Human rights is essential teaching in every business school

We have come a long way from the time when companies argued that protecting human rights were only issues of state obligations, and corporations did not have any responsibilities or legal duties.

After years of civil society campaigning, reports by human rights groups, enlightened leadership from some companies, consumer and investor activism, and UN-led efforts, many companies now understand their responsibility to respect human rights.

The introduction of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011 gave companies a way to show they meant it: by undertaking human rights due diligence.

But what does human rights due diligence mean in practical terms? It can be difficult for executives to find out. Some have learned on the job, but the subject too often continues to be addressed as part of crisis management, or omitted entirely, in many business schools’ curricula, where so many future business leaders learn the rules of the road.

More than crisis management

Many business educators and experts have stressed the need for teaching human rights as part of higher education in business. It is a means to equip managers with the tools to address human rights challenges, including many that are difficult to measure in monetary terms.

Since the 1980s, some schools have addressed topics including ‘dilemmas in management’ or ‘business ethics’ (as my business school, Tuck, did when I studied there). More recently, courses may include legal compliance (such as eliminating discrimination in human resources practices), sustainability (for environmental protection), and fiduciary responsibilities of the board.

As we noted in our Top 10 Issues for Business and Human Rights for 2023, there has been progress but much more is needed.

While some leading business schools have created rights focused initiatives, and centres dedicated to business and human rights and responsible business, many offer such courses as electives towards the end of the course.

Other universities have established within their law schools research groups as well as Business and Human Rights networks focused on discussion and training. The ILO recently signed a memorandum of understanding with a network of business schools to increase education on labour rights.

Harvard Business School has prepared excellent case studies on certain pivotal issues, such as the role of the oil industry in Nigeria, the Union Carbide disaster in India, and how companies deal with discriminatory laws, such as the apartheid in South Africa.

Many academics have written cases and teaching modules on business and human rights, including developing pedagogical tools. In a recent academic book, I contributed a chapter on how companies should address operating in conflict zones and other fragile states.

More such efforts are needed, and a network of scholars is already in place. A responsible and sustainable future will require even greater efforts to instil human rights-centred education at an early stage in a manager’s career. Some companies are investing more in improving such skills, but this can’t remain the exception in academia rather than the rule.

Human rights should not be viewed as an additional silo, but be mainstreamed to recognise their effect on all areas of business operations.

Training the next generation of business leaders

The reality is that companies wishing to respect human rights face many challenges, and there is need for more opportunities for learning and identifying practical steps so that the right questions are asked and human rights are prioritised in business decision-making.

It was with these issues in mind that we at IHRB, along with colleagues from the University of Bergen, and the Rafto Foundation in Norway launched the development of a course on business and human rights.

The University of Bergen has a long tradition of offering courses in human rights, democracy, election monitoring, and corruption. The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights is a leader in honouring some of the world’s bravest people – human rights defenders who speak truth to power – and many of its laureates have gone on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And we, at IHRB have vast collective experience of working practically with companies to influence their behaviour by shaping policies, advancing practices, and strengthening accountability mechanisms.

Since 2017, nearly 200 participants drawn from companies, consulting firms, law firms, accounting firms, industries such as oil, automotive, aircraft manufacture, civil society groups, and members of armed and police forces drawn from more than a dozen countries have participated in our course. Many are mid-career professionals bringing significant experience to the discussions, enriching the class. Contributing experts include UN special rapporteurs, government officials, academics, lawyers, and senior executives of major companies from the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

An increase in our student numbers year on year is a healthy sign that the next generation of business leaders, human rights defenders, legal experts and the like, believe business and human rights should be a core part of any good training in the ways of business.

Essential topics in business and human rights curricula

Our curriculum is eclectic and broad-ranging, covering legal standards as well as their practical impacts and implementation. The topics to be learned are wide-ranging, but there are some which must form an essential part of any business school curriculum.

We cover questions including – why businesses should care for human rights, the law and standards that apply and how they originated, the need for compliance in an environment of widening web of legal liabilities, and the need for due diligence, including heightened due diligence in zones of conflict and other challenging contexts. We examine challenges such as applying global standards in local contexts, both in terms of labour rights, migrant workers’ rights, and supply chain issues, as well as discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, caste, and race. What are the responsibilities in the boardroom and on the factory floor to address these challenges?

Other salient topics include the climate crisis and just transitions; the meaning of the rise of China; technology and mitigating its adverse impacts on privacy due to surveillance; the corporate responsibility to prevent dissemination of misinformation and disinformation online; and the use of artificial intelligence. Senior executives from apparel, telecom, consumer products, and extractive sectors are among our faculty, and one key highlight is interactions with brave human rights defenders who have worked with companies as allies, or confronted companies when their activities have caused adverse impacts.

Year on year, business schools and others teaching human rights have the power to build a global community of professionals who want to ensure that corporate practices respect and advance human rights. With more future professionals learning about business and human rights, respect for human rights can become part of everyday business operations.

Apply to join our Masters Course in Business and Human Rights, September - December 2023.