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Guiding Principle 18

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:

(a) Draw on internal and/or independent external human rights expertise;

(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.

Commentary

The initial step in conducting human rights due diligence is to identify and assess the nature of the actual and potential adverse human rights impacts with which a business enterprise may be involved. The purpose is to understand the specific impacts on specific people, given a specific context of operations. Typically this includes assessing the human rights context prior to a proposed business activity, where possible; identifying who may be affected; cataloguing the relevant human rights standards and issues; and projecting how the proposed activity and associated business relationships could have adverse human rights impacts on those identified.

In this process, business enterprises should pay special attention to any particular human rights impacts on individuals from groups or populations that may be at heightened risk of vulnerability or marginalization, and bear in mind the different risks that may be faced by women and men.

While processes for assessing human rights impacts can be incorporated within other processes such as risk assessments or environmental and social impact assessments, they should include all internationally recognized human rights as a reference point, since enterprises may potentially impact virtually any of these rights.

Because human rights situations are dynamic, assessments of human rights impacts should be undertaken at regular intervals: prior to a new activity or relationship; prior to major decisions or changes in the operation (e.g. market entry, product launch, policy change, or wider changes to the business); in response to or anticipation of changes in the operating environment (e.g. rising social tensions); and periodically throughout the life of an activity or relationship.

To enable business enterprises to assess their human rights impacts accurately, they should seek to understand the concerns of potentially affected stakeholders by consulting them directly in a manner that takes into account language and other potential barriers to effective engagement. In situations where such consultation is not possible, business enterprises should consider reasonable alternatives such as consulting credible, independent expert resources, including human rights defenders and others from civil society.

The assessment of human rights impacts informs subsequent steps in the human rights due diligence process.

What National Action Plans say on Guiding Principle 18

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PLANNED ACTIONS:

Action point 1, Elaborer une boîte à outils destinée aux entreprises et organisations concernant les droits de l’Homme [Develop a toolkit for companies and organizations on human rights], presents the action of developing, in collaboration with experts and its main human rights stakeholders and organizations, a toolbox that will help companies prevent human rights violations and promote the respect for human rights through their activities. This “Toolbox” will be composed of different elements including how companies can create grievance mechanisms.

Action point 9, Renforcer la collaboration entre les services publics et diverses organisations actives dans le domaine des droits de l’Homme et de l’entrepreneuriat international [Strengthen collaboration between public services and the various organizations active in the field of human rights and of international entrepreneurship] states that The Belgian federal, Flanders and Wallonia governments will aim at gathering inputs at federal and regional levels from various stakeholders, which have information on human rights and how Belgian enterprises can avoid becoming complicit, directly or indirectly, in human rights violations. The analysis that emerges from this exercise will be transferred to the embassies and the competent services in Brussels, who will be able to rely on this input to provide more information to companies in the framework of their regular contacts with them. The NCP may, if appropriate, use the analysis to take initiatives to mitigate identified risks.

On Action point 13, Renforcer et contrôler le respect des droits de l’Homme dans les marchés publics [Strengthen and monitor the respect for human rights in public procurement], the federal government states that the Working Group on Sustainable Public Procurement of the Interdepartmental Commission for Sustainable Development will examine how to strengthen and optimize the integration of respect for human rights into the purchasing policy of the public authorities. To this end, in consultation with the government and stakeholders concerned, including the sectoral federations, the working group will formulate a series of proposals with particular attention to hazardous sectors such as the apparel industry, the extractives industry etc.

On Action point 31, Mettre en avant les pratiques exemplaires des entreprises [Endorse best practice of businesses] the government of Wallonia mentions an engagement that will consist of publishing the initiatives developed by companies and on the other hand Walloon initiatives supporting the adoption of practices respecting human rights by SMEs.  The aim will also be to create a platform for dialogue between stakeholders on this issue.

Read more about Belgium

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The Chilean NAP does not make an explicit reference to GP18.

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The Colombian NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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Pillar II. The Corporate Responsibility to Respect

Transparent consultation of matters of general interest [page 39]

If a business is preparing a major project that could be linked – even if only potentially – with human rights risks, open communication with all stakeholder groups is recommended. Negotiations should be guided by the following principles:

  • They should take place sufficiently early on.
  • The top management, or at least those with enough decision-making powers, should be involved.
  • The form taken by the negotiations should reflect the seriousness of the risks, the scale of the project, and the addressees’ abilities and capacities (an online form, public meetings, personal visits).
  • Plain language should be used in the negotiations. Complex legal or economic language may not be understood by the uninitiated and could be misinterpreted as an effort to conceal something.
  • If the direct participation of a particular group is impossible, communication with their representatives or with experts familiar with the situation is an option.

Documents and sources of information

The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic collects model documents, guidelines and materials intended for businesses to improve the performance of tasks in this chapter, and posts them on the National Corporate Social Responsibility Portal: http://narodniportal.cz/

Read more about Czechia

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The Danish NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

Read more about Denmark

[/accordion-item] [accordion-item title="Finland"]

Finland’s NAP makes no reference to GP18.

Read more about Finland

[/accordion-item] [accordion-item title="France"]

The French NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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[/accordion-item] [accordion-item title="Germany"]

The German NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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Annex 1 – list of additional and ongoing actions to be carried out across government

Trade and Investment [page 20]

Encourage Irish companies operating abroad to adopt good practice with regards to consultation with human rights defenders and civil society in local communities, particularly on environmental and labour conditions.

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Italy’s NAP does not contain a reference to GP 18.

Read more about Italy

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The Lithuanian NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

Read more about Lithuania

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The Dutch NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

Read more about Netherlands

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3.2. Responsible Business Conduct

Acquiring expertise for risk identification and assessment [page 33]

The 18th principle outlines procedures for risk management based on internal or external expertise and dialogue with stakeholders.

Companies in high-risk industries and companies that operate in vulnerable areas should identify and gauge the risks they run of having adverse human rights impacts. The first step is to identify actual and potential risks. Which specific human rights and individuals do they risk abusing in certain situations? Risk identification and assessment should be conducted and repeated for each new decision and each new direction, such as entry into a new market.

It may be necessary to conduct a dialogue on due diligence with stakeholders. This will give the company a better picture of which rights may be under pressure and what can be done to prevent potential misunderstandings or conflicts. Dialogue can help to clarify expectations and reduce conflict.

BOX: The rights on indigenous people [page 34]

‘Indigenous peoples have a right to be consulted on projects that will have an impact on land where they live and earn their livelihoods (for example reindeer husbandry). The most important international standards concerning indigenous rights and the right to be consulted are the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. In many countries, indigenous peoples are largely excluded from political, economic and cultural life, and indigenous groups have a lower score than other population groups on many standard-of-living indicators, for example health and education. Indigenous peoples are also particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Read more about Norway

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The Polish NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

Read more about Poland

[/accordion-item] [accordion-item title="Spain"]

The Spanish NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

Read more about Spain

[/accordion-item] [accordion-item title="Sweden"]

The Swedish NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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5. National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 

5.5 Corporate responsibility [page 11]

Consultations with stakeholder groups from business, civil society and the academic world showed that the greatest challenges faced by business enterprises based and/or operating in Switzerland are connected with their operations and business relationships abroad. For this reason, while it does not exclude domestic operations, the NAP is geared more closely to business activities abroad. As determined in the UNGP, the time and expense attached to possible conditions should be in proportion to the human rights risks to which the business enterprise is exposed.

Read more about Switzerland

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The UK 2013 NAP 

The UK 2013 NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

The UK 2016 updated NAP 

The UK 2016 updated NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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The US NAP does not contain a reference to GP18.

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