Amnesty International Human Rights Principles for Business

Origin.   The Principles were published in 1998 by Amnesty International, a worldwide movement promoting human rights enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( UnitedNationsDeclarationofHumanRights.html). They are rooted in a conviction that “the silence of…business interests in the face of injustice is not neutral.”

Purpose.   The Principles are designed to help companies fulfill their responsibility to promote and protect human rights. More specifically, they are intended to help prepare companies to address circumstances in which human rights have been violated, or where the potential for violation exists.  

Critical Content.   The Principles are predicated on a belief that companies must protect human rights within their own operations, and the business community has a moral and legal responsibility to use its influence to promote human rights within society.   They address the following issues:

1.       Security Forces – Companies should ensure that any security arrangements protect human rights and are consistent with international standards for law enforcement;

2.       Community Engagement – Companies should take reasonable steps to ensure that their operations do not negatively affect human rights in the communities where they operate.

3.       Freedom from Discrimination – Companies should ensure their policies and practices prevent discrimination based on ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, religion, political or other conscientiously-held beliefs, birth, or other status.

4.       Freedom from Slavery – Companies should ensure their policies and practices prohibit the use of chattel slaves, forced labor, bonded child laborers, or coerced prison labor.

5.       Health and Safety – Companies should ensure their policies and practices provide for safe and healthy working conditions and safe products.   Also, workplaces should be free from employee abuse, and mental or physical coercion.

6.       Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining – Companies should ensure that employees, without penalty, can exercise their rights to free expression, collective bargaining, and peaceful assembly and association.

7.       Fair Working Conditions – Companies should ensure just and favorable conditions of work, reasonable job security, and fair and adequate remuneration and benefits.

Implementation. Responsibility for implementation lies with companies. The Principles call for companies to establish (1) an explicit human rights policy; (2) procedures to examine the human rights impact of operations; (3) safeguards to prevent employee complicity in abuses; (4) mechanisms to monitor compliance; and (5) a process to independently verify company compliance reports.   Companies also are called to promote adoption of the Principles by their suppliers and business partners.

To visit this code in its entirety please visit:  http://www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/ACT700011998

30.January 2003