UN Guiding Principles on Business & HumanRights
Civil Society Workshop

Sandra Atler Human Rights Lawyer Business and Human Rights Expertand Advisor
Former Chair, ISO 26000 NGO Stakeholder GroupThe United Nations Guiding Principles onBusiness and Human Rights

UNGPs
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How do we solve the business &human rights challenge?
Three Pillars

State Duty
to Protect

Corporate Responsibility
to Respect

Access toRemedy

3Respect vs Support
UNGPs

UN Global Compact Principles

 Business enterprises should Businesses should support andrespect human rights. Thismeans that they should
avoid infringing on thehuman rights of others andshould address adverse
human rights impacts withwhich they are involved.
(UNGP 11)

respect the protection ofinternationally proclaimed humanrights; [and] … make sure thatthey are not complicit in humanrights abuses. (Principles 1 & 2,

Human Rights)

4Respecting Human Rights

Business enterprises should respect human rights. Thismeans that they should avoid infringing on the human rights
of others and should address adverse human rights impacts
with which they are involved.

(UNGP 11)

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UNGPs

PolicyHuman Rights Due
Diligence

Remediation

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The Business Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
Core concepts

 Role of State Impact vs Role of Business Do No harm
 vs Do Good Respect

Own activities
Business Relationships

Actual and PotentialSeverity

 All Human Rights

 Avoid infringing
 Address impacts
 Prevent Mitigate

 Salient Human Rights

 Affected Stakeholder
 Remediation Processes Remedy

 Grievance Mechanisms“Know and Show”

7All Human Rights
The responsibility of business enterprises to respecthuman rights refers to internationally recognized humanrights – understood, at a minimum, as those expressed in
the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles
concerning fundamental rights set out in theInternational Labour Organization’s Declaration onFundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
(UNGP 12)8

All Human Rights
 International Bill of Human Rights
 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights

 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
 Freedom of association and collective bargaining
 Elimination of forced and compulsory labour Elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation
 Abolition of child labour
 ILO 8 core conventions

 Vulnerable Groups

9UNGPs
How far does the responsibility extend?
The responsibility to respect human rights requires thatbusiness enterprises:(a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights
impacts through their own activities, and address suchimpacts when they occur;(b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts
that are directly linked to their operations, products orservices by their business relationships, even if they havenot contributed to those impacts.

(UNGP 13)

10UNGPs
CauseContributeLinked toHow can a company be involved?
How should it respond?
- Own Activities- Business Partners- Using Leverage
Leverage […] refers to the ability of a business enterprise to effect change in the wrongfulpractices of another party that is causing or contributing to an adverse human rights impact.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An
Interpretive Guide to the UNGPs, p 7.

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UNGPs – Policy Commitment
As the basis for embedding their responsibility to respect human rights,
business enterprises should express their commitment to meet this
responsibility through a statement of policy that:(a) Is approved at the most senior level of the business enterprise;(b) Is informed by relevant internal and/or external expertise;(c) Stipulates the enterprise’s human rights expectations of personnel,
business partners and other parties directly linked to its operations, products
or services;(d) Is publicly available and communicated internally and externally to all
personnel, business partners and other relevant parties;(e) Is reflected in operational policies and procedures necessary tothroughout the business enterprise.

it(UNGP 16)

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UNGPs – Human Rights Due Diligence
Assess & Identify
Impacts

Communicate with
Stakeholders

Integrate Findings &Take Appropriate
ActionVerify & Track
Performance

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UNGPs – Remediation
Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed toadverse impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in their remediation
through legitimate processes. (UNGP 22)
Effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms(a) Legitimate,(b) Accessible,(c) Predictable,(d) Equitable,(e) Transparent,(f) Rights-compatible,(g) A source of continuous learning.
Operational-level mechanisms should also be:(h) Based on engagement and dialogue.
(UNGP 31)

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UNGPs: An opportunity for Civil
Society15

