Business & Human Rights Helpdesk

An adverse human rights impact occurs when an action removes or reduces the ability of an individual or community to enjoy their human rights.

A business enterprise is an entity or group of entities that is engaged in commercial activities with a view to creating or adding value and/or generating revenue. Business enterprises can take many different legal forms, including single corporate entities, corporate groups comprising parent companies and subsidiaries, partnerships, joint ventures, State-owned enterprises and other forms of equity-based or contractual arrangements. The Guiding Principles apply to all business enterprises, whether transnational or not, and regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership or structure.

Business relationships are those relationships that a business enterprise has with entities that are relevant to that enterprise’s commercial activities. The term encompasses the relationships a business enterprise has with business partners, entities in its value chain, and any other non-State or State entity directly linked to its business operations, products or services, including, but not limited to, joint ventures, suppliers, service providers, distributors, licensees and franchisees. This concept is not limited to “first tier” relationships in value chains, but can encompass more indirect relationships, such as those with entities that are in the “second tier” of a value chain (such as suppliers of raw materials to direct suppliers of the business enterprise in question) and beyond. Business relationships can take many different legal and organizational forms. It may be relevant, for instance, to distinguish between relationships that are based on contractual relationships and those that arise as a result of shareholdings. However, the existence of a business relationship does not depend on the ability of one party to control or influence the other. Therefore, a business relationship may exist between a parent company and a subsidiary in which it has only a minority shareholding, or between a company and another entity with which the company has no contractual relationship, but which is directly linked in some way to that company’s operations, products or services.

A grievance is understood as a perceived injustice evoking an individual’s or a group’s sense of entitlement, which may be based on law, contract, explicit or implicit promises, customary practice or general notions of fairness of aggrieved communities.

The term “grievance mechanism” is used to indicate any routinized, State-based or non-State-based, judicial or non-judicial process through which grievances concerning business-related human rights abuse can be raised and remedy can be sought.

The term “human rights abuse” refers to actions or omissions which may result in or amount to a breach of international human rights standards. There is a considerable overlap between the term “human rights abuse” and “adverse human rights impact” (defined above), although the latter, which is defined by reference to degrees of enjoyment of human rights, has a broader scope. There is also a considerable degree of overlap between the concepts of human rights abuse and human rights violation (defined below). In the Guiding Principles, the term “human rights abuse” is used to refer to abuses committed by non-State actors, including business enterprises.

In the context of the Guiding Principles, human rights due diligence refers to the processes and activities by which businesses identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address the adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved. The Guiding Principles provide standards for how human rights due diligence should be conducted, which are further explained in The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide.

A business enterprise’s human rights risks are the risks whereby its own actions or omissions, or those of an entity with which it has a business relationship, may lead to one or more adverse human rights impacts in connection with its operations, products or services. Human rights risks are conceptualized as risks to people, rather than risks to the business enterprise itself.

A human rights violation is a violation of an obligation under international human rights law. Under international law, the primary addressees and ultimate guarantors of human rights are States. Thus, a reference to a human rights violation (as opposed to human rights abuse, defined above) will almost always refer to a breach of international human rights law by a State. States become subject to international human rights obligations in various ways, including through customary international law, and by virtue of their treaty commitments.

As noted in the Guiding Principles, the responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights refers to internationally recognized human rights, which are understood, at a minimum, as being those expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Depending on circumstances, business enterprises may need to consider additional standards, such as those found in other human rights instruments and in international humanitarian law.

Leverage is an advantage that gives a person or an entity the power to influence others. In the context of the Guiding Principles, it refers to the ability of a business enterprise to bring about changes in the behaviour or business practices of another party that may cause or contribute to an adverse human rights impact.

Meaningful stakeholder engagement refers to an ongoing process of interaction and dialogue with stakeholders in order to hear, understand and respond to their interests and concerns (see box 15 of Access to Remedy in Cases of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse: An Interpretive Guide).

The mitigation of an adverse human rights impact refers to actions taken to reduce its extent, with any residual impact then requiring remediation. The mitigation of a human rights risk refers to actions taken to reduce the likelihood of a certain adverse human rights impact occurring.

Policy coherence applies in the context of the State’s duty to protect human rights. Policy coherence refers to consistency between policies and regulations across different State departments, agencies and institutions. All institutions that shape business conduct – for example, the departments responsible for employment and labour conditions, business registration, export promotion, international trade, environmental protection, and State-based export credit agencies, while very different in their mandates, should all be aware of and observe the State’s human rights obligations with respect to protecting against negative impact from business activities.

The prevention of an adverse human rights impact refers to actions taken to ensure that such an impact does not occur.

The terms “remediation” and “remedy” are often used interchangeably. These terms may refer to either the processes of providing remedy for an adverse human rights impact, or the substantive outcomes that can counteract or make good the adverse impact (see box 1 of Access to Remedy in Cases of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse: An Interpretive Guide), or both. These outcomes may take a range of forms, such as apologies, restitution, rehabilitation, financial or non-financial compensation, or punitive sanctions (whether criminal or administrative, such as fines), as well as the prevention of harm through injunctions or other guarantees of non-repetition, for example.

The term “remedy ecosystem” refers to the laws, policies, institutions, mechanisms and actors, and the relationships between them, that are relevant to whether or not people will receive remedies for human rights-related harm. It encompasses not only the rules, practices and procedures relevant to the functioning of specific judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, but also the background legal regimes (which may not necessarily be framed or understood in human rights terms) that are potentially relevant to whether an effective remedy can be delivered in specific cases (see box 6 of Access to Remedy in Cases of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse: An Interpretive Guide).

