Human Rights Policy

A Complete Guide to Creating a Human Rights Policy

Creating a human rights policy isn’t just about writing a document, but about changing how
a company thinks and acts. It should start with a commitment from the top and end with real
actions on the ground.
Phase 1: Getting Ready (Before You Write)
You cannot just sit down and write a policy in isolation. You need to prepare the company
first.
1. Get Commitment from the Top The policy must be approved by the most senior level of
the business. If the CEO or the Board isn't on board, the policy will just be a piece of paper.
Senior leadership needs to assign resources and time to this.
2. Build a Team Don’t leave this task to just one person (like a lawyer or CSR manager).
You need a "cross-functional team". This means getting people from different departments
involved, such as:
• Human Resources: Because they handle employees and labor rights.
• Procurement: Because they deal with suppliers and supply chains.
• Legal & Security: Because they manage risks and safety. Involving them early helps
build a sense of common purpose and ensures you use the knowledge that already
exists inside the company.
3. Check What You Already Have (Gap Analysis) You likely already have some rules in
place, like safety manuals or anti-bullying rules. You need to "map" these existing policies to
see what is missing. For example, you might have a rule against discrimination, but you might
be missing rules about "forced labor" or "community land rights".
4. Talk to People (Stakeholder Consultation) You need to talk to the people who might be
affected by your business. This includes workers, trade unions, community groups, and
NGOs. This is called "meaningful consultation". It helps you understand the real risks from
their perspective, not just what management thinks is happening.
Phase 2: Writing the Policy (The Ingredients)
Once you are ready to write, there are specific things that must be in the document to meet
international standards.
1. The "Must-Haves"
• Explicit Language: The policy must explicitly use the words "Human Rights".
• International Standards: You cannot just make up your own definition of rights.
You must explicitly commit to respecting the International Bill of Human Rights
 (which covers civil, political, economic, and social rights) and the ILO Declaration
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (which covers worker rights).
2. Specific Rights to Cover
You should list specific rights that are relevant to your business.
• Labor Rights (for workers):
o No forced labor or child labor.
o Freedom to join a union (freedom of association).
o No discrimination (based on race, gender, etc.).
o Fair wages and safe working conditions.
• Non-Labor Rights (for communities and others):
o Security: If you hire security guards, you must ensure they don't use
excessive force (referencing the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human
Rights).
o Land Rights: If you are building on new land, you must respect the rights of
Indigenous peoples and their heritage.
o Privacy: If you are a tech company, you must protect user data and privacy.
o Vulnerable Groups: You might need specific rules for protecting children,
migrant workers, or people in clinical trials.
3. Choosing the Format
You have two main choices on how to present this:
• Stand-alone Policy: A separate document just for human rights. This sends a strong
signal that you take it seriously and makes it easy for outsiders to find.
• Integrated Policy: You weave human rights commitments into your existing "Code
of Conduct" or Ethics Code. This can be good because it shows human rights are part
of everyday business, but you have to be careful not to water down the message.
Phase 3: Moving from Words to Action (Due Diligence)
A policy is just the starting line. To actually respect rights, you must perform Human Rights
Due Diligence (HRDD). This is a four-step cycle:
Step 1: Identify and Assess Impacts (Salience) You need to figure out how your business
might hurt people. You cannot fix everything at once, so you prioritize the risks that are most
Salient.
• Salient means: Risks that are the most severe for the people affected, not just risks
that cost the company money.
 • You judge salience by asking: How bad is the harm? How many people does it hurt?
Can we fix it if it happens? .
Step 2: Take Action and Integrate Once you know the risks, you have to do something
about them. Your responsibility depends on how you are involved:
• If you CAUSE the harm: You must stop it immediately and fix it (e.g., your factory
is unsafe).
• If you CONTRIBUTE to the harm: You must stop your contribution and help fix it
(e.g., you set deadlines so tight that your supplier forced people to work overtime).
• If you are DIRECTLY LINKED to the harm: The harm is caused by a partner, but
it's linked to your product. You must use your leverage (power) to pressure them to
change.
Step 3: Track Performance You need to measure if your actions are working. Don't just tick
boxes; use data and feedback from workers to see if the situation is actually improving.
Step 4: Communicate You must be transparent. Report publicly on what risks you found
and what you are doing about them. This is often called "Knowing and Showing".
Phase 4: Responsible Contracting
A major problem is that companies often force their suppliers to sign strict contracts while
paying them too little to actually follow the rules. Your policy should fix this by adopting
Responsible Contracting principles:
• Shared Responsibility: Don't just blame the supplier. Acknowledge that you (the
buyer) and the supplier are partners in protecting rights.
• Responsible Purchasing Practices: You must pay enough (a fair price) and give
enough time so the supplier can afford to pay legal wages and work safely.
• Remediation First: If you find a problem, don't just fire the supplier immediately
("cut and run"). That often hurts the workers more (they lose their jobs). Instead, work
with the supplier to fix the issue. Firing the supplier should be a last resort.
Phase 5: Fixing Problems (Access to Remedy)
Even with the best policy, things will go wrong. You must have a way to fix harms when they
happen.
• Grievance Mechanisms: You need a system where people (workers or communities)
can complain safely without fear of punishment.
• What makes it good? A good complaint system must be legitimate, accessible (easy
to use), transparent, and based on dialogue.
• Remedy is not just money: Fixing harm can involve apologies, changing rules so it
doesn't happen again, or giving people their jobs back.
 Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA)

