4 Comply with all applicable laws and respect human rights The UNGPs are an authoritative global framework for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. Under pillar two of the UNGPs (Principles 11-24) – all business enterprises have a responsibility to respect all internationally recognised human rights, address any adverse impacts that they may be involved in and treat people with dignity6. The principles under UNGPs apply regardless of States’ obligations and standards. Responsibility of businesses to respect human rights is over and above compliance with national laws and is separate from its legal liabilities. Conduct human rights due diligence Identifying, preventing, mitigating and addressing adverse human rights impact is the main purpose of human rights due diligence. Risks to people arising from the activities of the business needs to be addressed through conducting human rights due diligence. The UNGPs states that the responsibility of the business extends beyond its activities and includes risks in its supply chains conducted by its partners or suppliers. The continuous risk management process enables companies to proactively manage potential and actual human rights impacts. In the current crisis, the human rights due diligence process should include ensuring fundamental guarantees such as ensuring health and safety of workers, providing protective equipment’s, providing paid sick leave, and in the case of lay-off paying workers’ due wages, benefits and any other entitlements. Companies should look into its business activities and that of its suppliers and partners to identify how its decisions in the current context is impacting migrant workers – particularly regarding payment of due wages and benefits. To help businesses consider and manage the human rights impacts of decisions and actions– the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has developed a rapid self-assessment tool for businesses – C19 Rapid Self-Assessment7. It helps companies to reflect on the human rights risks and impacts – including issues of wage theft, based on relevant provisions of UN Human Rights Treaties, the ILO Fundamental Conventions, and the UNGPs. Similarly, BHRRC has also published a guidance on using the due diligence framework to manage the crisis8. Ensure access to effective remedy Rights without remedies do not mean much in practice. Government and businesses alike need to strengthen accountability mechanisms. Pillar three of UNGPs expects both states and businesses to provide effective remedies. Businesses are expected to manage risks of human rights harms with a view to avoiding them and to establish effective operational-level grievance mechanisms (Principle 29). As stated under UNGPs – “where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in their remediation through legitimate processes.” Businesses are required to provide remedial measures that are accessible, affordable, timely and adequate – while ensuring remedies are proportional to the gravity of human rights violation and be able to repair the harm as much as possible. 6 https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/human-rights-due-diligence-andcovid-19-rapid-self-assessment-for-business.html 8 https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/documents/COVID_19_business_and_human_rights.pdf 7