DIGITAL TOOLKIT – Routes to Remedy: Toolkit For Defenders Facing Business-Related Human Rights Impacts in Asia.
Link to access the platform here.
Worldwide, human rights defenders are facing unprecedented levels of attacks and intimidation as a result of their work exposing corporate abuse. According to the Business and Human Rights resource centre, in “2021, Asia-Pacific was the region with the highest number of attacks against Human Rights Defenders focused on business”.
Patterns of intimidation against defenders engaged in reporting corporate abuse has been widely documented, including judicial harassment, violent attacks, intimidation, defamation, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) against communities, criminalisation, physical attacks and sadly, in many instances, the killing of defenders. These risks are often exacerbated by the lack of legal protection available in the countries defenders operate in.
It is in this context that, on December 9th 2022, the Routes to Remedy Digital Toolkit was launched. The toolkit is the result of a year-long collaboration between GRC’s Business and Human Rights Team and UNDP, with the aim to facilitate access to remedies for business-related human rights defenders in seven South East Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Toolkit aims to help connect human rights defenders with information on accessing remedy through three simple questions: 1- Where did the violation took place?; 2- Who was involved?; and 3- What was the harm? It also contains crucial resources such as a Documentation section that highlights essential knowledge required to document and investigate violations and a Resource Hub which lists existing organisations supporting defenders to access financial, psychological and security resources.
To ensure that the Toolkit adequately responds to the needs of the targeted beneficiaries, it has been developed with the feedback and input of human rights defenders across all seven countries. This was achieved through a number of key activities including:
- The design and distribution of a questionnaire to a select number of human rights defenders and associated supporting organisations on the challenges faced when engaging grievance mechanisms.
- Focus Groups Discussion and targeted interviews with key experts as well as an extensive literature review and research period into the available national and international grievance mechanisms in each jurisdiction.
- Following the design and development of the Digital Toolkit, the Team piloted the toolkit through a short training workshop in two of the selected target countries (Thailand and Bangladesh). The workshop included a practical demonstration of the Toolkit; presentations on the available remedies in Thailand and Bangladesh; training on essential investigative rules human rights defenders should follow when documenting and gathering evidence on human rights violations as well as interactive activities such as case studies and Q&A rounds.
These phases ultimately resulted in the Routes to Remedy Platform.
Meet the Team
GRC congratulates the Team behind this project:
- Lara Strangways, Head of the Business and Human Rights team at Global Rights Compliance;
- Taygeti Michalaeka, Lead consultant on this project;
- Perrine Lafréchoux, Legal Adviser in the Business and Human Rights team at Global Rights Compliance.
With decades of experience, Global Rights Compliance (GRC) works with companies, investors, and organisations to address the potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts resulting from business operations. We work side by side with our clients to help ensure they become leaders among their peers on these issues. Our services include legal advice, consultancy services on policies, procedures and training, global supply chain assessments and due diligence, and designing and implementation of grievance mechanisms.
While we know the law and what you need to do, we also know that real change comes through behavioural change. As such we work innovatively, side by side with our clients in a very practical way to ensure they genuinely become a rights-based company that is also just a better business.
To learn more about our work, please click here. To make an enquiry please email bhr@globalrightscompliance.co.uk.