Non-State-Based Grievance Mechanisms (GP27 – operational level)

Draft Guiding Principles (GPs) for implementation of the U.N. “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework

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Non-State-Based Grievance Mechanisms (GP27 – operational level)

GUIDING PRINCIPLE 27: To make it possible for grievances to be addressed early and remediated directly, business enterprises should establish or participate in effective, operational-level grievance mechanisms for individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted.

Commentary

Operational-level grievance mechanisms are accessible directly to individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted by a business enterprise. They are typically administered by enterprises, alone or in collaboration with others, including stakeholders. They may also be provided through recourse to a mutually acceptable external expert or body. They do not require that those bringing a complaint first access other means of recourse. They can engage the company directly in assessing the issues and seeking remediation of any harm.

Operational-level grievance mechanisms perform two key functions regarding the corporate responsibility to respect.

First, they support the ‘tracking’ of human rights performance as part of the enterprise’s on-going human rights due diligence. They do so by providing a channel for those directly impacted by the enterprise’s operations to raise concerns when they believe they are being or will be harmed. By analyzing trends and patterns in complaints, business enterprises also can identify systemic problems and adapt their practices accordingly.
Second, these mechanisms make it possible for grievances, once identified, to be addressed and for harms to be remediated early and directly by the business enterprise, whether alone or in collaboration with others involved, thereby preventing harms from compounding and grievances from escalating.
Such mechanisms need not require that a complaint or grievance amount to an alleged human rights abuse before it can be raised, but specifically aim to identify any legitimate concerns of those who may be adversely impacted. If their concerns are not identified and addressed, they may over time escalate into more major disputes and human rights abuses.

Operational-level grievance mechanisms should reflect certain criteria to ensure their effectiveness in practice (see Principle 29). These criteria can be met through many different forms of grievance mechanism according to the demands of scale, resource, sector, culture and other parameters.

Operational-level grievance mechanisms should not be used to undermine the role of legitimate trade unions in addressing labor-related disputes, or to preclude access to judicial or non-judicial grievance mechanisms.

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