Opinion: Moving business and human rights agenda forward in SL in crisis times
By Myanthi Peiris, Business and Human Rights Specialist, UNDP Sri Lanka
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented social and economic challenges, and behind staggering data of contracting
economies, people’s lives and livelihoods are on the line. According to the World Bank, in Sri Lanka over 500,000 people are expected to
have fallen into poverty as a result of the crisis[1] compounding existing inequalities, especially for
those that belong to vulnerable and marginalised populations. The struggle induced
by employment loss, travel restrictions, isolation, lack of protective
equipment and insufficient access to health care services exposed cracks in our
system. We must bring human rights front and centre to address these issues, as
failure to do so can present a fundamental challenge to human dignity and
sustainable development.
How businesses respond to a crisis can be a key factor
in mitigating its impact on our society, and shape public attitudes towards the
private sector for years to come. A strong commitment in times of crisis shows
that businesses are willing to take concrete steps to uphold human rights, and prevent
and address negative impacts of their operations on people and the environment.
Businesses that are applying a smart strategy integrating a human rights focus
can not only enhance their own resilience to adverse economic circumstances but
raise the resilience of the country’s economy and society.
Resources and projects provide
support for companies ready for the paradigm shift. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights
(UNGPs)―a set of guidelines that define the key duties and
responsibilities of States and Businesses with regard to business-related human
rights abuses―, offer a blueprint for how business
respect for human rights can support the implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) in line with international human rights standards. Human rights self-assessment tools are available to identify priority
areas to address, and a growing number of trainings and workshops welcome
business actors of any size to equip them with information and good practices
to follow.
In Sri Lanka, the business and human rights landscape
is evolving, with more businesses coming on board to uphold the UNGPs as well as ensure their business operations are not
negatively impacting human rights. However, despite encouraging progress being
made, human rights challenges in the context of business operations continue to
exist and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many workers in a range of sectors including apparel,
agriculture, electronics, construction, and manufacturing suffer from unsafe
working conditions and labour rights abuses. Workers in the informal economy
are particularly vulnerable to such abuses. Moreover, civil society
organizations (CSOs), human rights defenders and trade unions continue to see a
shrinking space for advocacy. Other issues such as sexual and gender-based
violence and the harmful impact of economic growth on the environment have
become serious challenges that need urgent attention.
In order to address these diverse sets of challenges,
a strong multi-stakeholder approach is required, where governments, businesses,
civil society actors, national human rights institutions and academia come
together to prevent, mitigate and remediate the adverse impacts of business on
human rights.