1. foundational principles
1.1. Business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved.
1.2. The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights refers to internationally recognized human rights – understood, at a minimum, as those expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
1.3. Business eterprises
1.3.1. a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur;
1.3.2. (b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.
1.4. The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights applies to all enterprises regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure. Nevertheless, the scale and complexity of the means through which enterprises meet that responsibility may vary according to these factors and with the severity of the enterprise’s adverse human rights impacts.
1.5. In order to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, business enterprises should have in place policies and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances, including:
1.5.1. (a) A policy commitment to meet their responsibility to respect human rights;
1.5.2. (b) A human rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their impacts on human rights;
1.5.3. c) Processes to enable the remediation of any adverse human rights impacts they cause or to which they contribute.
2. Operational principle
2.1. policy commitment.
2.1.1. business enterprises should express their commitment to meet H.R. responsibility through a statement of policy that:
2.1.1.1. (a) Is approved at the most senior level of the business enterprise;
2.1.1.2. (b) Is informed by relevant internal and/or external expertise;
2.1.1.3. c) Stipulates the enterprise’s human rights expectations of personnel, business partners and other parties directly linked to its operations, products or services;
2.1.1.4. (d) Is publicly available and communicated internally and externally to all personnel, business partners and other relevant parties;
2.1.1.5. e) Is reflected in operational policies and procedures necessary to embed it throughout the business enterprise.
2.2. Remediation
2.2.1. Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in their remediation through legitimate processes.
2.3. Issues of content.
2.3.1. business enterprises should:
2.3.1.1. a) Comply with all applicable laws and respect internationally recognized human rights, wherever they operate;
2.3.1.2. (b) Seek ways to honour the principles of internationally recognized human rights when faced with conflicting requirements;
2.3.1.3. c) Treat the risk of causing or contributing to gross human rights abuses as a legal compliance issue wherever they operate.
2.3.2. Where it is necessary to prioritize actions to address actual and potential adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should first seek to prevent and mitigate those that are most severe or where delayed response would make them irremediable.
2.4. H.R. due diligence.
2.4.1. In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due diligence. The process should include assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed. Human rights due diligence:
2.4.1.1. a) Should cover adverse human rights impacts that the business enterprise may cause or contribute to through its own activities, or which may be directly linked to its operations, products or services by its business relationships;
2.4.1.2. (b) Will vary in complexity with the size of the business enterprise, the risk of severe human rights impacts, and the nature and context of its operations;
2.4.1.3. (c) Should be ongoing, recognizing that the human rights risks may change over time as the business enterprise’s operations and operating context evolve.
2.4.2. In order to gauge human rights risks, business enterprises should identify and assess any actual or potential adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved either through their own activities or as a result of their business relationships. This process should:
2.4.2.1. (a) Draw on internal and/or independent external human rights expertise;
2.4.2.2. (b) Involve meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate to the size of the business enterprise and the nature and context of the operation.
2.4.3. In order to prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should integrate the findings from their impact assessments across relevant internal functions and processes, and take appropriate action.
2.4.3.1. a) Effective integration requires that:
2.4.3.1.1. (i) Responsibility for addressing such impacts is assigned to the appropriate level and function within the business enterprise;
2.4.3.1.2. (ii) Internal decision-making, budget allocations and oversight processes enable effective responses to such impacts.
2.4.3.2. (b) Appropriate action will vary according to:
2.4.3.2.1. (i) Whether the business enterprise causes or contributes to an adverse impact, or whether it is involved solely because the impact is directly linked to its operations, products or services by a business relationship;
2.4.3.2.2. (ii) The extent of its leverage in addressing the adverse impact.
2.4.4. In order to verify whether adverse human rights impacts are being addressed, business enterprises should track the effectiveness of their response. Tracking should:
2.4.4.1. (a) Be based on appropriate qualitative and quantitative indicators;
2.4.4.2. (b) Draw on feedback from both internal and external sources, including affected stakeholders
2.4.5. 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 affected stakeholders. 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:
2.4.5.1. (a) Be of a form and frequency that reflect an enterprise’s human rights impacts and that are accessible to its intended audiences;
2.4.5.2. (b) Provide information that is sufficient to evaluate the adequacy of an enterprise’s response to the particular human rights impact involved;
2.4.5.3. c) In turn not pose risks to affected stakeholders, personnel or to legitimate requirements of commercial confidentiality.