Protect, Respect & Remedy – Business & Human Rights

It has been two weeks since EJ and I attended the United Nations Business and Human Rights Forum in Geneva. In those two weeks, I’ve reflected on what I wanted to share with you all on the Action Sustainability blog. One key thing stood out, which was made poignant by Christine Kaufmann (Chair at OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct) in the Plenary session right at the start of the Forum. That one thing was that when it comes to business and human rights, we don’t need more standards; we need better implementation.

Over and over again at the Forum the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) were mentioned as the core framework for human rights due diligence. However, despite them being around since 2011 the majority of organisations still do not implement them properly and as a ‘standard’ they are still very much relevant to how we tackle human rights in business today.

So what are the UNGPs?

During the 1990s and early 2000s, globalisation increased corporate influence, and concerns grew about business involvement in human rights abuses. Following years of consultation and drafting a chap called Professor John Ruggie proposed the foundational “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, built on three pillars:

1. State duty to protect against human rights abuses
2. Corporate responsibility to respect human rights
3. Access to remedy for victims

On 16^th June 2011, the UNGPs which operationalised this framework, was endorsed, making them the first globally agreed standard on business and human rights. Since adoption, the UNGPs have become the global baseline for responsible business conduct.

Protect

The Protect pillar states that governments have a duty to protect individuals against human rights abuses by third parties, including businesses. This duty is grounded in existing international human-rights law. This sets the foundation for the other two pillars.

Again, this was something mentioned over and over again during the Forum, businesses can only do so much, but Governments need to enforce laws and provide guidance on how to protect, respect and remedy.

We are starting to see more laws come into place, which include human rights protection, such as the EU CSDDD, German Supply Chain Act and the UK Modern Slavery Act.

Respect

The Respect pillar states that all businesses have a responsibility to avoid infringing on human rights and to address any negative impacts with which they are involved.

Businesses must:

• Avoid causing human rights abuses through their own activities
• Avoid contributing to abuses through business relationships (suppliers, contractors, partners)
• Address and remedy any impacts they cause or contribute to

This responsibility is global and applies to companies of all sizes, sectors, and locations. It does not depend on laws being enforced and exists even where the state lacks the capacity or willingness to protect rights.

Human rights due diligence is the core of the respect pillar. It stipulates that companies should carry out ongoing due diligence to:

1. Identify actual and potential human rights impacts
2. Prevent or mitigate potential harms
3. Track the effectiveness of their actions
4. Communicate how impacts are addressed

This pillar is where, as consultants in the UK, we draw on the guidance standard, BS 25700 – Organisational response to addressing modern slavery risks, which aligns with the UNGP but provides more in-depth guidance on due diligence implementation. Check out EJ’s blog from earlier in the year for more details on this.

In a nutshell, companies must be able to know through risk assessments and stakeholder engagement that they respect human rights and show through transparent reporting and performance tracking that they respect human rights. Where companies cause or contribute to harm, they must provide or contribute to remedy through things such as grievance mechanisms, complaint processes and collaborative remediation with affected stakeholders.

Remedy

The Remedy pillar states that those affected by business-related human rights abuses must have access to an effective remedy, and both states and businesses have roles in ensuring this happens.

Remedy is often where companies are lacking. There is a lot of guidance and tools and expertise around due diligence processes, but when it comes to remedy, that is where real action is needed and is often perceived as being more complex.

Both state and business have a role to play in the remedy.

States must provide judicial and non-judicial mechanisms that allow victims to seek redress, including courts, labour tribunals and national human rights institutions. These mechanisms must be accessible, impartial, timely, transparent and enforceable.

Businesses that cause or contribute to harm must provide or support remedy, cooperate in legitimate remediation processes and avoid obstructing access to justice.

Businesses should also establish grievance mechanisms at the operational level that allow early raising of concerns before issues escalate and are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent, rights-compatible, and culturally appropriate. Examples of this include hotlines, worker complaint systems and community feedback processes.

Remedy should be survivor-centred and can look like an apology, financial compensation, policy changes, sanctions or non-repetition.

Turning Principles Into Practice

For those of you who work with us, attend our webinars and workshops, these principles probably sound familiar. But what was clear from the UN Forum is that, despite being around for many years, we’re still not implementing the UNGP effectively. Wednesday (10^th December) is Human Rights Day, which is a good time to take a step back and consider how your organisation is protecting, respecting and remediating human rights.

Myself and our Action Sustainability modern slavery team regularly conduct due diligence maturity assessments, human rights risk assessments and strategy development for clients.

For more information or to explore how Action Sustainability can support your organisation, please get in touch with our team or you can get in touch with me directly here.