This guide integrates the specific instructions from your Task 3 Guidance document with
the theoretical frameworks and definitions provided in the Introduction to the Topic slides.

Phase 1: Context and Methodology

Before you begin writing, you must understand that an HRIA is distinct from a standard audit.
While an audit looks backward at compliance (a "checklist" exercise), an HRIA looks
forward to identify risks, analyze root causes, and prioritize the severity of impacts on people
rather than risks to the business.

Your assessment must follow the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) framework, which rests
on three pillars: the State Duty to Protect, the Corporate Responsibility to Respect, and
Access to Remedy.

Phase 2: The 7-Step Assessment Process

Below is the detailed breakdown of the seven sections required by your assignment guidance,
populated with the specific theory you need to apply.

1. Project Context and Scope

The Goal: Define the boundaries of your assessment.

• Project Definition: You must clearly define the project's life-cycle. If it is a tech
project, consider the hardware (supply chain), software (algorithms), and data usage.
If it is an extraction project, define the value chain from extraction to distribution.

• Location Context: Identify if the project operates in a high-risk area (e.g., conflict
zones or regions with weak governance) where the state may fail in its duty to protect
human rights.

• The Collingridge Dilemma (for Tech): If applicable, note that early in development,
impacts are hard to predict, but once the tech is entrenched, it is hard to change. This
justifies the need for early assessment.

2. Identification of Potential Human Rights Impacts

The Goal: Map "actual and potential" adverse impacts.

• Map Specific Rights: Do not use vague terms. Refer to the "International Bill of
Rights" and "ILO Core Conventions".

o Labor: Forced labor, child labor, union rights, safety, and living wages.

o Tech: Privacy (vulnerability protection), autonomy (freedom from

manipulation), and non-discrimination (algorithmic bias).
 o Environment: The right to a clean, healthy environment (recognized by
UNGA) and water scarcity issues.
• Determine Salience: You must prioritize risks based on Salience, not business
materiality. Explain that you are prioritizing based on the severity of the impact on
the victim. Use these four criteria to justify your choice of the "most salient" risks:

1. Scope: How many people are affected?.

2. Scale: How grave is the impact?.

3. Remediability: Can the victim be restored to their prior situation?.

4. Likelihood: How likely is the impact to occur?.

• Vulnerable Groups: Explicitly identify groups who are disproportionately affected,

such as women, children (consider the specific rights of the child), indigenous
peoples, or migrant workers.
3. Assessment of Company Responsibility (Attribution)

The Goal: Determine the company’s level of responsibility using the UNGP framework. This
is a critical theoretical section.
• Policy Analysis: Does the company have a stand-alone human rights policy or is it
integrated? A robust policy must explicitly commit to the UDHR and ILO standards
and be approved by the most senior level of the company.

