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Conflict Affected & High Risk Areas

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) have been the main framework for business’ responsibility to respect human rights since their unanimous adoption by the UN Human Rights Council. As outlined in the UNGPs, the responsibility to respect human rights requires companies to avoid causing or contributing in adverse human rights impacts through their own actions and to promptly address such impacts when they occur, and to actively work to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly related to their activities, products or services, including those arising from their business relationships.

To implement this responsibility, the UNGPs introduced the concept of ‘human rights due diligence’ (HRDD), which was also incorporated in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.

The complexity of a company’s HRDD process depends on its size, the severity of potential impacts, and the nature of its operations, as outlined in the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines. However, in conflict-affected areas, businesses face a higher risk of involvement in gross human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. Managing these risks is challenging due to the complex operational environment where human rights cannot or will not be protected. It is therefore recognized that businesses operating in such high-risk areas need to conduct a ‘heightened HRDD’ that focuses not only on the potential and actual impacts on people and human rights, but also on the conflict-affected context.

Apart from armed conflicts, various crises, including humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters, can also have a range of negative impacts on human rights in supply chains, such as unfair working conditions, irregular migration, precarity, child labour and other forms of modern slavery.

During such challenging periods, businesses should focus on further enhancing HRDD practices that incorporate context-specific human rights risks. This proactive approach is vital to preventing and addressing business-related human rights violations in high-risk contexts. To achieve this, it is crucial for businesses to engage with a wider range of stakeholders, including trade unions, civil society organisations and human rights experts. By collaborating with these organisations, companies can gain a comprehensive understanding of the local and high-risk context.