Business and Human Rights: Connecting the managerial and legal aspects

Translating the implications of human rights for responsible business management requires an understanding of what human rights are and how to identify human rights risks or potential violations in management practices or with business relations. Human rights are integral to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC): all ten of its principles either directly or indirectly address human rights. The UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights complement the UNGC by providing further details on the implications of human rights to business, and on how businesses should act to avoid infringing on these rights. This chapter explains how the UNGPs and the UNGC can help translate human rights concepts into managerial processes. Particular emphasis is given to context and international human and labour rights law that managers should know about in order to incorporate human rights in their policies and management practices.