This guide has given you an introduction into business and human rights. You should now know: What your rights are; What human rights responsibilities businesses have; and What options you can use to hold businesses accountable If after reading this guide you are thinking about taking legal action, the organisations and resources outlined below could […]
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There are also more informal ways to address business human rights abuse. These can be used before, instead of, or alongside the other mechanisms outlined in this Guide. Practical Tip: Know Your Rights Before entering into negotiations or mediation, it is good to: Know your rights Know what the law is Know what options for […]
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One alternative to going to court is using international non-judicial corporate accountability and regulatory mechanisms. These refer to bodies that are: International – they can hear cases from around the world; Non-judicial – the decisions are not legally binding; and Corporate – they are concerned with “corporate accountability”. They are designed to hear complaints against businesses, not […]
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There are alternatives to going to court to hold businesses accountable for human rights abuses and getting remedies. One of these options is making a complaint to “Internal Corporate Grievance Mechanisms”. These mechanisms can either be used before, alongside or after a court case. These informal grievance mechanisms are generally much cheaper and less time […]
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It may also be possible to bring a claim against the government or a public body in relation to human rights abuses committed by businesses. While the state bodies may not be directly responsible for the corporate human rights abuse, they may have violated their human rights obligations to prevent, investigate, punish and remedy the […]
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If a business has abused your human rights, they may have committed a crime (i.e. broken criminal law). In these cases, it may be possible to bring a criminal case against a business OR individuals in the business. Consider the following questions if you’re interested in bringing a criminal case:
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You can also bring civil claims against businesses in the national courts of other countries. For example, it may be possible for a farmer complaining about a land grab in Kenya to take legal action in the courts of the UK or USA. If you are doing this, you will still need to pay attention […]
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National laws and courts are the main way for seeking justice when business activities negatively impact your human rights: Businesses can be held accountable for human rights abuses using a variety of national laws that relate to human rights but may not be called “human rights laws”. The legal claim will then be mainly framed […]
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So far, we have shown that: Businesses can impact your human rights; and There are laws and standards that you may be able to rely on to enforce your rights against the state or a business when a business negatively impacts your human rights. This guide will now talk about what options you have to […]
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Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights. This is the international standard of behaviour expected of businesses. We talked about how human rights apply to businesses in the introduction to this guide. This section will give more detail about businesses’ human rights responsibilities and how this international standard can help you take legal action […]
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