'Good Practice Note for the Private Sector: Addressing the Risks of Retaliation Against Project Stakeholders', 25 March 2021

The private sector has a responsibility to respect human rights, independently of the state’s duties to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. This responsibility means to avoid infringing on the human rights of others and to address adverse human rights impacts business may cause or contribute to. Meeting this responsibility also means creating access to an effective grievance mechanism that can facilitate early indication and prompt remediation of various project-related grievances...

Retaliation can include any form of threat, harassment, violence, or punitive action taken against an individual, group, or organization (such as a worker, contractor, community member, activist, human rights defender, or civil society organization (CSO)) who has lodged a complaint or voiced criticism or concerns about a company or a development project... [R]eprisals against those who oppose a project can negatively impact a project... even if the perpetrators are not directly associated with the project, for example, government officials or community members who support the project...

This document maps the actions the private sector can take in three key areas:

• Screen
• Prevent
• Respond

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