Anisha Rajapakse is a senior global expert with more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of human rights, business, and international development.
A British national of Sri Lankan origin, she was until recently based in Brussels, heading the stakeholder engagement department of a leading business association working closely with corporations, governments, intergovernmental and bilateral agencies, civil society, and other stakeholders. In London, Anisha led the Human Development Programme at the Commonwealth for several years, working across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific regions, and in other senior international roles spanning East Africa, Asia Pacific, and Afghanistan.
Temporarily based in Asia, Anisha continues to engage closely with businesses to promote responsible business practices and embed social sustainability into corporate plans and strategies. She is a passionate advocate of ensuring safe jobs in dignified working conditions in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Currently, Anisha is the Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Fair Labour Alliance, where she supports companies to ethically recruit and manage workforces and mitigate risk of illegal and unethical exploitation. Since the pandemic, she also consults independently for international NGOs and UN agencies including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and provides trainings for companies on business and human rights including corporate human rights due diligence in supply chains.
Anisha holds a Master’s in International Studies, a diploma in Journalism, and is an alumnus of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme.