Human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) are increasingly used by companies and communities to assess the actual or potential impacts of a business project or operation. While methodologies and standards have evolved, current HRIA practices frequently confront a set of common challenges. This paper sets out a new, collaborative approach to the conduct of HRIAs of business projects or operations in an effort to address one of the key challenges of current practices: the limited engagement of relevant stakeholders, which can undermine effectiveness and trust. A collaborative approach seeks to bring project-affected people, a company, and other relevant stakeholders together to jointly design and implement an assessment, with the objectives of improving communication, increasing the information sources that can be drawn upon, and encouraging greater engagement by all participants in the HRIA’s findings and recommendations. The intended ultimate result of such an approach is the more effective prevention or mitigation of a project’s negative human rights impacts.

A Collaborative Approach to Human Rights Impact Assessments

Resource Key: BL4ZGNKJ

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
  • Danish Institute for Human Rights
  • Sciences Po Law School Clinic

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Date: 2017

Language: en

Human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) are increasingly used by companies and communities to assess the actual or potential impacts of a business project or operation. While methodologies and standards have evolved, current HRIA practices frequently confront a set of common challenges. This paper sets out a new, collaborative approach to the conduct of HRIAs of business projects or operations in an effort to address one of the key challenges of current practices: the limited engagement of relevant stakeholders, which can undermine effectiveness and trust. A collaborative approach seeks to bring project-affected people, a company, and other relevant stakeholders together to jointly design and implement an assessment, with the objectives of improving communication, increasing the information sources that can be drawn upon, and encouraging greater engagement by all participants in the HRIA’s findings and recommendations. The intended ultimate result of such an approach is the more effective prevention or mitigation of a project’s negative human rights impacts.

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