Professor John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG) on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises, submitted a letter to the editor of Financial Times applauding a recent British decision finding Afrimex, a UK-based minerals trading firm, guilty of illegal human rights practices and of contributing to the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UK National Contact Point, the British agency which decides complaints brought against companies in violation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, sided with Global Witness (the advocacy group that brought the charges against Afrimex) citing that Afrimex paid taxes and licenses to rebel forces in the DRC as well as subjected its workers to unacceptable health and safety practices. Professor Ruggie underscored the significance of the decision stating that "the NCP’s conclusion sends an important signal to companies by reaffirming the principle that companies must respect human rights, and that doing so requires them to have adequate due diligence processes not only to ensure compliance with the law but also to manage the risk of human rights abuse with a view to avoiding it." Read the full text of John Ruggie's letter.

EarthRights International has continued to engage Professor Ruggie since his UN SRSG appointment through its involvement in the ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Working Group as well as three solo submissions regarding human rights abuses in extractive industries, issues of access to justice, and The International Law Standard for Corporate Aiding & Abetting Liability.