Human rights and impact assessment
The assessment of human rights impacts of business activities is considered to be a key component of the corporate responsibility to respect, and human rights due diligence, as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Impact assessment can provide an evidence-based analysis of business interaction with human rights, and as such can provide a platform for developing concrete and context specific actions to avoid, mitigate and remediate any adverse impacts. The adoption of a human rights-based approach is key to any impact assessment that takes a human rights focus.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights is working on human rights and impact assessment (HRIA) in the following ways:
- Development of the HRIA Guidance and Toolbox, comprising practical tools and guidance for undertaking HRIA of business projects and activities.
- Development of a Guide for integrating human rights in environmental, social and health impact assessment, in collaboration with IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues.
- Designing and facilitating a two-day Masterclass on integrating human rights in impact assessment, in collaboration with Community Insights Group.
- Methodology development and facilitation of sector wide impact assessments (SWIA), in collaboration with the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and the Institute for Human Rights and Business.
- Exploring the development of multi-stakeholder approaches to HRIA, in collaboration with the Columbia Centre for Sustainable Investment and Sciences Po Law School Clinic.
- Publishing on HRIA methodology and processes, including a DIHR working paper addressing conceptual and practical challenges in the context of human rights and impact assessment, as well as a DIHR-Nestle whitepaper providing an overview of HRIA methodology and findings from a number of HRIAs conducted at Nestle operations.
- Contributing to academic analysis of HRIA methodology and practice through a Handbook on Human Rights Impact Assessment.
You can find further information about any of these projects and publications via the relevant links on this page. You are also most welcome to contact us for further details.
Start year: 2015
End year: 2020
Contact
Documents
Links
- BLOG: "How can human rights impact assessments contribute to responsible busine…
- Human rights and environmental, social and health impact assessment
- Sector wide impact assessments (SWIA)
- Human rights impact assessment toolbox
- Developing a collaborative approach to human rights impact assessments
- Handbook on Human Rights Impact Assessment