Business and Human Rights Improving Accountability and Access to Remedy

Invites States to consider using the reports of the High Commissioner, including the recommendations therein, when seeking to enhance the ability and effectiveness of State-based judicial and non-judicial mechanisms;

Also invites States to work through relevant intergovernmental processes to enhance accountability and access to remedy for victims in cases of business involvement in human rights abuses;

Encourages all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect all human rights as stated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and in other applicable standards, including for example by actively contributing to initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of respect for the rule of law, for the protection of human rights, participating in good faith in national judicial and non-judicial processes, and by establishing effective operational-level mechanisms to enable the early resolution of grievances;

Encourages business enterprises to share publicly and disseminate broadly information regarding their human rights policies and procedures to enhance engagement with stakeholders, including affected communities, with respect to business operations and the preventative measures that businesses can take;

Requests the Working Group, mindful of the guidance provided by the Accountability and Remedy Project of the Office of the High Commissioner, to analyse further the role of national human rights institutions in facilitating access to remedy for business-related human rights abuses, and to convene a two-day global consultation on these issues, open to all stakeholders, and to inform the Human Rights Council by its forty-fourth session as appropriate;

Requests the High Commissioner to continue his work in this area, including the dissemination of parts I and II of the Accountability and Remedy Project,⁵ and to identify and analyse challenges, opportunities, best practices and lessons learned with regard to non-State-based grievance mechanisms that are relevant to the respect by business enterprises for human rights, to convene two consultations, involving representatives of States and other stakeholders to discuss such issues, and to submit a report thereon to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its forty-fourth session;

Encourages all relevant United Nations programmes and agencies to assist States upon their requests, including through technical cooperation and capacity-building activities, and to improve accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse by taking into consideration the reports of the High Commissioner on the Accountability and Remedy Project and the recommendations contained therein;

Encourages national human rights institutions and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to take into consideration the reports of the High Commissioner on the Accountability and Remedy Project in their activities aimed at supporting States’ efforts to improve accountability and access to judicial and non-judicial remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse;