Be Human Rights Confident

Is the world going a bit mad? ????

The rolling back of protections against hate speech ?????; the use of antitrust and consumer protection to advocate for the use of coal; the assertions that worsening fires have nothing to do with climate change ?? – these are just a small fraction of recent examples.

I have found that it really helps me to travel back in time and to visualize what it must have felt like living in other times, when people too felt that the world was going mad, and wondering what do to about it.

When women were told they didn't belong in politics ???, or when men were sent to battle because Germany had invaded Poland ??, or when a Third World War hinged on how well a small group of men negotiated nuclear politics ??.

I’ve vowed to myself to dedicate my energy solely to the things I can do to make a difference ??, and to catch when I’m wasting it on things that I can’t change, at this point in time. Both in my personal life as a citizen, and in my professional life advising companies.

This week, I reached out to my local MP, Dianne Abbott (I live in Hackney) ??, urging her to take a stance on the Climate and Nature Bill. I also contacted my local council to request the installation of EV charging points ????. (See here for more on the important vote happening in UK Parliament next Friday and how you can write to your MP if you are in the UK).

In our work at Human Level and with peers, colleagues and I have been in discussions in Brussels about the role companies can play regarding the Omnibus approach ???.

There is a crucial role that all companies should play now, especially in safeguarding the EU CSDDD ??.

Take a leaf out of this letter and consider how you can promote “a level playing field for the reward and recognition of robust, holistic business performance.”

Not my words – those of DP World, Ferrero, L’Occitane, Mars, Nestlé, Primark, Signify, Unilever, NEI Investments, Ethical Trading Initiative and the Global Network Initiative. For more of their words, see below.

If you’re not sure how to proceed, just reach out and we’ll help you.

We don’t have time to go backwards, we can only go forwards. And taking action later is too late, this is happening now. ???

Anna

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released the 20th edition of its annual Global Risks Report (January 2025). The report captures perceptions of top global risks (out of a list of 33 across issue areas) for the years ahead. The rankings are based on insights provided by 900 leaders and 100 thematic experts from academia, business, government, international organisations and civil society, across regions and sectors.

Human Level’s Take:

• The latest WEF Global Risks Report highlights a more fragmented world with rising geopolitical, societal, economic, environmental and technological risks. Meanwhile, global governance faces challenges, with declining international cooperation that could hinder the world’s ability to manage risks that span borders.
• Geopolitical risk is the top concern for 2024, with conflicts and tensions spreading across borders. Other key concerns for 2024 include extreme weather events (14%), geoeconomic confrontation (8%), misinformation and disinformation (7%) and societal polarisation (6%).
• Inequality remains central, with wealth disparity and the cost-of-living crisis exacerbating polarisation and distrust in shared values. This is fuelling social instability and potential political volatility.
• At the same time, environmental risks are worsening, with climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather dominating long-term concerns.
• How can businesses prepare for a more divided and volatile future? Ongoing human rights and environmental due diligence will remain central to keep a pulse on the different global trends driving negative impacts to people and planet. Increased stakeholder engagement — especially with vulnerable groups — can also help companies detect and address new risks more quickly. Overall, staying the course on human rights, environmental and governance commitments could help companies to forge ahead through changes in the operating context.

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Cambridge University Press’s Business and Human Rights Journal published On the Right to Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Safeguards in Algorithmic Human Resource Management (January 2025). The article explores how algorithmic human resource management (AHRM), which is the automation or augmentation of human resources-related decision-making with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled algorithms, can lead to discriminatory results and systematic disadvantages for marginalised groups. The report also provides recommendations on ethical safeguards to protect fundamental human rights when using AI in HR-related decisions and activities.

Human Level’s Take:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how organisations manage human resources (HR), with over 250 tools available to streamline processes.
• So, how are companies using AI in HR? AI is increasingly used in the recruitment and selection of new employees, particularly in the sourcing, screening of resumes and candidate matching phases.
• While AI offers benefits in aiding decision-making, it also presents significant risks to workers' rights. The use of AI in HR decision-making can pose significant risks to the right to equality, equity and non-discrimination; the right to privacy; and the right to work. For instance, AI systems can perpetuate and amplify biases from training data, reinforcing discrimination. The use of personal data to assess job applicants' suitability may threaten their right to privacy by exposing sensitive information to potential unauthorised access, misuse, or discrimination in recruitment processes. Additionally, companies may utilise public data, such as social media posts or purchasing history, without explicit consent. Algorithmic HR systems can also make recruitment decisions opaque, leaving workers unable to comprehend or contest them.
• So what can companies do? Companies can: 1) debiase AI systems through conducting regular data quality checks, internal audits, and impact assessments to prevent discrimination. They can also remove data points reflecting past biases or those predictive of protected characteristics; 2) comply with regulations such as the EU AI Act and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in a way that treats these legal frameworks as meaningful tools to identify and address risks to data subjects rather than a tick-box exercise; 3) respect and advocate for workers’ right to freedom of association and enabling their right to collective bargaining to ensure their voices are heard in decisions around AI systems and their governance; and 4) clearly communicate how data is used in algorithmic management to build trust and fairness.

