporate human rights compliance and safeguard the rights of companies enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights and other Council of Europe benchmarking instruments.

In the spirit of the inaugural BRAVE 2025 conference, the Council of Europe Second Business and Human Rights Forum – BRAVE 2026 will bring together policy makers, human rights institutions, and the corporate world. BRAVE 2026 will center its discussions around the theme of forced labour, fostering collaboration and innovative solutions to address this global challenge.

Agenda

Opening session

09:30 - 10:00

Remarks by Mr Alain Berset, Secretary General, Council of Europe

Moderator: Mr Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe

Side event sessions

10:00 - 11:00 Impact of the Council of Europe report Human Rights and Competitiveness – Reframing the business case for human rights

Introductory remarks by Nicola Bonucci, expert of the Council of Europe

Speakers

Nicolas Pinaud, Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD
Dorothee Baumann-Pauly, Adjunct Professor, Geneva School of Economics and Management, Director of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights

11:00 - 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 - 12:00 Ukrainian Business Fair

Welcome remarks by Katarina Nedeljkovic, Advisor to the Council of Europe Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Business and Human Rights Coordinator
Welcome remarks by Valentyn Skuratovskyy, Deputy Permanent Representive of Ukraine to the Council of Europe
Opening remarks by Alexander David Sobel, Member of Parliament, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, United Kingdom Trade Envoy for Ukraine
Opening remarks by Viviane Schiavi, Global Policy Lead – Business Integrity, International Chamber of Commerce
Valeria Didych, State Expert of the Electronic Public Services Expert Group, Directorate for E-Government and Public Services, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, DIIA AI Assistant

Panel – Voices of Ukrainian Businesses on Human Rights Compliant Operations

Moderator: Valentyn Skuratovskyy, Deputy Permanent Representive of Ukraine to the Council of Europe

Panellists

Andrii Chumak, Head of Development, Foundation for Support of Reforms in Ukraine
Anna Chorna, Co-founder & CBDO, MINDSHIP
Kyrylo Goncharuk, CEO, CHECKEYE
Valeriia Kushnerchuk, Executive Director, Diia.City Union
Artem Sorokin, Founder & CEO, CRACKEN AI
Oleksandr Kosolapov, Co-Founder, SEC-TA
Stanislav Podyachev, CEO, LIFESAVER A.I.
Viktoriia Savytska, EPICENTR

Lunch hosted by the Council of Europe

12:00 - 14:00

Moderator: Katarina Nedeljkovic, Advisor to the Council of Europe Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Business and Human Rights Coordinator

Brief presentation of the Council of Europe New Democratic Pact for Europe by Ségolène Chesneau, Senior Project Officer for the New Democratic Pact for Europe (12:00-12:10)
Brief presentation of the Council of Europe Business and Human Rights Platform by Tigran Karapetyan, Head of Division II, Human Rights and Justice Cooperation Department (12:10-12:20)

Main event round tables

14:00 - 15:30 Invisible Workers: Forced Labour, Labour Exploitation and Migration in Europe

Moderator: Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe

Panellists

Julie Vallat, LVMH, Vice President Human Rights
Judge Saadet Yüksel, European Court of Human Rights
Tatiana Puiu, Vice-President, European Committee on Social Rights
Amaryllis Verhoeven, Deputy Director & Head of Unit, Responsible Business Conduct, DG GROW
Alex Sobel, MP, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, United Kingdom Trade Envoy for Ukraine
Isabelle Schömann, Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation

15:30 - 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:15 Forced Labour in the Green and Digital Transitions: New Risks, New Responsibilities

Moderator: Nicola Bonucci, Associate Professor of International Law, U. Paris Cité

Panellists

Petya Nestorova, Executive Secretary, Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA)
Bahaa El-Taweal, Global Policy Lead, Human Rights, International Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google
Carolin Majer, Head of Compliance Corporate & M&A, Head of Ethics Management & Human Rights, Siemens
Andrea Hafner, Vice President Sustainability Supplier Network, BMW
Meg Roggensack, BHRLA, Executive Officer
Agni Mentaki Tripodi, expert

17:15 - 18:30 Cocktail reception for BRAVE 2026 participants

Photos

Contact

[email protected]

BRAVE 2026 - Contact form

This event is organised within the framework of the Council of Europe project “Human Rights and Responsible Business Practices (PHASE II)” funded by the Human Rights Trust Fund.