BRIEFING NOTE 1 - POLICY
Defining a policy and commitments on human rights
Contents
IIIIII 1 Concept of Human Rights Policy
IIIIII 2 Key elements of a good human rights policy
IIIIII 3 Considerations about vulnerable groups
IIIIII 4 Challenges and recommendations
IIIIII 5 Checklist
IIIIII 6 Library of tools
Objective of the briefing note
Building a human rights due diligence process in a company starts with defining its policy, including the commitments and responsibilities that will enable it to be implemented. This briefing note presents the main elements for drawing up a human rights policy and indicates the main positions and roles in the company that should be involved in its development.
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Concept of Human Rights Policy
A company's commitment to respect human rights usually starts with a policy that defines its commitments, responsibilities, mechanisms and forms of remediation for human rights harms inflicted upon individuals, communities, and the environment. The policy is an important tool for raising awareness and fostering commitments to human rights among the other actors along the supply chain.
According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights[1], companies committed to conducting relevant due diligence should define and adopt a responsible business conduct in their policies and management systems. The policy development process should involve planning and consultation in a comprehensive manner, and is an opportunity to build an internal understanding of the company's responsibility that goes beyond merely having the document written down.
The tone set by corporate leadership and senior management influences administrative and operational actions, employees, and supplier networks. It also ensures that all stakeholders share a common understanding of the company's position on the importance of human rights and feel empowered to take action when necessary.
[1] 1 The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were unanimously accepted by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. The 31 principles were created with the intention of putting into practice three main pillars: protect, respect and remedy. Social actors play a fundamental role, in which protecting human rights is the responsibility of states; respecting human rights is the responsibility of companies; and sufficient and efficient resources must be provided if companies violate these rights.
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Key elements of a good human rights policy
In order for a policy to achieve the objective set by the company in terms of human rights, it is necessary to identify some fundamental elements that must be considered, as follows:
A. DEFINING POLICY COMMITMENTS: To convey a message of alignment with human rights across the board, it is advisable to make explicit what are the commitments the company is making when drafting a human rights policy, demonstrating that the company is committed to the issue.
Therefore, to develop an effective policy, it is important to refer to national and international legal regulatory instruments, such as the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights[2], the commitments made by the sector (if any), as well as the company's own internal policies, which help to reinforce its commitment to human rights.
Defining the scope of the policy is essential such that, ideally, it covers all segments of the company's own operations, including business units, joint ventures, and subsidiaries; commodities and geographical regions where they operate; and suppliers of raw materials, inputs, and services, including outsourced service providers. Any exemptions must be clearly specified and justified if the policy does not cover the full scope mentioned above.
ATTENTION - Furthermore, as it is a commitment of the company as a whole, different roles and responsibilities are considered and defined within the organization, including senior management, those responsible for human resources, and other relevant departments in the implementation and monitoring of the policy.
In this section, it is also important to indicate how stakeholders were consulted in the creation of the document, especially since by carrying out the appropriate consultations, it is possible to map out the elements that should be prioritized in the policy. Thus, having a policy that is aligned not only with the company's strategic objectives, but also with the sector's main stakeholders, makes it possible to generate more aligned expectations and a more suitable policy.
At the international level, the main recognized international human rights instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, among others. These instruments indicate not only which rights must be protected and recognized by each country, but also their importance, dimensions, and the obligations to protect them.
Brazil has been establishing human rights commitments with companies since 2009, during the Third National Human Rights Program (PNDH-3). In 2018, the National Guidelines on Business and Human Rights in Brazil were implemented through Federal Decree No. 9.571/18. In 2020, the National Human Rights Council (CNDH, the acronym in Portuguese) published Resolution No. 5, which sets out the National Guidelines for a Public Policy on Business and Human Rights.
Despite being voluntary, these normative documents have had a decisive influence on the paradigm shift regarding the responsibility of companies in relation to human rights. There have been convictions of companies in Brazilian courts for human rights violations based on the Guiding Principles, the decree and the CNDH resolution.
The Supreme Court recognized the Paris Agreement as a human rights treaty in July 2022. Another example in Brazil is the drafting of Bill 572/22, which includes environmental rights among the human rights violations for which companies should be held accountable.
In this process, it is essential to carry out proper supply chain management. If applicable, it is recommended to describe the company's expectations and requirements for suppliers, contractors and business partners in relation to human rights. This can include developing supplier assessments, establishing guidelines, and promoting responsible sourcing practices, such as the implementation of a code of conduct.
B. INDICATING HOW THE POLICY WILL BE IMPLEMENTED: This element is the famous "hands-on element”!
This step consists of informing how the commitments defined in the policy will be implemented by the company, referring to the Human Rights Due Diligence process to identify, prevent, and mitigate human rights issues, and to monitor and communicate the effectiveness of the actions taken. This information can be organized into a time-bound action plan.
