Abstract Objectives/Scope International Alert (Alert), a leading peacebuilding NGO, is updating its seminal Conflict Sensitive Business Practice (CSBP). Originally published in 2005, CSBP guides companies on how to operate in conflict-affected settings in a way that mitigates business risk while reducing any negative impacts arising from operations. A key focus area for the update is the alignment between the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and CSBP; the update explores the opportunities and limitations of human rights due diligence in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS) and the value of integrating with conflict-sensitive approaches.
Methods, Procedures, Process The research set the following questions as an entry point into exploring how human rights and conflict sensitivity align:
What characteristics of FCAS (such as corruption or economic neglect) are most challenging in relation to due diligence?
What is the relationship between enjoyment of human rights, improved social and economic conditions and a more stable operating environment?
What are the differences between performing due diligence in FCAS and a relatively stable environment? Is it enough to do "more of the same" or is a different methodology required?
Results, Observations, Conclusions The research identifies three areas that require particular attention when conducting human rights due diligence in FCAS:
Accumulation of factors: the nature of fragility requires consideration in relation due diligence; Alert posits that Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs) fail to capture the interlocking complexities of this environment, and conflict analyses bring in a different subject matter and framing of the issues. Therefore, integrating conflict analysis with HRIAs is necessary in order to achieve a more integrated business response.
Stakeholder engagement: in a fragile environment, the disproportionate distribution of risk onto the most vulnerable members of society, rapidly changing and unclear context, and power imbalances between companies and communities call for better integration of stakeholder views into due diligence. Alert believes it is most practical to do this during the design and monitoring stages.
Balancing positive with negative: human rights due diligence primarily focuses on prevention of negative human rights impacts. Nevertheless, companies should understand the full potential for both positive and negative impacts in the environments where they operate, and Alert believes due diligence processes can also inform maximization of positive benefits. In FCAS, this it is particularly pertinent to structure this around business contributions to peace and stability.
Novel/Additive Information While there have been significant efforts to undertake more rigorous human rights due diligence in line with the UNGPs, there is little practical guidance on what this means for companies operating in FCAS. Given that human rights violations are particularly pertinent in FCAS, practical guidelines are highly relevant and bridge the gap between the conflict sensitivity and human rights debates.