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Article

23 Feb 2017

Author:
UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises

UN Working Group on business & human rights raises concerns about discussion paper on financial sector's human rights responsibilities

The Working Group finds that the Discussion Paper provides some useful practical considerations for banks in certain situations where they may be directly linked to human rights impacts through the financial products or services they provide to third parties which themselves may be contributing to or causing a human rights abuse. However, the Working Group would like to express our concern about some elements of the Discussion Paper that do not accurately reflect some key elements of the UNGPs. The Working Group believes that if left unaddressed, this can cause unnecessary confusion about the UNGPs, which may undermine attempts by banks and others to implement their responsibility to respect human rights...The Working Group has two specific concerns about aspects covered in the Discussion Paper: a) The question whether banks can contribute to adverse human rights impacts beyond its own employment practices. b) The extent to which the third pillar of the UNGPs – the need to ensure access to remedy for those affected by human rights abuse – is relevant for banks. Additionally, the Working Group would also like to make some observations about the process of developing these kinds of tools that seek to unpack key concepts of the UNGPs in a sector-specific context.

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