Business and Human Rights

Business has a significant impact on human rights. It can be positive, such as the creation of new jobs, availability of products in a region, etc., and also negative, such as environmental pollution, inadequate wages, forced eviction.

Companies must respect all internationally recognized human rights. This means that they must avoid violating human rights and prevent the negative impact on human rights that they are involved in creating.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are based on three pillars: protect, respect and remedy.

Example: A company where the hourly pay rate is less than the minimum is violating human rights.