Business engagement with political processes must not lead to human rights abuses: UN experts

NEW YORK (25 October 2022) – UN experts today called on States and businesses to take steps to ensure that business engagement with political processes do not lead to human rights abuses.

When businesses participate in, and attempt to influence political, regulatory and judicial processes, they have a responsibility to conduct this participation transparently, responsibly and in a rights-respecting manner, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights said in a report presented to the General Assembly.

“Likewise, where States permit corporate political engagement, they have an obligation to ensure that engagement is adequately regulated to avoid impairing the State’s ability to safeguard against resulting human rights harms,” said Fernanda Hopenhaym, Chair of the Working Group.

In its report, titled “Corporate influence in the political and regulatory sphere: Ensuring business practice in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”, the Working Group recommended practices that States and businesses should implement to ensure that business engagement with political processes do not lead to human rights abuses.

The experts explained that corporate political engagement includes corporate influence over policymakers and political processes; over academia and the sciences; over public narratives around political issues, and corporate influence over the judiciary.

“While all these activities may have legitimate applications, they can also all lead to business-related human rights abuses when carried out irresponsibly,” Hopenhaym said.

The report emphasised that, like all other aspects of business operations, political engagement activities by corporate actors also have human rights impacts. Human rights due diligence responsibilities of businesses must therefore include a focus on how their political engagement intersects with human rights.

The key reference for the report is the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the global framework for State duties and business responsibilities to prevent and address business-related human rights abuses.

The presentation at the UN General Assembly is supplemented by efforts to implement the Working Group’s roadmap for global implementation of the UN Guiding Principles for the next decade which was launched in November 2021 and presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2022. 

ENDS

The experts: The Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises was established by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. Its current members are: Ms. Fernanda Hopenhaym (Chairperson), Ms.Pichamon Yeophantong (Vice-Chairperson), Mr. Damilola Olawuyi, Mr. Robert McCorquodale, and Ms. Elżbieta Karska.

The Working Group is part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent human rights monitoring mechanisms. The Working Group reports to the Human Rights Council and to the UN General Assembly. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. The experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary work.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 (resolution 17/4), provide the authoritative global standard for action to safeguard human rights in a business context, clarifying what is expected by governments and companies to prevent and address impacts on human rights arising from business activity.

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