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The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) published Strengthening the EU’s Stand Against Forced Labour (January 2025). The report covers the key components of the EU Forced Labour Ban and discusses opportunities to strengthen the law and the broader context for tackling forced labour.

The EU Forced Labour Ban entered into force on 12 December 2024. It prohibits companies from placing products made with forced labour on the EU market, or exporting from the EU any products made with forced labour. It applies to all companies operating in the EU, regardless of turnover or where they are incorporated. This includes companies that sell products at a distance, e.g. via the internet, if they target end-users in the EU (although this will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis). For the full text of the regulation see here, and for DIHR’s deeper analysis of key components of the law, see page 7 onward in the report.

Human Level’s Take:

• The EU Forced Labour Ban is the newest entry into the suite of global laws aiming to strengthen human rights protections in economic activities.
• The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) see the regulation as a significant step in addressing forced labour, complementing existing laws like the CSDDD and encouraging companies to adopt stronger due diligence practices to tackle forced labour globally.
• At the same time, DIHR highlights concerns like a failure to mandate remediation for rightsholders as a condition for lifting product bans, a heavy burden of proof on authorities, inadequate guidance on responsible disengagement and on evidentiary thresholds for high-risk sectors, and missing amendments to improve access to customs data.
• Above all, the effectiveness of the regulation in practice will depend on the willingness of companies and States to tackle the root causes of forced labour. While import bans can create incentives for companies to strengthen their human rights due diligence, the systemic nature of forced labour means that efforts to address the issue will need to go beyond product exclusion.
• This includes actions meant to combat root causes across the full value chain, for example strengthening worker voice and fundamental labour rights, ensuring responsible recruitment practices, building capacity of supply chain actors to understand and address forced labour risks, and tackling underlying issues like poverty, discrimination and gaps in social protection.

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New guidance: The International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) published guidance on 10 issues for companies to consider when contracting private security providers. In response to increasing corporate concerns over conflict, terrorism and general insecurity in many operating contexts, many companies are engaging private security to complement or act in place of public security — but the use of private security comes with risks that businesses should be aware of, including human rights of local communities and employees, poor working conditions for security staff, and corruption.

How you can use this: ICoCA’s guidance is a ‘cheat sheet’ of top risk areas for companies to be aware of. This list can be a helpful starting point to guide your company’s due diligence when engaging security providers or when working with suppliers and project partners who contract private security. You can probe deeper on each of the areas flagged through conversations with providers and business partners to understand what kinds of risk mitigation and remediation measures they have in place. This list can also be a starting place for engaging stakeholders, including workers, local communities, human rights and environmental defenders, and security staff themselves.

New tool: Verité launched a toolkit for Assessing Respect for Workers’ Rights to Freedom of Association (FoA) — a critical component of ensuring workers’ human rights. The toolkit is designed to provide supplier facilities, buyers and other stakeholders with the resources to assess and strengthen facility-level management systems for key worker voice issues, including freedom of association, worker communication, feedback mechanisms and worker participation. The resource contains seven tools encompassing 120 assessment criteria that cover FoA rights, collective bargaining, union effectiveness, communication, feedback mechanisms (including grievance procedures), and worker participation. Verité has also developed complementary e-learning materials for both managers and workers, which are targeted towards workplaces in China.

How you can use this: This toolkit provides concrete, step-by-step guidance and templates for companies looking to delve further into freedom of association and related topics within their supply chain. Verité envisions that the toolkit can be used as the basis for a supplier self-assessment or an independent third-party assessment. It could also be used as a baseline for buying companies to build their own understanding of strong practices to respect workers’ rights, especially within supplier-facing functions like purchasing and procurement.

New report: The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its 2025 Diversity and Inclusion Lighthouses, a report providing insights on trends and emerging practices to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion across companies and economies. The report features case studies and snapshots of DEI initiatives (“Lighthouses” and “Highlights”) and pulls out learnings that can be applied to other DEI initiatives. The initiatives span sectors, regions and issue areas.

How you can use this: This report offers inspiration to companies looking to start or bolster DEI programmes. It includes concrete examples of actions taken by companies and their advice for peers looking to implement similar initiatives. These learnings could be shared internally with HR, DEI and People teams. Many of the learnings are applicable across different contexts, while some are specific to companies focusing in on issue areas like gender, LGBTQI+ inclusion, and other marginalised groups like people with disabilities and refugees.

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