Professor Penelope Simons and doctoral student Melisa Handl have been selected as the 2021 recipients of the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) Scholarly Paper Award for their co-authored paper, “Relations of Ruling: A Feminist Critique of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Violence against Women in the Context of Resource Extraction” (Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, Vol. 31, No. 1).
The paper deals with the timely yet understudied phenomenon of the gendered impact of the activities of extractive industries. Specifically, it offers a multi-level feminist analysis of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which are designed to address corporate impunity for harm caused by business extraction. The authors consider the extent to which women and the interests of women are reflected in the text of the UN Guiding Principles, concluding not only that these principles fail to acknowledge women’s experiences or to protect women’s rights in the realm of resource extraction, but that they also help to perpetuate the patriarchal and neo-liberal structures that oppress women. The CCIL Selection Committee hailed the paper as rigorous and innovative, and commended the research as a significant contribution to international law scholarship.
Professor Simons and Ms. Handl were previously awarded the Common Law Section’s Shirley Greenberg Prize for Feminist Research for this paper.
The CCIL Scholarly Paper Award recognizes the work of Canadian scholars of international law, and specifically scholarly papers that make a substantial contribution to the international law literature.
Congratulations to Professor Simons and Ms. Handl!