The Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum has been developed in alignment with Principles 1 and 2 of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy" framework and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The aim of the Forum is to enhance the collective understanding of how the Principles and framework can be understood and implemented in practical terms. The following provides an introduction to each:

UN Global Compact Principles 1 and 2

Principles 1 and 2 of the UNGC state that business should respect and support the protection of international human rights standards and ensure they are not complicit in human rights abuses:

UN Global Compact Principles 1 and 2

Protect, Respect and Remedy: a Framework for Business and Human Rights

In 2005, John Ruggie was appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. In June 2008, he proposed the UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework which was endorsed by the Human Rights Council and provides useful guidance on the scope of human rights responsibilities for both governments and companies. Following an extension of his mandate to provide guidance on the operationalisation of the Framework, he issued the "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations 'Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework" which the Human Rights Council endorsed in June 2011. The following link will provide further insight into the corporate responsibility to respect human rights:

Understanding the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

The BRICs and N11 countries are emerging as the growth environment of the future – particularly given the consequences of the global financial crisis on the growth trajectories of more established OECD economies. This is where business needs to flourish to be competitive, despite a range of challenges relating to the protection of human rights and labour standards, the rule of law and equitable growth.

The BRICs countries include Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The N11 countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Viet Nam.

The dilemma for responsible business is how to respect and support human rights in complex social, political and economic contexts – particularly where these human rights are being violated.

Dilemmas occur, for example, when:

• Responsible intervention carries the risk of negative or unforeseen consequences for the workers or local communities concerned
• Where a responsible and intuitive upstream solution in an operating context may carry reputational risk in downstream consumer markets
• The full satisfaction of all stakeholder expectations is impractical given the commercial, political and legal realities faced by the companies and their technical competence
• Questions arise as to the extent to which company responsibility extends through different tiers of the supply chain, or with respect to government partners or local distributors
• It is beyond the remit of companies to address some of the root causes of the human rights violations in question, such as resource security, poverty and lack of education

Over the last year, we have identified a range of real-world dilemmas and analysed the array of approaches to them taken by different companies across different sectors. We explore unilateral approaches of leading companies, as well as path breaking multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The suggestions presented within the dilemma pages are designed to stimulate commentary and further insight. They are not final statements on the subject, nor are they prescriptive. We invite you to comment, through the Forum, on the approaches taken and provide your own viewpoint on what works and what doesn't. Be critical, be constructive, be frank. This is a moderated dialogue. Although we require you to register to post a comment, only your username will be visible to external users.

Participate in the Forum

Each dilemma is supported and illustrated by good practice case studies developed for the Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum. Case studies have been developed in close collaboration with a range of multi-national companies and relevant government, inter-governmental and civil society stakeholders. We also draw on public domain sources, including the UN Global Compact's own published Communications on Progress, through which signatories are required to report on their performance against the Ten Principles.

The case studies explore the specific dilemmas and challenges faced by each organisation, good practice actions they have taken to resolve them and the results of such action. We reference challenges as well as achievements and invite you to submit commentary and suggestions.