How Tech Companies Can Engage with (Billions of) Users on Human Rights

Authors

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  Dunstan Allison-Hope

  Senior Advisor, BSR

  

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  Dunstan Allison-Hope

  Senior Advisor, BSR

  

  San Francisco

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  Dunstan leads BSR’s work at the intersection of technology and human rights.

  Previously, Dunstan led BSR’s information and communications technology, heavy manufacturing, and human rights teams.

  He brings significant experience working on a diverse range of engagements and issues, including human rights due diligence, privacy and freedom of expression, sustainability reporting and strategy, and stakeholder engagement.

  Dunstan facilitated the multistakeholder process of developing global principles on freedom of expression and privacy, which led to the launch of the Global Network Initiative in October 2008. He also helped create the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, a collaborative initiative of more than 100 ICT companies improving conditions in their supply chains. Dunstan participated in the process of creating the Global Reporting Initiative G3 guidelines, and he is a regular commentator on issues of corporate accountability, reporting, and human rights. He also co-authored the 2010 book Big Business, Big Responsibilities.

  Prior to joining BSR in 2004, Dunstan was part of British Telecommunications' corporate responsibility team.

  Dunstan has an M.Prof. in Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future.

  Close

Dan Bross, Microsoft Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship and Executive Director of the Microsoft Technology and Human Rights Center

How can technology companies engage with users—who number in the billions—on potential human rights challenges?

The release of today’s working paper endeavors to answer this question. The paper was informed by a global series of expert roundtables convened by Microsoft’s Technology and Human Rights Center and produced by BSR, with input from the Center for Democracy and Technology.

What follows are the key takeaways from the report, in terms of whom to engage and how to engage technology issues on human rights challenges.

Whom to Engage

The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights advise businesses to consult rights holders by drawing on internal and/or independent external human rights expertise and engaging potentially affected groups and stakeholders in meaningful consultation.

Ultimately, this “and, not or” model provides information and communications technology (ICT) companies with a broad range of information and experiences, from both rights holders and intermediary stakeholders, which helps companies make informed decisions.

How to Engage

There are many productive ways for technology companies to engage with consumers on human rights challenges. Because human rights situations are dynamic, approaches will depend on the company and the human rights contexts.

However, we do have some insights to share that may offer additional guidance for rights holder engagements, which you can find outlined in the full report.

In our experience, when companies integrate rights-holder engagement into human rights due diligence, they enter with trepidation and exit with appreciation. We believe that more meaningful approaches to rights-holder engagement will greatly enhance the impact, credibility, and value of human rights due diligence, to the benefit of both the company and the rights holder.