Business and Human Rights Improving Accountability and Access to Remedy

A/HRC/RES/38/13View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2016–2018

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2018	A/HRC/RES/38/13	Business and human rights improving accountability and access to remedy :	1,569	27%Compare
2016	A/HRC/RES/32/10	Business and human rights improving accountability and access to remedy :	1,604	–

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 subjects

Accountability Business Enterprises Community Grievance Mechanisms Consultations Corporate Social Responsibility Human Rights Human Rights Institutions Human Rights Policy Information Dissemination International Cooperation Legal Remedies Principles

What’s in this document?

13 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on improving accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse, and notes with appreciation his report on improving accountability and access to non-judicial remedy for business-related human rights abuses;²

²A/HRC/38/20 and Adds.1-2.

Also welcomes the role of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises in guiding and chairing the annual Forum on Business and Human Rights and in convening regional meetings to discuss challenges and lessons learned in a regional context;

Further welcomes the efforts of the Working Group to explore options for enhancing access to effective remedies, including in its latest report to the General Assembly³ and in the sixth session of the Forum, which focused on realizing access to effective remedy;⁴

³A/72/162.

⁴See A/HRC/38/49.

Invites States to consider using the reports of the High Commissioner, including the recommendations therein, when seeking to enhance the ability and effectiveness of State-based judicial and non-judicial mechanisms;

Also invites States to work through relevant intergovernmental processes to enhance accountability and access to remedy for victims in cases of business involvement in human rights abuses;

Encourages all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect all human rights as stated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and in other applicable standards, including for example by actively contributing to initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of respect for the rule of law, for the protection of human rights, participating in good faith in national judicial and non-judicial processes, and by establishing effective operational-level mechanisms to enable the early resolution of grievances;

Encourages business enterprises to share publicly and disseminate broadly information regarding their human rights policies and procedures to enhance engagement with stakeholders, including affected communities, with respect to business operations and the preventative measures that businesses can take;

Requests the Working Group, mindful of the guidance provided by the Accountability and Remedy Project of the Office of the High Commissioner, to analyse further the role of national human rights institutions in facilitating access to remedy for business-related human rights abuses, and to convene a two-day global consultation on these issues, open to all stakeholders, and to inform the Human Rights Council by its forty-fourth session as appropriate;

Requests the High Commissioner to continue his work in this area, including the dissemination of parts I and II of the Accountability and Remedy Project,⁵ and to identify and analyse challenges, opportunities, best practices and lessons learned with regard to non-State-based grievance mechanisms that are relevant to the respect by business enterprises for human rights, to convene two consultations, involving representatives of States and other stakeholders to discuss such issues, and to submit a report thereon to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its forty-fourth session;

⁵See A/HRC/32/19 and Corr.1 and Add.1, and A/HRC/38/20 and Add.1.

Encourages all relevant United Nations programmes and agencies to assist States upon their requests, including through technical cooperation and capacity-building activities, and to improve accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse by taking into consideration the reports of the High Commissioner on the Accountability and Remedy Project and the recommendations contained therein;

Encourages national human rights institutions and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to take into consideration the reports of the High Commissioner on the Accountability and Remedy Project in their activities aimed at supporting States’ efforts to improve accountability and access to judicial and non-judicial remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse;

Emphasizes the importance of stakeholder dialogue and analysis to maintain and build on the results achieved to date to prevent and address business-related human rights abuses, and to inform further deliberations of the Human Rights Council on business and human rights;

Decides to continue its consideration of this question in conformity with its annual programme of work.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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