As the world steps into an era of human rights due diligence that is mandated by regulations, the business and human rights community seems on edge with numerous questions. The primary concern lies around whether companies will tailor their steps to identify and mitigate potential negative impacts narrowly so as to meet the regulatory requirements, or if the human rights teams will have the adequate flexibility for undertaking extensive inquiries which are in line with good and best practices.
Is it possible that the steps taken to address negative impacts will be tailor-made strictly to meet the regulatory mandates? Paul Hastings LLP shone some light onto this concern, expressing that the business community seems quite tense about the outcomes of this new era.
The regulation mandated era of human rights due diligence could mean very different things for different companies. On one hand, those that strictly try to obey the regulatory constraints might find themselves limiting the scope of their human rights inquiries, focusing only on what’s necessary to avoid contravening these rules. But on the other hand, more comprehensive investigations could lead to increased ethical governance and better human rights practices.
The scope of the transition, thus, is indeed far reaching and could have a lasting positive impact on both corporate governance and human rights protection if well balanced. Regardless of whether a company chooses to narrowly comply with regulation or to go above and beyond, accountability within corporate governance in regarding to human rights is now being centered on like never before. It remains to be seen whether this trend will cause a comprehensive promotion of human rights in the business world or lead to a minimalist approach towards human rights due diligence.