HUMAN RIGHTS
The UN Global Compact principles on human rights asks businesses to:
Principle 1 support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2 make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
The human rights section of the Global Compact Self Assessment tool enables your company to assess its human rights performance against international standards, conventions and agreements, and provide inspiration for continuous improvement. This section should preferably be used together with the management section of the tool, which evaluates the extent to which issues covered by the UN Global Compact principles are anchored in the company strategy and integrated in decisions and management systems.
The human rights section covers the following topics:
Health and Safety (Principle 1)
Health and safety systems
Protective equipment and training
Employee involvement
Hours, Wages and Leave (Principle 1)
Working hours
Wages
Leave
Employment status
Non-harassment
Employee privacy
Community Impacts (Principle 1 and 2)
Land and property
Security arrangements
Community engagement
Product Stewardship (Principle 1 and 2)
Product stewardship
Country Risk (Principle 1 and 2)
Human rights in country of operation
This section covers a broad range of human rights issues relevant to the majority of businesses. While business can impact human rights both positively or negatively the Global Compact Self Assessment tool does not aspire to cover the entire range of human rights issues that may apply to specific business operations. Instead the tool covers those human rights issues that the Danish Institute for Human Rights has found to be among the most relevant and challenging for businesses globally. As indicated under “about this tool” the tool does address all human rights. For an overview of the human rights covered by the assessment tool click here.
Please also refer to the Global Compact guide, Human Rights Translated, for an explanation of the entire range of human rights contained in the main international human rights instruments. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights can serve as a valuable resource for business in understanding their responsibility to respect human rights.