The Human Rights topic addresses the negative impacts of a company's direct involvement in any activity that might hinder people's intrinsic rights.
This topic deals explicitly with the negative impact on people's livelihoods and intrinsic human rights.
For instance:
Hindering the natural assets of people/indigenous people,
Destruction or usurpation of one's physical assets,
Causing damage or reducing one's financial assets,
Reducing the means of subsistence of a group, i.e., hunting assets (territories on which one relies for nourishment)
Hampering/reducing/destroying a group's cultural/religious assets
The above can be summarized in the below two macro-areas (via micro-areas):
Land grabbing results in forced displacement
Weapons/War Crimes (direct supply causing negative externalities on civilian populations)
Micro areas: land grabbing and forced displacement, political conflicts and wars, livelihood destructions through companies' direct and indirect business activities, etc.
Introduction:
The introduction shall expose the central theme of the note. It should cover the "assets" being impacted by a company's or industry's activity at large.
The introduction should be context-specific, discussing the socio-political and geographic landscape of where the human rights violations are taking place.
For instance:
"Around 3,000 indigenous territories lie in the Amazon Biome, representing 35% of the whole Amazon region1. Mining operations in the region cover roughly 20% of the indigenous lands, endangering hundreds of indigenous communities and critical ecosystems across 45 million (Mn) hectares (Ha)2."
Sentence 1: This clarifies the impact recipient, the "asset," i.e., natural & hunting assets used for subsistence; and thus the intrinsic 'Human Right' at stake, i.e., property right, land grabbing.
Sentence 2: This clarifies the negative impact driver, the driver being oil drilling operations on indigenous people's territories.
Core Analysis:
The core shall prove the issue mentioned earlier at stake, tangibly proving how the company impacted people's intrinsic rights and assets.
This topic addresses a company's involvement in human rights violations, including but not limited to livelihood destructions, land-grabbing, systematic discrimination, violence, human trafficking, and forced displacement. These acts stem from a company's direct involvement in any activity that hinders peoples' and communities' intrinsic rights and complicity through any acts of human rights violations committed by third parties.
The core analysis must include:
What intrinsic human rights are being violated.
How the business activities have negatively impacted which communities.
The severity of the impact (number of people harmed, what livelihoods have been destroyed, etc.)
How and by how much the impact is going to last over time.
How profound the impact is.
Demonstrate that the company has had a direct impact on communities through its business activities or in the area where its operations are located. There is sufficient data to capture the impact and on whom and that the impact is profound and irremediable.
Discuss the human rights violations with their broader impacts on communities: livelihood destructions, land-grabbing, systematic discrimination, violence, human trafficking, and forced displacement. These acts stem from a company's direct involvement in any activity that hinders peoples' and communities' intrinsic rights and complicity through any acts of human rights violations committed by third parties.
Caution: Do not mix this topic up with Labor Practices.
For example:
"CNOOC is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies globally, engaging in exploration, development, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas5. The company has been operating in Uganda since 2006 in oil extraction and development projects and has also been involved in human rights violations in Uganda and Tanzania for many years4;p71.
In 2020, many credible organizations reported that due to CNOOC and other oil companies' projects, about 12,000 indigenous families had lost their land4;p71. The reports also found that the "community members have been harassed, intimidated, and forced to leave their lands without receiving adequate compensations and they're also never involved in decision-making or consulted about adequate compensation contrary to Uganda law.4;p71"
Paragraph 2: It clarifies and quantifies who was harmed and how (i.e., displacement of indigenous people due to oil and gas exploration activities; loss of physical and cultural assets used for subsistence by local communities; harassment and violence, etc.).
Paragraph 1: It supports the above evidence by proving an existing link between the human rights-related negative outcome and the perpetrator.
For further examples, please consult the key examples (below) to grasp an understanding of the topic.
Added-value:
Environmental Injustice
When companies fail to protect the environment, it can violate numerous human rights. This includes the rights to life and access to essential resources, such as food, water, property, and privacy.
This also affects the "collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment."
For example, natural resource extraction violates several human rights for people depending on those resources.
Resource extraction is withdrawing local materials from the environment to be used as a commodity. Some examples include fossil fuels, minerals, trees, animals, water, etc. Resource extraction impacts local communities economically, socially, and environmentally, often in an environmentally unjust way.
Indigenous communities, in particular, often live in regions abundant with resources, like oil/gas, minerals, plants, etc. Unfortunately, economic interests have historically cost the well-being of these communities, and indigenous peoples are still facing exploitation and expropriation today.
Addressing the impact on these communities is imperative so that our platform can provide a voice for those who systematically may not have the privilege to be heard. However, this topic is not limited to only the discussion of marginalized communities, as the focus should be on a local community that has been affected by the company's activity.
Caution: This should not discuss the adverse health impacts on communities if the topic is already offered/covered for this company in the industry.
Conflict Minerals
Conflict resources are natural resources extracted in a conflict zone, which can directly or indirectly perpetuate the fighting.
The four most commonly mined conflict minerals are cassiterite (for tin), wolframite (for tungsten), coltan (for tantalum), and gold ore. They are known as the 3TG. These minerals are essential in manufacturing a variety of products, including consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.
The extraction and sale of blood diamonds, also known as "conflict diamonds," is a better-known phenomenon under similar conditions. Even petroleum can be a conflict resource.
The flagship program of the RMI, the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), takes a unique approach to helping companies make informed choices about responsibly sourcing such minerals in their supply chains.
If the company is producing the mineral: What is its market share in the industry? How much do they make per year (in tonnes)? What percent is claimed to be certified or verified?
If the company is sourcing the material from a supplier: How many suppliers do they have? How large are those companies? How much do they purchase/consume per year (in tonnes)? Knowing specifically about each supplier is a plus. What percent is claimed to be certified or verified?
Does the company follow the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) standards?
Try to mention the consequences of sourcing these minerals on the local environment, local communities, or perpetuating conflicts. You can use studies as proxies. Learn more in the article Step 5: Assess severity and value.
Conclusion:
Wrap up the discussion by keeping the most salient points.
Source
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2525/pdf
https://digitalcommons.law.sea...
https://resourcegovernance.org...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_resource
https://www.responsiblemineralsinitiative.org/responsible-minerals-assurance-process/
Common mistakes:
Not bringing quantitative data
Outdated
Mixing/overlapping with other topics
The impact is no longer relevant today
Discussion of indirect impacts
Ratings:
There are no hard thresholds for this topic, as vulnerable groups are usually on the lower part of the scale. The analysis is publishable if it has demonstrated that the company has had a direct impact on communities through its business activities or in the area where the company's operations are located, that there is sufficient data to capture the impact and on whom, and that the impact is profound and irremediable.
To describe the severity of the impact, take into account:
1/ The scale of the impact
Is the life of people concerned deeply affected, or does the issue just marginally impact them?
Are the changes brought by the issue profoundly changing society or the planet?
2/ The scope of the impact
Is the impact local, national, or global?
How many people are concerned? Thousands? Millions? Billions?
3/ The irremediability of the impact
In your analysis, make sure you add value to your readers and go beyond the company's CSR report by not merely reporting data from the company's report but going the extra mile of providing additional metrics, studies, and sources to make your analysis robust and the impact value and severity are clear.