ICT Human Rights Sector Guide
10 June 2014
This Guide was developed by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and Shift. It offers practical advice to ICT companies on how to implement the corporate responsibility to respect human rights through step-by-step guidance.
At each step, the Guide summarises what the UN Guiding Principles expect, offers a range of approaches and examples for how to put those expectations into practice, and links users to additional resources that can support their work. The Guide was developed over 18 months through extensive research and multistakeholder consultations.
See also the unofficial Japanese translation.
"Many of the problems faced by workers in global electronics production result from the complexity of supply chain relationships which makes it easier for companies to avoid responsibility for a range of adverse impacts including excessive working hours, denial of trade union rights and exposure to toxic chemicals. The UN Guiding Principles make it clear where responsibility lies and this Guide will help companies in the ICT sector understand what their obligations are and what concrete steps they must take to address adverse impacts in their supply chains."
Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL Global Union
"GeSI welcomes the EU Guidance on the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles for the ICT sector. The Guidance will be an extremely valuable tool to assist companies in our industry to assess human rights along the value chain and align business practices with the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights."
Luis Neves, Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI)
"Recent events have put the human rights obligations of ICT companies in the spotlight to an unprecedented degree. The European Commission sector guidance on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights is a valuable contribution to this emerging field that complements the Global Network Initiative's specific focus on freedom of expression and privacy rights in the ICT sector."
Susan Morgan, Global Network Initiative (GNI)
