The UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework is based on three pillars:

The State duty to protect

According to the Framework, the State's duty is to protect against human rights violations by third parties, including business. This duty, which includes a role in "preventing and addressing corporate-related human rights abuse,"¹ is grounded in international human rights law. According to the Framework, governments can protect these rights by developing appropriate policies, regulation and adjudication. Furthermore, Ruggie notes that governments also have a role to play in fostering corporate cultures in which respecting human rights is an integral part of doing business.

The corporate responsibility to respect

According to the Framework, a company has a "corporate responsibility to respect human rights."² This is seen as a baseline responsibility to respect human rights, a responsibility that exists independently of the State's duty to protect against human rights violations. According to the Special Representative, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights requires an ongoing process of human rights due diligence such as monitoring or auditing for human rights compliance. Due diligence could help companies to become aware of, prevent, and mitigate adverse human rights impacts to "avoid infringing on the rights of others." ³

Access to remedies

According to the Framework, effective grievance mechanisms play an important role in a State's duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. It recommends both judicial and non-judicial remedies (e.g. national human rights institutions). The Framework suggests that governments are required to take appropriate steps to investigate, punish and redress business-related violations against individuals or groups within their jurisdiction.

The Framework also notes that company-level grievance mechanisms may, for example, enable a business to address grievances at an early stage and before they escalate into legal suits or public campaigns against the company. Moreover, by tracking complaints, companies can identify systemic problems and adapt practices to prevent future harm and disputes.⁴ As such, company-level grievance mechanisms compliment any due diligence actions undertaken by a company.

Operationalising human rights

According to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights means to avoid infringing on the rights of others, and addressing adverse impacts that may occur. It applies to all companies in all situations.

Scope is defined by the actual and potential human rights impacts generated through a company's own business activities and through its relationships with other parties-such as business partners, entities in its value chain, other non-State actors, and State agents.

The appropriate corporate response to managing the risks of infringing on the rights of others is to exercise human rights due diligence. This is a process that helps companies address their responsibilities to the individuals and communities they impact, and their responsibilities to shareholders-thereby protecting both value and values.

The Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework aim to provide "concrete and practical recommendations" about how businesses can operationalise their responsibility to respect human rights. According to the Guiding Principles, the responsibility to respect human rights requires responsible companies to

• Implement a human rights policy
• Apply human rights due diligence
• Provide for remediation ⁵

The Framework, as clarified by the Guiding Principles document specifies the main components:

• A statement of policy articulating the company's commitment to respect human rights and providing guidance as to the specific actions to be taken to give this commitment meaning: This policy should be informed by appropriate internal and external expertise and identify what the company expects of its personnel and business partners. The policy should be approved at the most senior level and communicated internally and externally to all personnel, business partners and relevant stakeholders. In addition, it should be reflected in appropriate operational policies and procedures
• Human Rights Due Diligence:
  • Periodic assessment of actual and potential human rights impacts of company activities and relationships: Human rights due diligence will vary in scope and complexity according to the size of a company, the severity of its human rights risks and the context of its operations. Impact assessment must be continuous, recognising that human rights risks may change over time as companies' operations and operating contexts evolve. The process should draw on internal and external human rights experts and resources. Furthermore, it should involve meaningful engagement with potentially affected individuals and groups, as well as other relevant stakeholders
  • Integration of these commitments into internal control and oversight systems: Effective integration requires responsibility for addressing such impacts to be assigned to the appropriate level and function. It also requires appropriate internal decision-making mechanisms, budget allocation and oversight processes
  • Tracking of performance: Tracking of performance should be based on appropriate qualitative and quantitative metrics and should draw on feedback from both internal and external stakeholders. In addition, it should inform and support continuous improvement
  • Public and regular reporting on performance: When reporting, companies should take into account the risks the communication of certain information may pose to stakeholders themselves, or to company personnel. In addition the content of the reports should be subject to the legitimate requirements of commercial confidentiality
• Remediation: Where business enterprises identify responsibility for adverse impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in their remediation through legitimate processes

The Special Representative also states that the responsibility to respect human rights is not a one-time transactional activity, but is ongoing and dynamic. Managing human rights risks also involves meaningful engagement and dialogue with stakeholders and transparency and accessibility to stakeholders will be required.

For further information on the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, please see: http://www.business-humanrights.org/SpecialRepPortal/Home

• ¹ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, "Protect, Respect and Remedy": The UN Framework for Business and Human Rights, http://www.reports-and-materials.org/Ruggie-protect-respect-remedy-framework.pdf
• ² ibid
• ³ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, business and human rights: Towards operationalising the "protect, respect and remedy" framework,http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/11session/A.HRC.11.13.pdf
• ⁴ ibid
• ⁵ UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, 21 March 2011, Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework, Principles 11-24, http://www.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/ruggie/ruggie-guiding-principles-21-mar-2011.pdf

The dilemma for responsible business is how to respect and support human rights in complex social, political and economic contexts – particularly where these human rights are being violated.

Dilemmas occur, for example, when:

• Responsible intervention carries the risk of negative or unforeseen consequences for the workers or local communities concerned
• Where a responsible and intuitive upstream solution in an operating context may carry reputational risk in downstream consumer markets
• The full satisfaction of all stakeholder expectations is impractical given the commercial, political and legal realities faced by the companies and their technical competence
• Questions arise as to the extent to which company responsibility extends through different tiers of the supply chain, or with respect to government partners or local distributors
• It is beyond the remit of companies to address some of the root causes of the human rights violations in question, such as resource security, poverty and lack of education

As part of this project, we have identified a range of real-world dilemmas and analysed the array of approaches to them taken by different companies across different sectors. We explore unilateral approaches of leading companies, as well as path breaking multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The suggestions presented within the dilemma pages are designed to stimulate commentary and further insight. They are not final statements on the subject, nor are they prescriptive. We invite you to comment, through the Forum, on the approaches taken and provide your own viewpoint on what works and what doesn't. Be critical, be constructive, be frank. This is a moderated dialogue. Although we require you to register to post a comment, only your username will be visible to external users.

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Each dilemma is supported and illustrated by good practice case studies developed for the Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum. Case studies have been developed in close collaboration with a range of multi-national companies and relevant government, inter-governmental and civil society stakeholders. We also draw on public domain sources, including the UN Global Compact's own published Communications on Progress, through which signatories are required to report on their performance against the Ten Principles.

The case studies explore the specific dilemmas and challenges faced by each organisation, good practice actions they have taken to resolve them and the results of such action. We reference challenges as well as achievements and invite you to submit commentary and suggestions.