Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders Guidance for Companies August 2018

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Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders Guidance for Companies August 2018 SHARED SPACE UNDER PRESSURE: BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR CIVIC FREEDOMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS GUIDANCE FOR COMPANIES AUGUST 2018 Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders | 01 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This guidance is authored by Bennett Freeman with Sif Thorgeirsson, Adele Barzelay and Brooks Reed, and advised by Phil Bloomer, Mauricio Lazala, Ana Zbona and Joe Bardwell of Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), Michael Ineichen of International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), and Annabel Lee Hogg of The B Team. The guidance was commissioned by the Business Network on Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders.1 BHRRC and ISHR thank DLA Piper for its pro bono contributions and the Open Society Foundations for its funding support. 1 The Business Network on Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders is an informal network of companies, convened and facilitated by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the B Team and ISHR. Founded in 2016, it explores the role of companies in helping to protect civic freedoms and human rights defenders, enables discussion and mutual learning, and may be used flexibly to initiate individual or collective action around the world. 02 | Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 INTRODUCTION ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDANCE �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16 1� BUSINESS AND CIVIL SOCIETY: SHARED SPACE AND COMMON THREATS ����������18 1.1. Shared Civil Society Space and Business .....................................................................................................19 1.2. Pressures on Civic Freedoms ........................................................................................................................19 1.3. Attacks on Human Rights Defenders ..........................................................................................................21 1.4. A Legacy of Mistrust to Overcome ............................................................................................................. 23 2� SUPPORTING CIVIC FREEDOMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK, BUSINESS CASE AND MORAL CHOICE ���������������������������� 25 2.1. The Normative Framework ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27 2.2. The Business Case ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31 2.2.1. Securing the Shared Space ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31 2.2.2. Managing Operational and Reputational Risk ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32 2.2.3. Building Competitive Advantage .................................................................................................... 33 2.2.4. Overcoming Mistrust; Gaining the Social License to Operate .............................................. 34 2.3. A Moral Choice ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35 2.3.1. The "Do No Harm" Principle .......................................................................................................... 36 2.3.2. The "Good Samaritan" Principle .................................................................................................... 37 2.3.3. From Individual to Corporate Responsibility ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 37 3� WHETHER AND HOW TO ENGAGE: DILEMMAS AND DECISIONS, ACTIONS AND RISKS �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������38 3.1. Step 1: Establish the reality and severity of the harm to a civic freedom/HRD, including the veracity of the allegations and credibility of the source ................................................................................. 40 3.2. Step 2: Establish the degree of company involvement – cause, contribute or other linkage to the threat or the harm.........................................................................................................41 3.3. Step 3: Identify the form(s) of action that maximize the positive potential impact on civic freedoms/HRDs ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 3.3.1. What to Do: The Flexible Forms of Action ............................................................................... 46 3.3.2. Long-term Actions and Policies .................................................................................................... 47 Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders | 03 3.4. Step 4: Identify the relative risks of action and inaction to the civil society/rights holders and to the company relative to the issue or situation..................................................................................... 48 3.4.1. Risks of Action ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 49 3.4.2. Risks of Inaction .................................................................................................................................51 3.5. Who Decides? ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 52 CONCLUSION ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������53 4. SPOTLIGHTS ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������54 4.1. Country Spotlights ........................................................................................................................................... 55 4.1.1. Cambodia ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 55 4.1.2. Myanmar .............................................................................................................................................. 57 4.1.3. Guatemala ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 58 4.1.4. United States ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������61 4.2. Sector Spotlights .............................................................................................................................................. 63 4.2.1. Extractives (Oil/Gas and Mining) .................................................................................................. 63 4.2.2. Agriculture, Food and Beverage ................................................................................................... 67 4.2.3. Apparel and Footwear ..................................................................................................................... 70 4.2.4. Digital Technology ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 72 4.3. Initiative Spotlights ........................................................................................................................................... 75 4.3.1. LGBTI Commitments ....................................................................................................................... 75 4.3.2. Mega-Sporting Events ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 77 4.4. Critical Actors Spotlights ............................................................................................................................... 79 4.4.1. Responsible Investors ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 79 4.4.2. CEO Activists ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 81 ABOUT THE AUTHORS ..........................................................................................................................................84 ANNEX 1: INDIVIDUALS INTERVIEWED ....................................................................................................86 ANNEX 2: KEY SOURCES AND RESOURCES............................................................................................93 ANNEX 3: RELATED ORGANIZATIONS .......................................................................................................97 ANNEX 4: INDEX OF COMPANY AND INVESTOR ACTIONS
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