Project Leads
Andrea Saldarriaga
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Andrea Saldarriaga is a civil law and international lawyer with extensive experience in investment law, international arbitration and social sustainability. As an associate with various law firms including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Andrea spent several years working closely with corporations in laying out their business strategies, structuring and overseeing their complex transactions and defending their interests in commercial and investment arbitrations She also participated in pro bono cases dealing with human rights.
Since 2007, Andrea has worked as an independent consultant providing advice on investment cases and working on a range of projects with international organisations, not-for-profit and academic institutions in her areas of expertise. Andrea has worked with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in analysing the interaction of the regime for the protection of foreign investment with areas such as human rights and corporate social responsibility, in preparing the Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development and in capacity building activities in developing countries. Andrea has also provided advice to the Justice Initiative of the Open Society Institute on investment arbitration and corruption and participated in the preparation of a petition to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights on behalf of the peoples of Equatorial Guinea. Andrea was among the experts that advised UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie, on investment issues and the “Principles for responsible contracts”, presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2011.
Andrea teaches business & human rights at ESSEC Business School Paris and ESCP Business School Europe. She is a fellow of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a member of the International Investment Agreements expert network of UNCTAD and communication officer of the International Bar Association CSR Committee. Andrea has been recently named a member of the roster of experts to the Project Complaint Mechanism at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
Andrea Shemberg
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Andrea Shemberg is a common law and international human rights lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in business and human rights focusing on investment. From 2007 to 2011, Andrea served as Legal Advisor to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie (SRSG). She led the SRSG's work on investment, carrying out the joint SRSG-International Finance Corporation research on stabilisation clauses and human rights and leading the SRSG’s process to realise the Principles for Responsible Contracts, presented to the UN Human Rights Council with his final report. Andrea also advised the SRSG on a range of international law issues, assisting the SRSG in developing the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. She began her legal career as a management-side employment and labour law lawyer with a commercial law firm in the United States before completing her MSc in Human Rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Andrea also served as Legal Advisor to the Economic Relations team at Amnesty International UK and established the first Economic Relations team at the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva.
Andrea currently serves as Chair of the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She teaches business and human rights and consults privately, carrying out research and policy work for a range of private and public organizations including companies, civil society organizations and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