Reparation refers to the act of redressing or repairing human rights harms. Although the terms reparation, remediation and remedy are often used interchangeably, reparation refers specifically to the substantive outcomes of remediation processes.

Retaliation refers to action taken by one person or entity against another to prevent or discourage a person from, or punish a person for, speaking out and defending their rights or the rights of others. While people drawing attention to adverse human rights impacts may be at particular risk of retaliation, others may be affected, too, including family members and associates, human rights defenders, representatives of trade unions, witnesses in proceedings or people involved in the administration of grievance processes. Retaliation can take many different forms. It may include physical, psychological or economic harm, it can take place both online and offline, it may take place through abusive legal proceedings, and it may be perpetrated by both State and non-State actors. Economic forms of retaliation can include negative actions connected with a person’s employment, including demotion, disciplinary action, firing, salary reduction, job or shift reassignment, anti-union discrimination and blacklisting. The term “retaliation” is commonly used interchangeably with terms such as “reprisal” or “reprimand”.

Rights holders are the beneficiaries of the rights that are recognized in international human rights law. All human beings are rights holders. In certain circumstances, some rights can be enjoyed in community with others. In cases where human rights have been adversely impacted, the terms “rights holder” and “affected stakeholder” may be used interchangeably. In cases where there is a risk of human rights being adversely impacted, the terms “rights holder” and “potentially affected stakeholder” may be used interchangeably.

The most salient human rights issues for a business enterprise are those that stand out as being most at risk. This will typically vary according to its sector and operating context. The Guiding Principles make clear that an enterprise should not focus exclusively on the most salient human rights issues and ignore others that might arise. But the most salient rights will logically be the ones on which it concentrates its primary efforts.

The commentary to the Guiding Principles defines severe human rights impact with reference to its scale, scope and irremediable character. This means that its gravity and the number of individuals that are or will be affected (for instance, from the delayed effects of environmental harm) will both be relevant considerations. “Irremediability” is the third relevant factor, used here to mean any limits on the ability to restore those affected to a situation at least the same as, or equivalent to, their situation before the adverse impact.

A stakeholder, in relation to a business enterprise, is any individual or community who may affect or be affected by that business enterprise’s operations, products or services, including through business relationships. The term may also refer to others involved in representing the interests of such individuals or communities, such as human rights defenders, trade unions or civil society organizations. “Affected stakeholders” refers specifically to stakeholders whose human rights have been adversely impacted by a business enterprise’s operations, products or services, including through business relationships. The term “potentially affected stakeholders” refers to those who may be at risk of having their human rights adversely impacted. There is substantial overlap between the concept of “affected stakeholders” and the concepts of “rights holder” and “victim” (and also between the terms “potentially affected stakeholder” and “rights holder”). However, these concepts are not always identical in meaning and scope, as is explained further in the definitions above and below.

A value chain of a business enterprise refers to the activities, operations and business relationships relevant to the production, supply and distribution of products and/or the provision of services by that business enterprise, both upstream and downstream. Within a value chain:

• Upstream business relationships include those concerned with the supply of goods or services relevant to the operations of the company or the development, production or supply of the company’s own products or services, whereas
• Downstream business relationships include those relevant to the distribution, use or consumption of the business enterprise’s products or services, and may extend to the entities involved in the disposal of products.

Victims are persons who individually or collectively have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, as a result of human rights abuses or violations. The term is not necessarily limited to those who have been most directly affected, but may extend to people who suffer because of certain relationships to those most directly affected, such as immediate family or dependants. All victims of business-related human rights abuse are “affected stakeholders” (see definition of “stakeholder” above).

• Dutch RBC Helpdesk
• EU Due Diligence Navigator for Partner Countries
• EU Single Helpdesk (forthcoming)
• German Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights
• ILO Helpdesk for business on international labour standards
• OHCHR Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights
• Responsible Business Helpdesk Networks
• Swedish Helpdesk for Responsible Business Conduct

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Business and human rights experts at OHCHR will review your request and consider how they can best support you. Depending on the question, the response may provide clarification, technical advice, or a referral to relevant resources, guidance or other appropriate support.

Responses are primarily provided in writing by email; in-person or virtual meetings may also be possible in certain cases. Response times depend on the complexity of the request, and, where necessary, action on requests may be prioritized based on factors such as severity and urgency.

All requests are treated as confidential by default. No information about requestors or that can connect requestors to a request will be shared unless the requester consents.

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The helpdesk provides three key forms of support:

• It helps users quickly develop a baseline understanding of business and human rights
• It allows users to easily find relevant resources and guidance on business and human rights
• It is a service through which users can confidentially ask a question and receive support.

The helpdesk was established in response to growing demand from States, business, civil society and other stakeholders for guidance and clarification on the UNGPs, and to support more consistent interpretation and implementation across jurisdictions and industries.

OHCHR is the institutional focal point within the UN system for providing uniform guidance and clarification on the UNGPs. The helpdesk draws on OHCHR’s business and human rights expertise as well as wider thematic and geographic human rights knowledge across the office.

The helpdesk complements existing initiatives and support providers rather than seeking to replace them. Where another actor is better placed to assist, the helpdesk can help users identify relevant support. OHCHR works alongside other helpdesks through the Responsible Business Conduct Helpdesk Network, which provides a space to exchange on activities, common challenges, approaches and good practices.

The vision of the helpdesk is to provide visible and accessible support so businesses and States understand and apply the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in practice, across value chains, sectors and regions. It will be a truly global initiative, with helpdesk hubs established across regions, providing context-specific advice in multiple languages).

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