A Guide to Human Rights Due Diligence for Lawyers

Business clients are increasingly seeking their lawyers' advice and assistance with human rights due diligence (HRDD). Their clients must navigate compliance with a growing array of legal  requirements and soft law standards defining the expectations of governments, investors, and  society that businesses respect human rights. Consequently, new opportunities are arising for lawyers to provide services and advice to businesses on HRDD.

This guide, intended for U.S. and foreign lawyers alike, is an indispensable resource on HRDD that should assist lawyers with understanding not only the fundamentals of HRDD but also crucial aspects of the process.

Part I of the book examines the essentials of HRDD, including the HRDD process, lawyers’ ethical obligations related to HRDD, and key due diligence legal requirements. In Part II, practical aspects of implementing HRDD are explored, including corporate governance, HRDD’s relationship to compliance approaches, use of grievance mechanisms, stakeholder engagement, gender-sensitive HRDD, and consultation with indigenous peoples.

In this rapidly developing area, lawyers also need to be aware of key developments that will affect how their business clients perform HRDD. Therefore, the final section, Part III, addresses four of those key areas: suppliers in value chains, the financial sector, the intersection of environmental law and climate change issues with HRDD, and high-risk security situations, such as those in countries that are politically unstable or undergoing conflict.

The goal of the expert contributions to this book is to further lawyers’ understanding and to facilitate their role in assisting businesses to respect human rights, which should, at the same time, foster businesses’ contribution to sustainable development and the social factor of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).