• The Attribution Framework: You must categorize the company’s connection to the
harm into one of three categories:

1. Caused: The company's own actions directly caused the harm (e.g., poor
safety leading to injury). Requirement: Cease the action and provide remedy.

2. Contributed: The company facilitated or incentivized the harm (e.g.,

aggressive purchasing practices like low prices or short deadlines forcing a
supplier to cut corners). Requirement: Cease contribution, use leverage to
mitigate, and contribute to remedy.

3. Directly Linked: The harm is caused by a business partner (e.g., a supplier’s

subcontractor) without the company’s contribution. Requirement: Use
leverage to mitigate the risk. There is no direct obligation to provide financial
remediation, though they may do so voluntarily.

4. Engagement with Stakeholders

The Goal: Demonstrate "Meaningful Consultation."
 • Beyond Audits: State clearly that engagement is "absolutely essential" to understand
risks from the perspective of rights-holders (the victims) rather than management.
• Identification: List stakeholders such as workers, community members, trade
unions, and civil society.

• Methodology: How will you consult them safely? In repressive regimes, this is
difficult. You may need to use proxies or independent NGOs to ensure safety.

• Grievance Mechanisms: Evaluate if the company has a mechanism (e.g., a hotline).

Assess it against the UNGP effectiveness criteria: Is it legitimate, accessible,
predictable, equitable, transparent, and rights-compatible?.

5. Mitigation and Management Measures

The Goal: Propose specific actions to fix the problems.

• Leverage: If the company is "Directly Linked," it must use Leverage—the ability to

influence the wrongful practices of a third party. If they lack leverage, they must try
to increase it (e.g., by capacity building or collaborating with peers).

• Responsible Contracting: Recommend shifting from "Risk-Shifting" contracts

(which demand perfect compliance and punish suppliers) to "Shared Responsibility"
contracts.

o Key Clauses: Buyer commits to responsible purchasing practices (fair prices,

reasonable lead times) and shared costs for safety improvements.

• Responsible Exit: If leverage fails, terminating the relationship ("delinking") is a last

resort. You must assess if leaving would cause more harm (e.g., mass unemployment
for workers) and attempt to mitigate those impacts first.
6. Monitoring, Reporting, and Accountability
The Goal: Define how success is measured.

• Tracking: Establish measurable indicators to track if the mitigation actions are

actually working (e.g., reduction in accident rates, not just number of trainings held).

• External Reporting: The company must "show" its respect for rights by reporting
externally. Mention frameworks like the GRI or the UN Guiding Principles
Reporting Framework.
• Internal Governance: Assign responsibility to senior management or the Board.
Without budget and oversight, policies are just "words on paper".
7. Risks and Opportunities
The Goal: The "Business Case" and Legal Reality.

• Legal Risks: Mention the shift from "Soft Law" (voluntary) to "Hard Law"
(mandatory). Specifically cite the CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due
Diligence Directive) or national laws like the French Duty of Vigilance.

• Financial Risks: Exclusion from ESG funds (e.g., BlackRock), loss of investors, or
inability to secure loans.

• Reputational Risks: Campaigns by NGOs (e.g., "StopEACOP") that damage brand

value.

• Opportunities: Securing a "social license to operate," attracting top talent who want
to work for ethical firms, and building resilient supply chains.

Phase 3: Presentation Format

• Structure: Create slides that correspond to these 7 sections.

• Time: You have 4 minutes per person. Be concise.

• Visuals: Use a "Salience Matrix" (plotting severity vs. likelihood) to visually

demonstrate how you prioritized risks in Section 2.
• Focus: Ensure you explicitly use the terms Salience, Attribution
(Cause/Contribute/Linked), and Leverage. These are the core academic concepts the
professors will be listening for.
 Gap Analysis of Contractual Clauses.

