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Human rights are the basic rights of each human being, independent of race, sex, religion, political opinion, social status, or any other characteristic. Through international human rights conventions, governments commit to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the human rights of their citizens and other individuals within and beyond their borders. Businesses should also be aware of the core conventions of the International Labour Organisation. In addition, a specific body of law applies in situations of armed conflicts: international humanitarian law. Its rules have two aims: first, protecting people who are not or no longer taking part in hostilities and, secondly, regulating means and methods of warfare.
At this time in history, there are compelling reasons why businesses should involve human rights in their policies and practices. Businesses increasingly need a stable international environment in which to operate, with sustainable markets and a “level playing field” of opportunities. Human rights offer a common framework for businesses to understand societies’ expectations and deliver value to stakeholders in a more sustainable way. This Guide demonstrates that, in a business context, advancing human rights is as much about realising new opportunities and managing risk as it is about meeting essential global standards.
For business, human rights provide a universal benchmark for minimum standards of behavior. Many national laws and regulations have evolved as a result of a State’s obligation to implement human rights standards. Business must, of course, observe such laws in all countries and jurisdictions in which they operate.
The debate about the nature and scope of companies’ human rights responsibilities is a relatively recent one, as is the idea of applying human rights to business decisions and operations. A number of international efforts have been undertaken to elaborate on the content of human rights relevant to business. One of the most comprehensive efforts resulted in the Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (Draft Norms), developed by a United Nations expert group, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. While the Draft Norms have no formal legal status, the inter-governmental UN Commission on Human Rights has observed that they have useful elements. Many of the companies that have contributed to this Guide, especially the companies involved in Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), agree that the content of the Draft Norms provides a helpful framework for human rights in business.
This Guide is based on a conventional management system. It follows the Global Compact Performance Model, which is a map for responsible corporate citizenship. The model allows business to implement the Global Compact principles without undermining their other business goals. The Performance Model was built on practical experience, identifying methods that actual companies followed to mainstream the Global Compact principles into their own business operations and activities. More information about implementing the Performance Model in practice is available on the Global Compact website and in the publication entitled Raising the Bar: Creating Value with the United Nations Global Compact.
This Guide is intended to be a technical manual and a hands-on toolkit to help any company integrate practices consistent with human rights standards into an existing management system. It is made up of seven elements common to most management systems: Strategy, Policy, Processes and Procedure, Communications, Training, Measuring Impact and Auditing, and Reporting. The Getting Started section identifies the initial steps a company should take to implement the performance model, and in the Appendices at the end of the Guide you will find tools and resources which the BLIHR companies have found to be helpful in bringing human rights into their businesses.
The examples in this Guide illustrate how aspects of the model have been implemented and are designed to inspire other businesses. The human rights processes and procedures included in this Guide are ongoing projects for the companies concerned.