7: Human Rights

Universal declaration of human rights was adopted by the United Nations general assembly in 1948, which was the first legal document to set out the foundation of basic human rights that are to be universally protected.
It defines human rights as rights we enjoy merely by virtue of being human and the state or the country does not have the authority to bestow them. No matter our nationality, sex, ethnicity, race, color, religion, or any other status, we are all endowed with these universal rights. From the most fundamental rights like, the right to life, to the rights to food, education, labor, health, and liberty, among others are some basic human rights which every human has the right to demand for.

The bedrock on which human rights are made consist of the following principles:

• Universal
• Inalienable
• Interdependent
• Equal
• Non discriminatory

The principle of universality of human rights states that we all are equally entitled to our human rights. By calling these rights as Inalienable, it prevents anyone from taking away the rights of humans except in a specific situation and only if it's duly processed. Indivisible, Interdependent and Interrelated implies that without the other, one set of rights cannot be completely exercised. To simplify it further, the economic, social, and cultural rights would be easier to practice when civil and political rights are progressive. A violation of economic, social, or cultural rights can also have a detrimental impact on a number of other rights.
Article 2 of UDHR ensures freedom from any kind of discrimination and strengthens Article 1 which states “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights". Hence, both articles ensure the fulfillment of the fourth bedrock that is Equal and Non discriminatory.

Why is it important in a workplace?

Workplaces are comprised of humans, regardless of who you are, where you live, or how you choose to live, human rights acts as a crux for other workplace rights.
For example, the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of your gender is one example of how human rights law has been incorporated into ordinary employment law and is applicable to all employers.
Therefore, businesses may assess and manage business risks by determining their influence on human rights. This might also safeguard the reputation of the company and provide fresh business prospects. Failure to identify and address human rights violations can have major effects on a company, such as bad press, loss of business, and, most seriously, closure.

The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

Humans spend the majority of their time of life in workspaces so it's really important for management to formulate policies and practices respecting human rights of every employee.
The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were approved by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. These principles circle around the framework of “Protect, Respect and Remedy” .
The principles were carefully curated with extensive research and collaboration with governments, civil society, corporates, individuals and communities harmed, advocates and other stakeholders who are directly or indirectly responsible. These three pillars are:

• The state duty to protect human rights
• The corporate responsibility to respect human rights
• The need for greater access to remedy for victims of business-related abuse

Industry Best Practices

Human rights are practiced and policies are formulated keeping in mind all the stakeholders involved. This is not just the responsibility of the government but all individuals and businesses have a duty to uphold the human rights norms. For example, an employee's family and friends might not be directly affected by company policies but as human beings are part of a large ecosystem and network of communities, it becomes the company's responsibility to respect and enhance employees' environment as it directly affects the productivity of an employee.
Let’s look at some of the best practices in various domains.

i) Structured policies that respects human rights

A written commitment towards human rights in any organization will both encourage more in-depth rules and procedures and help retain employees which shall eventually set the tone for an atmosphere where human rights are taken seriously.
A firm’s commitment to the policy is one that is:

• Approved and adhered by senior level management
• Two way transparent communication of policy both internally and externally
• Reflection of the business's expectations for human rights from its suppliers, partners, and other affiliated third parties
• Flexibility and scope in policies to incorporate or revise with the ongoing human rights challenges

ii) Due diligence of priority human rights issues

The size, nature, and location of the firm, as well as its operations and supply chain, all are mandatory for a company's human rights due diligence procedure. Assessments of both the immediate effects on the business and the long term effects on larger communities that are directly or indirectly related to companies working should be part of the due diligence process.
Few actions to be taken for the proper due diligence of human rights.

• The investigator needs to be aware of what data to look for and how to evaluate the information obtained with utmost responsibility and by being unbiased to any human.
• Tracing the supply chain from raw material sourcing to subcontracted production to final assembly and consumption.
• Determining the need for additional due diligence by evaluating the supply chain's risk at each stage based on the industry, raw materials, and location.
• Establishing internal and external procedures to audit and track the global supply chain in accordance with the determined risk exposures.
• Evaluation of human rights should be in a manner which incorporates opinions of all parties involved.
• Covid-19 has changed the working conditions of everyone , which calls for an additional responsibility on part of the company to have checks and balances of remote working as well.

iii) Evaluation of actual and potential impacts

Assessment of the effects on human rights is a continuous process that businesses should start emphasizing on in the beginning of any new projects, contracts, or partnerships in the supply chain. Potential human rights violations and abuses should also be duly considered along with solutions in hand.
Human rights experts should be involved, and there should be significant consultations with groups especially with the most vulnerable groups and other important stakeholders.
An in-depth evaluation requires:

• Research on geographical location and country risk assessment
• Industry risk assessment
• Governance risk assessment
• Materiality assessment
• Rights holder assessment
• Compliance assessment
• Develop a Human rights management plan
• Communication and training plan
• Manage, measure and improve

Case studies on Human Rights

Top Emerging human rights issues

Global shocks like COVID-19, war and strife in Iran and Ukraine, political polarization and unrest, and heightened effects of climate change puts marginalized populations at higher risk of being subjected to human rights violations. The threat is not just limited to a certain community but also affects everyone in the ecosystem. Businesses are simultaneously expected to ensure that all individuals in the value chain are protected due to the quickly evolving legal environment, altering investor expectations, and momentum towards required human rights due diligence.

Below are some top human rights challenges which needs immediate attention:

• Addressing climate change as human rights issues
  Climate change has been an ongoing issue now for a very long time though companies are formulating sustainable goals and actionable initiatives to tackle these challenges but we have a long way to go. Emission Gap report of 2022 reports that the international community is falling behind on the agreed Paris goals to limit global temperature to 1.5 degree celsius as yet there is no credible pathway to achieve this. To avoid global catastrophe which will impact human civilization to an unaltering level, experts ask to cut the emission to 45% by the year 2030.
  Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, states that "We can only solve the enormous climate concerns we face if we also address the human factor". However, even inside many of the most cutting-edge businesses, issues related to human rights and climate change are handled separately. Making the connection explicit would enable internal environmental (or sustainability) and human rights advocates to push for impactful actions within their organizations and deliver benefits for the most disadvantaged.

• Vigilance on Cyber Security and Democratic expression of self
  Over 76% of people in industrialized countries and nearly 40% of the world's population, according to the International Telecommunications Union, currently utilize the internet. Government, industry, and civil society organizations are increasingly using online platforms for information sharing and service delivery. Policies have been formulated at both national and international levels to protect data and information of humans but are quite ill defined and broadly overlapping, at the same time these policies breaches freedom of speech and expression which again becomes a challenge. The infamous account hijacks on social media platforms like twitter, facebook and instagrams of famous personalities like Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar and Elon Musk etc, are few of the examples of breach of right to privacy, freedom of speech and expression etc.
  Thus, businesses and organizations play a major role in formulating and keeping a proper check and balance for themselves as well as for their employees.