Search Results: WA+

Taxes – compulsory contributions by individuals and entities to local, regional and State governments – are primarily aimed at raising resources for government expenditures. They also serve other purposes, including redressing inequalities in society and deterring or encouraging certain behaviours, notably consumer choices deemed harmful to, for example, their own health or to the environment….

Public procurement refers to the process by which public authorities, such as government departments or local authorities, purchase work, goods or services from suppliers. The scope of goods and services bought by public authorities ranges widely, from large-scale infrastructure and urban development projects, to the acquisition of complex items such as weapon systems, to commissioning of essential…

Policy Coherence is defined by the OECD as the systematic promotion of mutually reinforcing policy actions across government departments and agencies creating synergies towards achieving the agreed objectives. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Principles 8-10) recognise policy coherence as fundamental to efforts to ensure business respect for human rights, which includes. States should: ensure policy…

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidelines) are a set of recommendations addressed by states adhering to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises to multinational enterprises operating in or from these States. Since the 2000 revision (the latest revision was in 2023), the OECD Guidelines mandate that adhering governments set up…

Sustainability reporting is when businesses formally disclose information related to sustainability, including on human rights risks and impacts. As defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), “sustainability reporting is the practice of publicly disclosing an organization’s most significant economic, environmental and/or social impacts, and hence its contributions – positive or negative – toward the goal…

A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an autonomous body established by the State, with a constitutional or legislative mandate to promote and protect human rights. NHRIs are intended to bridge the ‘protection gap’ between the rights of individuals and the duties and responsibilities of the State. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993) recommended the…

The right to remedy is a fundamental principle of international human rights law (present in all 9 of the core human rights conventions) and is integral to all other human rights. Judicial remedy is “[t]he manner in which a right is enforced or satisfied by a court when some harm or injury, recognised by society as a…

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) provide that in order to address their adverse impacts on human rights, businesses should undertake human rights due diligence which includes “assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed” (Guiding Principle 17)….

Businesses are integral to the business and human rights discourse, but they will sometimes lack human rights experts within their workforce. Providing guidance to business is a good way to educate shareholders, management, and staff on human rights issues relevant to their business. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), detail in…

Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental human rights, as enshrined within several key human rights instruments; everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Achieving gender justice requires ensuring equal rights and non-discrimination, equal access to resources and equal representation and opportunities for all, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression….

Freedom of association is crucial to the functioning of a democracy and is an essential condition for the exercise of other human rights. In the human rights and business context, freedom of association is most frequently understood as the right of workers “to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation” (ILO Convention 87),…

Slavery and forced labour are prohibited under a range of international treaties and conventions. Since 1981, slavery has been prohibited by all individual States. However, slavery and forced labour remain prevalent; the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery highlighted that on any given day, 49.6 million people are in modern slavery, including 27.6 million people in forced labour…

  Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the situation when a State extends its legal power beyond its territorial boundaries. Examples include where a State maintains jurisdiction over its citizens when they are overseas and where certain criminal offences can be prosecuted in a State regardless of where they were committed (e.g. piracy and child sex offences). Extraterritorial jurisdiction…

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that ‘export credit’ is an insurance, guarantee or financing arrangement which enables a foreign buyer of exported goods and/or services to defer payment over a period of time. Export credits are generally divided into short-term, medium-term (usually two to five years repayment) and long-term (usually over five years)….

    Corruption is generally acknowledged as being the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Although there is no universal definition of corruption, the United Nations Convention against Corruption 2005 highlights various forms of corruption, such as trading in influence, abuse of functions and private sector corruption, which can range from the minor use of…