The intersection of business and human rights evolved from concepts of corporate social responsibility. CSR emphasises the moral if not legal obligations of businesses to consider environmental and social standards in the way they operate. BHR is one aspect of CSR but a critical one. Thinking about a business’s impact through the prism of human rights really requires a broader outlook than many businesses are used to – management and the board must start thinking about how their myriad activities may result in an abuse of human rights even if there’s no direct contractual relationship with the affected people.

 

The area was boosted by the work of the Professor John Ruggie who was the key author of the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. That work is a bible of how businesses need to consider their human rights impact.

 

What I like about working in this area is that it requires businesses to ‘grow up’ in their perspective. They need to look past making profits and weigh up the consequences of their actions. They need to consider how their existence in the world impacts everyone else. Isn’t that what we learn to do as we become adults? 

 

It’s hard and challenging work, just like developing into a caring, wise and mature adult is hard. As responsible adults, we try to do more than simply obey the law, we strive to ensure we leave the world a better place. Businesses, especially multi-national corporates, have an immense influence in our world, from their marketing to their economic contribution to the numbers of people they employ and the communities they affect, so why shouldn’t they be held properly accountable for their actions?