Proyecto 3 - BHRRC

Project:

Understanding and preparing for human rights and environmental due diligence in Latin America

Basic information

Implementing organization: Business & Human Rights Resource Center
Countries of implementation: Mexico, Brazil and Colombia
Implementation period: 09/2020 to 03/2021

Project goal

Carry out 3 sets of activities on mandatory due diligence on human rights and the environment (MHREDD) in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. Forums in Brazil and Colombia introduced the topic and provided best practices for tools and frameworks, while in Mexico they deepened existing conversations and prompted practical action.

The 2018 corporate human rights benchmark found that 40% of the world’s largest companies fail to identify or mitigate human rights issues in their supply chains. While due diligence in Latin American countries is less, the movement for MHREDD is growing among civil society and governments around the world, with major investors and companies now calling for legislation. The COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced this trend and is shaping the future debate. Now is the opportunity to prepare Latin America for this inevitable breakthrough in business and human rights. Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico are major policy-influencing economies, with advanced debates and experiences on these issues, and fertile ground for taking a further step toward MHREDD.

For this reason, the project has aimed to convene workshops and roundtables for business, government and civil society, with leading experts in the field, to discuss the collective benefits of MHREDD, provide guidance and examples of global best practice for MHREDD legislation and business implementation, and inform processes such as National Action Plans, regulatory and anti-corruption frameworks.

Main achievements and activities

130 stakeholders have agreed to establish a permanent dialogue to promote the implementation of a mandatory due diligence framework on human rights and the environment in Mexico.
73 Representatives of civil society organizations have a better understanding of the scope, objectives, and effects of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in Colombia.
84 stakeholders have a better understanding of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence in Brazil.
1 workshop with 24 company representatives on mandatory due diligence on human rights and the environment (in Mexico).
1 round table with 130 civil society representatives on mandatory due diligence on human rights and the environment (in Mexico).
1 workshop with 84 stakeholder representatives on mandatory due diligence on human rights and the environment (in Brazil).
1 workshop with 73 representatives of civil society organizations on mandatory due diligence on human rights and the environment (Colombia).
2 studies on mandatory due diligence in the area of human rights and the environment were prepared: one on its link with the fight against corruption and another on its link with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.