Professor Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights has released his latest report – Report of the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights: Further steps towards the operationalization of the “protect, respect, remedy” framework. The 2010 report continues to build on the protect, respect and remedy framework outlined in previous reports by the Special Representative – see previous post on the 2009 Report. The current phase of the Special Representative’s mandate is focussed on operationalising this three-tiered framework. The latest report re-emphasises that the underlying approach to this issue is principled pragmatism which is described as:
“an unflinching commitment to the principle of strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights as it relates to business, coupled with a pragmatic attachment to what works best in creating change where it matters most – in the daily lives of people.” (2010, Report, para. 4)
Thus, a key strategy for the Special Representative seems to be the collection and dissemination of best practice: “the operationalization phase combines research, consultations and practical experimentation” (2010 Report, para. 7)
It follows that much of the 2010 report simply describes the evidence that has been collected by the Special Representative and his team over the past twelve months concerning the challenges and opportunities in relation to business and human rights. To this end, the 2010 report can be seen as a stepping stone towards the final report which will be issued next year. Yet, the latest report does contain a number of interesting indications of what the ultimate guidelines and recommendations produced by the Special Representative may look like.