Furthermore, considering that companies often fail to prevent an impact on people, communities or the environment in time, remediation mechanisms should be covered, albeit in a general way, in the document. Therefore, it is important to indicate the minimum conditions expected for the implementation of grievance mechanisms, as well as to reinforce the company's commitment to taking action to remedy any actual impacts that harm the affected actors.
Wilmar's "NDPE sugar policy - working in partnership with our suppliers" provides good examples of some of the main elements that a Human Rights Policy should contain. This is because it:
defines the document's objectives
defines the scope, mentioning its applicability to all its own operations at a global level and its supply chain
states its commitment to internationally recognized human rights
mentions the relevant national and international legal regulatory instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the eight Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as other relevant Agreements and the company's own internal policies
informs the fundamental requirements to be followed for the efficient implementation of the policy
reinforces its commitment to proactive and constructive engagement with all stakeholders
includes information on the mechanisms the company has in place to provide or contribute to fair and equitable solutions for affected stakeholders (e.g. grievance mechanisms)
Companies bear a responsibility to respect human rights and should actively work to identify, prevent, and remedy adverse human rights impacts related to their own operations and supply chain. By doing so, they can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society, while meeting stakeholder expectations and safeguarding their own reputation and long-term viability.
[2] Other international references relevant to this topic include: the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, among others.
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Considerations about vulnerable groups
Responsibility explicitly refers to the risks to human rights that may arise from companies' activities and business relationships. This requires an understanding of the perspectives of those who may be affected. This means engaging, wherever possible, with those individuals whose human rights may be directly affected, or with their legitimate representatives. Where such direct engagement is not possible, companies can access this information through consultations with other stakeholders, including relevant independent experts, human rights defenders and other civil society representatives, and through reports and resources they have developed.
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Challenges and recommendations
Developing a human rights policy and implementing a human rights due diligence process takes time. As the company moves forward with its process, the nature of the human rights risks associated with its operations, products, or services will change, as will its operational contexts, activities, and business relations. Given these changes, the policy should be reviewed and updated regularly as part of the ongoing management process.
Although it is challenging to implement a human rights policy in a company, the greatest difficulty the sector faces is mobilizing and raising awareness with its suppliers – both up and downstream - to also respect these commitments. Putting the policy into practice both internally and with business partners and suppliers may involve training and capacity-building actions, contractual changes, and changes to internal and supplier processes and procedures. These actions must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and decided in a strategical manner by the company.
Setting and implementing commitments is indeed a strategic matter and experience show that companies that are most successful at this are those with the highest leadership commitment and able to implement a mentality shift in the way of doing business that allows for respecting the potentially affected people and to remain relevant in the market.
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Checklist
✓ Does the policy explicitly define which human rights the company commits to support and respect, covering at least internationally recognized human rights?
✓ Is the language appropriate and accessible to the different actors for whom it is intended?
✓ Is the policy aligned with national and international legal regulatory instruments?
✓ Does the policy state which other existing internal policies and procedures this policy relates to?
✓ Does the company interact with potentially affected people or their representatives to gather information about its actual and potential human rights impacts?
✓ Does the policy present the tools for its implementation in own operations and throughout the supply chain?
✓ Does the policy include information on the mechanisms the company has in place to offer or contribute to fair solutions for affected actors (e.g. grievance mechanisms)?
✓ Does the policy identify the company’s functions and positions that assume specific responsibilities for the actual implementation of human rights due diligence?
✓ Are strategic, managerial and operational positions involved in this chain of responsibility?
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Library of tools
In this section, you will find some tools that can help you in the Policy building.
NEXT - Briefing Note 2, Identify, which will address the process of identifying impacts and risks to human rights resulting from direct actions by companies or their business relations.
C117 - Convention on Social Policy (Objectives and Basic Standards), 1962 (No. 117): states that all policies shall be primarily directed towards the well-being and development of the population and towards the promotion of its desire for social progress, and that the improvement of living standards shall be regarded as the principal objective in the planning.
Guide to Human Rights Policy Commitments: a document prepared by Proforest to support the updating or development of human rights commitments.
Guide on How to Develop a Human Rights Policy (United Nations Global Compact): Provides guidance on how companies can develop and implement a human rights policy.
International agreements, conventions and national treaties in force in Brazil:
C110 - Convention on Conditions of Employment of Farm Workers https://www.ilo.org/brasilia/convencoes/WCMS_235201/lang--pt/index.htm
Information and Statistics Panel on Labor Inspection in Brazil https://sit.trabalho.gov.br/radar/