There are no rights without remedies. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights has three “pillars”, the third of which is “Access to Remedy” (UNGPs Principles 25-31). States have duties to provide these remedies, and businesses should establish remedial mechanisms at the operational level. In addition, companies participating in multi-stakeholder initiatives (“MSIs”) with human rights standards are to ensure effective human rights grievance mechanisms are available.
Our work has been focused on these non-governmental MSI complaint mechanisms. This work has been based on our own empirical research, which has involved a multi-year study of these complaint mechanisms, digesting all information available through public reporting and first-person interviews.
We have interviewed individuals at all levels of operation and use of these mechanisms. We have interviewed the people operating the mechanisms as well as hundreds of claimants (individuals, community members, labor unions, NGOs) to get the critical rightsholder perspective of whether, to what extent, how and when, these systems succeed or fail to provide effective remedies.
We have analyzed these complaint systems to understand what makes them function well and what blocks access to remedy. We have recommendations on how systems should, and should not, be
structured.
Methodology and Data: “Initial Report”
A detailed description of how we identified MSI grievance mechanisms for analysis, how we gathered and analyzed case studies, and how we triangulated these reports with primary data, the Initial Report functions as an introduction to the further research we have pursued.
MSI Systems Database
A compilation of all the complaints reviewed, sorted and coded, is available through the Excel sheet accessible here.
If the button does not work, copy-paste the following URL into your browser: http://nomogaia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MSI_Compliation-Final-September-2022.zip.
RSPO: GMs where members respond to complaints
Where member companies of voluntary initiatives receive complaints of human rights violations, there is no meaningful leverage within the MSI to drive change. These companies may leave the MSI without consequence or may ignore the MSI grievance mechanism’s findings, and neither the MSI nor the affected rightsholder has recourse. Read more at the link below.
Comparing MSIs: Remedies for Labor Abuses
MSI grievance mechanisms sometimes work! Not in all contexts or for all claims, but rightsholders have received meaningful remedies when grievance mechanisms are structured so that powerful brands join MSIs and respond to complaints made against their suppliers. There is a real opportunity to expand and improve these systems. They should be rolled out in other industries (currently they only operate in the garment sector). They need higher resourcing and deeper reach into supply chains. Read more at the link below.
Recommendations
In compiling and analyzing data from every MSI grievance publicly available, NomoGaia established Recommendations for Human Rights Grievance Mechanisms. These are available below.
