A/HRC/20/29
require collaboration, coordination and cooperation with others committed to the objectives
of the mandate. In practical terms, the Working Group will seek to promote implementation
in four principal ways.
67.
Address the situation of groups vulnerable to impact of business activities,
including indigenous peoples: Many factors can influence the vulnerability of rightsholders to business-related human rights abuse. The Working Group will therefore accord
broad interpretation to this aspect of its mandate in order to ensure appropriate attention to
the wide range of rights-holders mentioned in the present report that are particularly
vulnerable to the negative impacts of business activity. In particular, indigenous peoples in
all regions are profoundly and disproportionately affected by business-related activities,
such as resource extraction and infrastructure development. They frequently face
discrimination in law and social practice and are marginalized in the development of
policies, laws and regulations that have a bearing on business and human rights issues that
affect them. Business-related human rights impact on individuals from groups or
populations that may be at heightened risk of vulnerability or marginalization must be
specifically addressed by States and companies in their implementation efforts.
68.
Encourage implementation efforts: The Working Group will encourage
implementation efforts by directly engaging with relevant actors (States, business and civil
society), where possible, on the application of the Guiding Principles, by contributing to or
participating in the implementation initiatives of other organizations, and by selectively
initiating specific projects designed to further drive implementation, for example by
encouraging the development of national plans of action and capacity-building efforts that
have a bearing on implementation.
69.
Share good practices: Important lessons are already being learned by pioneering
implementers. These should be communicated across sectors and regions, for testing and
application in new contexts. To this end, the Working Group will seek to identify, exchange
and promote good practices, including by supporting their broad dissemination; in so doing,
it will apply the principle that the practices it promotes must reasonably be expected to give
effect to a standard no lower than that set out in the Guiding Principles themselves. The
Working Group will apply this principle even in respect of implementation undertaken in
the kinds of undeniably challenging contexts that States and companies may face.
70.
Provide further clarification on the application of the Guiding Principles:
Although they are universally applicable, the Guiding Principles are not intended as a tool
kit, simply to be taken off the shelf and plugged in; in other words, when it comes to the
means for implementation, “one size does not fit all”.32 The implementation of the Guiding
Principles will inevitably give rise to questions and some need for further clarification in
specific areas and contexts of actual practice. Just as the former Special Representative
provided guidance, for example, on how management of human rights risks could be
integrated into State-investor contract negotiations (work that resulted in the development
of 10 principles for integrating management of human rights risks into contract
negotiations),33 which now sets the stage for further clarification to support the practical
application of this guidance in the development of responsible investment contracts, the
need for further clarification in other areas remains. Questions such as the implications of
the Guiding Principles for business enterprises providing services that may have an impact
on the enjoyment of human rights have already been brought to the attention of the
Working Group. A similar case can be seen in practices of export credit agencies and
related institutions in implementing human rights due diligence measures. With regard to
32
33
16
A/HRC/17/31, para. 15.
See A/HRC/17/31/Add.3.
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