Perspective

Human rights are relatively new on the agenda of most businesses. Yet their relevance to companies is compelling, as criticism, campaigns and lawsuits over alleged harm to human rights increasingly pose risks to companies’ reputations, operations, staff recruitment and retention, and their bottom line.

In 2008, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously welcomed the “protect, respect and remedy” framework I put forward for better managing the human rights challenges posed by, and faced by, companies. It comprises the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and greater access by victims to effective remedy.

The corporate responsibility to respect human rights requires a process of human rights due diligence: that a company’s policies or other public commitments adequately incorporate human rights; that it periodically assesses its human rights impacts; that it integrates the results and operational implications across its decision-making; and that it tracks and reports on its performance. This takes leadership from the top and an alignment of staff incentives across the company. And it involves engagement with those at risk of being impacted and avenues for them to raise concerns.

Only with such a process in place can a company know and show that it is respecting human rights. I am gratified to see more and more companies now working to ensure they can meet this baseline expectation.