• Business and human rights

Business and human rights

This report summarises a discussion of a group comprising businesses, international organisations, and civil society on issues pertaining to the right to water. The main issues discussed include:

• the status of the right to water in the international legal context
• the relevance of addressing water from a business and human rights perspective, including the “business case”
• key questions relating to challenges, opportunities and dilemmas for various actors
• potential actions to advance the debate
  

The discussion explored the current debate and the areas where greater understanding would be beneficial, with particular focus on the role of business. It acknowledges that the notion of “the right to water” and the international law in this regard, are still evolving and developing. The discussion considered the CEO Water Mandate, launched in 2007 by the UN Secretary-General and a group of committed business leaders, through which the businessaccepted that water stress is expected to worsen in many parts of the world, and that business can influence positive change through their own behaviour and by requiring similar steps to be taken by their suppliers.

The report recommends several actions for business, including:

• develop a more comprehensive understanding of how a rights-based approach can inform management of all water related issues
• use the human rights legal framework in a range of areas including in considering water usage trade-offs based on cost-benefit analysis
• be clear about the business drivers for engagement with water rights issues, such as, concern for future markets, reputational risk issues, avoiding litigation, morality or ethics
• respect human rights as a primary responsibility and go beyond the “do no harm” approach, such as, contribute to building the capacity and willingness of governments to uphold their position as the primary duty bearer for protecting and fulfilling the right to water
• understand the “threshold” at which the right to water becomes a material issue of interest to any company engaged in water use and not just a matter of water management
• consider what it would mean to mainstream human rights concerns as part of the company’s innovative processes and management practices

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