human rights and discrimination complaints; dispute resolution, enforcement of outcomes; ongoing compliance monitoring, dissemination of findings with regard to individual and systemic violations, advocacy (to governments and in legal proceedings), the provision of recommendations to respondents; the development of educational/promotional tools directed at the community generally and to TNCs, governments and other stakeholders in particular. The capacity of each member institution to develop programs and activities in this area will vary, depending on, amongst other things, the perceived need within particular States and the resources available to the NHRI. Providing some guidance on what can be achieved when this issue is considered a core priority area is the Human Rights and Business Project at the Danish Institute of Human Rights. Box 4: Case Study on the Danish Institute for Human Rights The Danish Institute for Human Rights provides an exemplar for the types of activities that can be undertaken by NHRIs that determine this area to one of the core priorities for human rights protection in their country. The Institute is an NHRI established to promote and develop knowledge about human rights on a national, regional and international basis predicated on the belief that human rights are universal, mutually interdependent and interrelated. The Institute established a Human Rights and Business Project, the aim of which was to develop concrete achievable human rights standards for companies, and to help companies live up to those standards through the provision of various services and training. The Project has developed and now offers the following services: - The Human Rights Compliance Assessment (HRCA) tool. This is a web-based selfassessment tool that was developed jointly between companies and human rights experts at the Danish Institute. Drawn from all major human rights treaties and conventions, the HRCA contains approximately 350 questions and 1000 indicators. By responding to these questions, companies can identify their high risk areas and gaps, and develop a prioritized compliance programme to assist them in ensuring greater compliance with the human rights obligations. In addition, the computerized report from the programme can be used to review and track performance year to year and to assign tasks for follow-up. Shorter and specialized versions of the full database are available, as are additional tools and information on supply chain management, promotional activities, basic descriptions of human rights, country commitment index, and human rights resources. - Business training courses, targeted at both business professional and NGOs and explaining human rights in a business context; - Assistance in the conduct of Human Rights Compliance Assessments and ongoing reviews; - Advice on the development or improvement of codes of conduct; - a human rights hotline that offers assistance and advice on human rights issues to companies who do not have an in-house human rights department, or to companies wishing to ensure an impartial third party plays a role in addressing sensitive human rights issues. - an NGO Partnership Service that serves to match companies operating overseas with reputable local human rights professionals for use in stakeholder dialogues, human rights promotional activities, or other engagements with the company. - the preparation of Country Risk Assessment Reports, the objective of which is to provide business with systematic and in-depth analysis of sensitive human rights issues in the country of operation, along with practical guidance on how to avoid engaging in human rights violations. For various reasons, including different priorities and resources constraints, many NHRIs may not be in a position to undertake all the activities outlined above. Nonetheless, the work of the - 14 -