Activism & Engagement | Human Rights
Navigating expectations on human rights The United Nation’s reporting framework for business can help companies and investors improve ethical and financial performance Human rights is a vast area to handle for companies and investors alike and the link to materiality is not always clear.
Corporate-related wrongdoing can include issues as diverse as alleged violations of human rights in relations to hydropower or mining projects; impacts on indigenous people’s rights; and human and labour rights issues in the supply chain of commodities, from cocoa to cotton and palm oil, laptops to tablets and smartphones. There is a wide variety of corporate responses to human rights – from companies being unwilling to discuss the issue and not disclosing any human rights programmes, to companies proactively disclosing an increasing amount of material on preparedness and performance on various human rights topics. Variations in transparency can depend on many things, such as material risks connected to human rights issues, exposure to responsible investors and other stakeholders, size of the company, national context, company culture, as well as risk exposure. The consequences for a company with poor human rights policy and programmes are elevated risks, both reputationally and financially – for instance, protests, large legal fines and consumer boycotts, as well as being deselected as a preferred employer or as a business partner or supplier. So how should a company or investor navigate the field of human rights and what are the tools that can be of aid?
Hanna Roberts
CEO for GES International Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework (UNGPs), which were developed by the special representative of the UN Secretary General, Professor John Ruggie. The UNGPs addressed the issue in respect to transnational enterprises.1 The UNGPs state that business enterprises have the responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate and whatever their size or industry. Some of the core concepts for companies to develop and implement in relation to human rights are on policy, due diligence and remedy. Corporations should publicly commit to respect human rights and embed this policy in all parts of the organisation. Furthermore, companies should perform due diligence and investigate the most salient human rights risks. For instance, a corporation should assess the scale of the potential impact – how serious is the risk, e.g. are resettlements necessary due to the company’s operations and have those affected been adequately consulted and fairly compensated for their losses? Are migrant workers’ labour rights respected while building a new football stadium? Does the company have an effective monitoring and remediation system in place to ensure child labour is not
prevalent in its agricultural supply chain? Will the local government ensure consultation and consent from project-affected indigenous peoples and what can the company do to support and ensure such rights are respected? Companies should also address the scope and number of people who are potentially affected in order to assess how salient and material these risks are. There will be a need to prioritise the actual or potential violations of human rights. Companies are increasingly asked by investors, consumers, media and non-government organisations (NGOs) to understand and handle these risks and use their leverage to ensure the respect of human rights wherever possible. Impacts on human rights can often converge with risks to the business as well. Apart from making a positive contribution in society and avoiding harm, there are often strong business cases for human rights – employees and business partners are motivated to work for, or with, a respectful company, legal risks decrease, long-term relationships can be built with communities close to operations, to name a few. If the situation has already turned bad, then there is a need to address and provide remedy options to those affected. The UNGPs also
An obligation to protect
There is an underlying and well-known Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1948, and its codes: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), together with the principles concerning fundamental rights in the International Labour Organisation’s eight core conventions – as set out in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Six years ago, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN 102 Ethical Boardroom | Summer 2017
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