STEP 1: Form a human rights baseline for your business
A first step is for a business to build up an ongoing base-line of human rights as they relate to the specific nature of your company. All human rights must be considered at this stage but much greater depth can be applied to specific rights and issues which relate the footprint of the company: the nature and size of its operations, the countries and localities in which it operates. This base-line can be developed before the human rights implications of a particular project or operation are considered. Provided the base-line is updated, it can be drawn on repeatedly by you and other business managers around the world.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the supporting covenants identify over 30 fundamental human rights. As you map your business’s operations, products and places of business activity, certain human rights will be in focus more than others. This may warrant prioritisation among the several human rights risks you first wish to address. Certain business sectors already have an interest in sharing knowledge and experiences about human rights-based processes and procedures. It is worthwhile researching which sector-specific groups might be available to you and which might have valuable tools for you to adapt to your business.
From an operational perspective, your business needs to understand your supply chain, the extent of your joint venture (minority/majority) activities, and the range of your affiliates and subsidiaries. From the perspective of products, human rights issues can develop in the product design phase, the manufacturing phase (including the supply chain dimension), the marketing phase with respect to product use/misuse or at the end of life. These potential human rights connections must be understood through the entire value chain. Even well-intended and well-designed products can become instruments of human rights violations if in the hands of immoral private customers or governments. It is therefore also important to know who your customers are and consider their human rights record. Finally, the geographic reach of your business must also be mapped.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the supporting covenants identify over 30 fundamental human rights. As you map your business’s operations, products and places of business activity, certain human rights will be in focus more than others. This may warrant prioritisation among the several human rights risks you first wish to address. Certain business sectors already have an interest in sharing knowledge and experiences about human rights-based processes and procedures. It is worthwhile researching which sector-specific groups might be available to you and which might have valuable tools for you to adapt to your business.
From an operational perspective, your business needs to understand your supply chain, the extent of your joint venture (minority/majority) activities, and the range of your affiliates and subsidiaries. From the perspective of products, human rights issues can develop in the product design phase, the manufacturing phase (including the supply chain dimension), the marketing phase with respect to product use/misuse or at the end of life. These potential human rights connections must be understood through the entire value chain. Even well-intended and well-designed products can become instruments of human rights violations if in the hands of immoral private customers or governments. It is therefore also important to know who your customers are and consider their human rights record. Finally, the geographic reach of your business must also be mapped.
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