What is a company’s responsibility for providing remedy to victims of sexual harassment from a human rights perspective? Or for addressing the consequences of poor working conditions in its supply chain? Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies are required to remedy abuses which they have caused or to which they have contributed; however, developing grievance mechanisms that are robust and capable of providing effective remedy may be difficult, especially in cases where formal judicial mechanisms are corrupt or poorly resourced. Examine the grievance mechanisms developed by companies across sectors and the strengths and weaknesses in their implementation when abuses have been identified.
Alexandra Guáqueta
Global Practice Leader, External Affairs and Communities
Rio Tinto
Berthold Beitz Professor, Human Rights and International Affairs
Harvard Kennedy School