UNGPs & CSOs
 Defining CSO
 ‘Holding the Stake’ Roles, approaches, strategies, issue focus differ
 Information, knowledge, expertise Awareness Advocacy, lobbying ‘Voice & Noise’, ‘Shame & Blame’  ‘Know and Show’ Engagement, dialogue

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UNGPs & CSOs
 Common language, terms & baseline

 Process Entry points
 Policy Human Rights Due Diligence Remediation processes including grievance mechanisms

 Particular issues


Human Rights perspectiveImpacts
Affected stakeholders
What does respect for human rights look like
Vulnerable groups
Access to remedy

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UNGPs: Communicating with
Stakeholders
In order to account for how they address their human rights impacts,business enterprises should be prepared to communicate this externally,
particularly when concerns are raised by or on behalf of affectedstakeholders. Business enterprises whose operations or operating contexts
pose risks of severe human rights impacts should report formally on how
they address them. In all instances, communications should:(a) Be of a form and frequency that reflect an enterprise’s human rights
impacts and that are accessible to its intended audiences;(b) Provide information that is sufficient to evaluate the adequacy of anenterprise’s response to the particular human rights impact involved;(c) In turn not pose risks to affected stakeholders, personnel or to legitimate
requirements of commercial confidentiality.
(UNGP 21)

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UNGPs: Vulnerable Groups
These Guiding Principles should be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner, with particular attention to the rights
and needs of, as well as the challenges faced by, individuals
from groups or populations that may be at heightened risk of
becoming vulnerable or marginalized, and with due regard tothe different risks that may be faced by women and men.

(UNGP General Principles, para 8)

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UNGPs: Vulnerable Groups
Depending on circumstances, business enterprises may need to consider
additional standards. For instance, enterprises should respect the human rights
of individuals belonging to specific groups or populations that require particularattention, where they may have adverse human rights impacts on them. In thisconnection, United Nations instruments have elaborated further on the rights of- indigenous peoples;- women;- national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;- children;- persons with disabilities; and- migrant workers and their families. […](UNGP 12, Commentary para 4)

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Severity
The responsibility of business enterprises to respect humanrights applies to all enterprises regardless of their size,
sector, operational context, ownership and structure.
Nevertheless, the scale and complexity of the means throughwhich enterprises meet that responsibility may vary
according to these factors and with the severity of theenterprise’s adverse human rights impacts. (UNGP 14)
Severity of impacts will be judged by their scale, scope and irremediablecharacter. (UNGP 14, Commentary para 1)

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Case example: Using the UNGPs as
a tool for change
 ECPAT End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking inChildren for Sexual Purposes Advocacy, information, awareness, training 4 business sectors
 Transportation
 Travel and Tourism
 Internet Service Providers Financial Institutions

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Business

Stakeholders23BusinessStakeholders

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UNGPs & CSOs
 Purpose and goal?

 Who?
 Entry points?
 Process?

 Substance / Issues?
 Partners?
 Resources?

 Do you understand the business?

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Resources The United Nations Guiding

Principles on Business & Human
Rights OHCHR: The Corporate

Responsibility to Respect Human
Rights: An Interpretive
Guideohchr.org/Documents/Publications/
HR.PUB.12.2_En.pdf

 How to do Business with Respectfor Human Rights,

a guidance tool for companies, Global
Compact Network Netherlands
www.gcnetherlands.nl/report_business_human_rights.htm

 Business & Human Rights Resource
Center business-humanrights.org

 UNGC: Tools & Resources: Human
Rightswww.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/too
ls_resources/humanrights.html

 SOMO (The Centre for Research on
Multinational Corporations): How to

use the UNGPs on Business & Human
Rights in company research and advocacy:

http://somo.nl/publicationsen/Publication_3899

 Shift: www.shiftproject.net

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Thank you.
Sandra Atler
sandra.atler@gmail.com

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