This task requires you to evaluate a set of contract clauses to see if they meet international
human rights and environmental standards, or if they fall short by using traditional, "risk-
shifting" language.

Phase 1: Understand the Goal

Your objective is to conduct a gap analysis. This is a method to assess the extent to which
existing clauses meet or fall short of international standards like the UN Guiding Principles
(UNGPs) and OECD Guidelines.

Instead of just checking for legal compliance, you are looking for Responsible
Contracting. Traditional contracts often shift all risk to the supplier (e.g., "You must comply
perfectly or we terminate"), whereas responsible contracts view risk management as a shared
duty.

Phase 2: The Analysis Framework (The 4 Principles)

You should structure your analysis by mapping the clauses you are given against the four
core principles of responsible contracting.

1. Responsibility Shared for Human Rights and Environment

• The Goal: Responsibilities should be allocated to both the buyer and the supplier, not
just one side.

• Questions to ask of the clauses:

• Do the clauses assign obligations to both parties?.

• Are responsibilities proportional to each party’s capacity, influence, and size?.

• Is there a requirement for cooperation and information sharing (e.g., on due
diligence or investigations)?.

2. Responsible Purchasing Practices (RPP)

• The Goal: The contract must ensure the buyer's own behavior (pricing, deadlines)
doesn't force the supplier into non-compliance.

• Questions to ask of the clauses:

• Does the buyer commit to fair pricing that allows for responsible business
conduct?.
• Are there clauses regarding reasonable deadlines and order stability?.
 • Does the contract avoid shifting all risk to the supplier or absolving the buyer
of responsibility?.
• Key Concept: Look for evidence of "Gold standards and not even bronze
prices"—where buyers demand high standards but pay too little to achieve
them.

3. Remediation First

• The Goal: If a problem is found, the priority must be fixing the harm (remediation)
rather than immediately punishing the supplier.

• Questions to ask of the clauses:

• Does the contract prioritize remediation for workers or communities over

contract termination?.

• Are remediation obligations (compensation, restoration) explicitly spelled

out?.

• Is termination conditional on remediation efforts failing first?.

4. Responsible Exit as a Last Resort

• The Goal: Ending the business relationship should be the last option after other
efforts fail, to avoid sudden harm to workers.
• Questions to ask of the clauses:

• Does the contract limit when termination is allowed (e.g., only after
remediation is exhausted)?.

• Are there protections for workers if the contract is terminated (e.g., transition
measures)?.
• Does it prohibit "cut-and-run" approaches where the buyer leaves without
considering downstream consequences?.
Phase 3: Executing the Task (Step-by-Step)

Once you have your specific clauses, follow this process outlined in the guidance:

Step 1: Map and Comply

• Read each clause and indicate which ones already comply (or partially comply) with
the 4 principles above.

Step 2: Identify Gaps

 • Highlight ambiguities, weak provisions, or areas where the contract relies on
"traditional" adversarial language (e.g., strict liability, immediate termination rights).
Step 3: Propose Improvements (The "Fix")

• Draft concrete improvements or new clauses.

• Example of Improvement:

• Bad (Traditional): "Any non-compliance is a fundamental breach allowing

immediate cancellation.".

• Good (Responsible): "Buyer shall consult and collaborate with Supplier to

immediately address the issue... and implement corrective action plans.".

• Tip: Use the "Model Contract Clauses" comparison in your source material as a
template for your rewriting.

Step 4: Prioritize

• Reflect on which changes are most critical based on risk, feasibility, and power
dynamics.
 National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights.

1. Understand the Definition and Core Criteria

Before drafting, you must ensure the NAP meets the international standard.

• Definition: A NAP is an evolving policy strategy to protect against adverse human

rights impacts by businesses, in conformity with the UN Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

• Essential Criteria:

o Founded on UNGPs: It must reflect the State's duty to protect and the
corporate responsibility to respect.

o Context-Specific: It must address actual national challenges, including

impacts inside the country and extraterritorial impacts (by national companies
abroad).
o Inclusive: It must involve diverse stakeholders (civil society, business, at-risk
groups).

o Continuous: It must be regularly reviewed and updated, not a one-off

document.

