Pillar 2: Corporate responsibility to respect human rights
The second pillar is grounded on the "do-noFigure 4: Three business
harm" principle, which means avoiding
impacts human rights scenarios
causing or exposing people to risks through
Contribute to
an impact
our actions. It is also based on businesses' role
either directly
as social institutions, thereby making them
or through
An impact
external
societal organs accountable to the whole
can be linked
entities
Cause an
to its operations,
society. This pillar focuses on the business
impact through
products, or
its own
sector's responsibility to respect human rights
services through
activities and
A corporation
its business
decisions
in all of its activities in all situations.31 The
relationships
may be
UNGP-BHR identifies three scenarios in which
involved with
adverse
human
businesses may cause or contribute to adverse
rights impacts
32
impacts (See Figure 4).
The business commitment to respect human rights and observe due diligence should be
viewed as an ongoing process, recognizing how risks may evolve.33 The UNGP-BHR provides
that businesses must:
Identify, prevent, mitigate, and address adverse impacts on human rights violations
throughout their operations and value chains, which includes their business activities,
business relationships, and networks;34
Know and show that they respect human rights through practicing human rights due
diligence, which includes assessing their actual and potential adverse human rights
impacts, addressing the findings from the field,35 tracking the progress of these case
studies, and public reporting on how they intend to address the issues;36 and
Consult with external "credible, independent experts, including from Governments,
civil society, national human rights institutions, and relevant multi-stakeholder
initiatives" to remediate negative impacts.37
Pillar 3: Access of victims to remedy
The UNGP-BHR cannot stand and will not be instructive in addressing the impacts without
remediation. Individuals whose rights have been violated by abuses arising from corporate
activities have the right to a remedy. The UNGP-BHR underscores both judicial38 and nonjudicial mechanisms for redress.39 For this pillar, the UNGP-BHR sets out ways that States and
businesses should pursue to ensure access of victims to remedy, which are as follows:
The State must take appropriate actions to ensure that effective judicial and nonjudicial mechanisms and adequate assistance—both legal and practical—for victims
of human rights abuses in the corporate setting are in place;40
Non-State-based remediation mechanisms should effectively complement Statebased mechanisms. These can be grievance or complaints mechanisms at the
operational level, industry level, and international level; and
Businesses must provide operational-level grievance mechanisms (OGMs)41 and, in
cases where there is an alleged human rights abuse, enterprises are to cooperate with
judicial mechanisms.42
8