International human rights standards ARTICLE 19 States are the primary duty bearers under human rights law, but this includes obligations to regulate and respond to private actors. Companies also have human rights responsibilities, although they do not have obligations in the same manner as states. A leading reference document outlining these responsibilities is the UNGP’s.22 This is a set of globally recognised guidelines providing a framework for states and businesses to prevent and address the human rights impact of corporate activities. They are based on 3 pillars: (i) States’ duty to protect human rights against abuses by businesses (ii) Corporate responsibility to respect human rights (iii) (iii) The duty to provide access to remedies The first pillar reflects the obligations of states under international human rights law to address human rights abuses by third parties, summarised briefly above. More specifically, the UNGPs affirm that states must take ‘appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse through effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication’.23 The second pillar focuses on the responsibility of companies to respect human rights. This includes both avoiding causing adverse human rights impacts and addressing human rights impacts linked to their operations. Implementing this requires companies to adopt appropriate policies and procedures, and the UNGPs outline 3 main ones: i. A policy commitment to meeting human rights responsibilities ii. A human rights due diligence process iii. Processes to provide redress for any adverse human rights impacts. Under the third pillar, states have a primary obligation to ensure access to remedies for human rights violations via both judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. However, the UNGPs also affirm that industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives should ensure that effective redress mechanisms are available. State actors, the private sector, and other stakeholders should ideally work together across all 3 pillars to ensure respect for human rights. However, where states fail in their obligations under the first pillar, or even in their own primary obligations to respect rights, this can be particularly difficult for companies. ____________________________________________ 22 23 UNGPs. UNGPs, Principle 1.A.1. 14