Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Companies have a responsibility to respect human rights
As Western governments implement unprecedented economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, pressure is increasing on companies and investors to review their Russian operations. Many now face difficult choices.
Major multinationals have already decided to pull out, while others are suspending their activities pending the outcome of the conflict. It is no longer just commercial and reputational imperatives that drive these decisions - companies and investors are expected to act quickly and decisively when their operations risk influencing conflict dynamics or being linked to human rights abuses.
The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has provided a roadmap on the steps companies should take to address human rights risks in conflict areas. We outline these key measures below.
Conduct Conflict-Sensitive and Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence
A company or investor’s presence in Ukraine and Russia might influence conflict dynamics and, therefore, human rights due diligence will need to be complemented by a conflict-sensitive approach.
As part of this exercise, it is key for businesses to identify and anticipate how their actual or potential operations, products or services impact existing social tensions and relationships between the various groups involved in the conflict. A key question companies should aim to answer is “how likely is this issue to create or exacerbate conflict?”. This involves fully understanding the interaction between their activities and context, followed by concrete action to minimize negative impacts both on human rights and the conflict itself.
Robust stakeholder engagement and effective grievance mechanisms
Companies should ensure that once they have an understanding of key potential human rights impacts connected to their activities, they are equipped to respond promptly in a context that is rapidly changing. This will require robust, ongoing stakeholder engagement and the use of highly effective grievance mechanisms.
Act collectively, where possible
By acting in collaboration, initiatives by companies and investors are stronger. For some companies, however, an overt public action can pose severe risks to affected people, including business partners, employees and communities in which they operate. For these companies, the human rights due diligence exercise can help inform how and to what extent a company is able to safely engage with industry peers, home governments and other relevant stakeholders to support the rule of law and a settlement for peace.
Responsible exit
Many companies are already suspending or terminating their activities in Russia.
The UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) refer to disengagement as an option for addressing adverse human rights impacts by a business relationship but do not deal directly with the situation in conflict-affected areas. The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has clarified the matter. To them, the UNGPs are built on the idea that “at all times, enterprises need to be aware of any risks that a particular course of action may pose to affected stakeholders and take these into account in their decisions”.
In other words, in a conflict-affected setting, exit planning should consider more than leaving a region and evacuating expatriate employees. Companies should assess the impacts of disengagement on affected people, including business partners and communities, and develop strategies to prevent and mitigate harm.