2. Follow the 5-Phase Development Process

The UNWG recommends a cycle of 15 steps divided into five phases:

Phase 1: Initiation

• Secure Commitment: Get a formal government commitment and designate

leadership.

• Collaborate: Create formats for cross-departmental collaboration (involving various

ministries) and stakeholder engagement.

• Resource: Publish a work plan and allocate necessary resources.

Phase 2: Assessment and Consultation

• Map Impacts: Identify adverse impacts within your territory and abroad.

• Gap Analysis: Identify gaps in the current State and business implementation of the
UNGPs.

• Consult: Engage stakeholders to identify priority areas based on the severity of

impacts and the government's leverage.
 o Tip: Ensure "meaningful participation" by coordinating with a steering
committee and consulting diverse groups like children, women’s associations,
trade unions, and at-risk communities.

Phase 3: Drafting

• Drafting: Draft the initial NAP with active participation from the entities that will
implement it.

• Review: Consult on the draft (e.g., invite written comments) and then launch the final
document.

Phase 4: Implementation

• Execute: Carry out action points with clear timelines and responsibilities.
• Monitor: Establish a multi-stakeholder monitoring group.

Phase 5: Update

• Evaluate: Assess the impact of the previous NAP.

• Re-assess: Identify new gaps, consult stakeholders again, and draft the updated NAP.

3. Structure Your NAP Correctly

Your NAP should generally contain four main sections:

1. Statement of Commitment: Introduction by the government committing to the

UNGPs, signed by high-level officials.

2. Background and Context: Explain the NAP’s relation to other policies (e.g.,
development, CSR) and summarize national challenges.
3. Government Expectation: A clear statement expecting businesses to respect human
rights and conduct due diligence.

4. Government Response (The Action Plan):

o Identify strategic priority areas.

o List action points that are specific, measurable, and achievable.

o For each action, specify: the goal, actions to be taken, responsible entity,
timeframe, and performance indicators.
o

4. Include Specific Regulatory & Policy Measures

Based on the text, your NAP should utilize a "Smart Mix" of mandatory and voluntary
measures. Consider including the following:
Pillar I: State Duty to Protect

• Mandatory Due Diligence Law: Introduce legislation requiring companies to

respect human rights and implement due diligence.
• Transparency: Require all companies (including SMEs and state-owned enterprises)
to disclose how they manage impacts.
• Public Procurement: Condition state aid, subsidies, and public procurement
contracts on companies demonstrating commitment to the UNGPs.

• Company Law Reform: Assess if corporate governance laws facilitate or hinder

respect for human rights.

• Net-Zero: Set clear expectations for alignment with the Paris Agreement.
Pillar II: Corporate Responsibility to Respect

• SME Support: Provide guidance and capacity building for SMEs (which often lack
resources) and micro-enterprises.
• Incentives: Create incentives for companies that exercise due diligence.

• Guidance Tools: Provide practical tools for companies to implement due diligence.

Pillar III: Access to Remedy

• Liability Review: Review civil and criminal liability regimes to identify obstacles to
remedy.

• Strengthen Non-Judicial Mechanisms: Support National Human Rights

Institutions (NHRIs) and OECD National Contact Points.

• Grievance Mechanisms: Provide guidance to companies on operational grievance

mechanisms.

5. Identify Strategic Priority Areas

Your NAP should highlight specific areas that require urgent attention. Based on the
Portuguese recommendations, these might include:

• Children’s Rights: Promote child participation and ensure consultations are safe.

• Gender Equality: Apply a "gender lens" to address disproportionate impacts on

women, close the gender pay gap, and eliminate sexual harassment.
• Migrant Workers: Address welfare and working conditions, particularly in
agriculture.
• Climate Change: Combat "short-termism" and require environmental due diligence.

• LGBTQI+: Protect the rights of the LGBTQI+ community.