Call for definitive standards for human rights reporting

WeiserMazars LLP, a New York based audit, tax and consultancy firm and Mazars Group, one of the world’s largest international audit, tax and consulting organisations, together with Shift, a leading non-profit centre on business and human rights, have issued a discussion paper on the development of global standards for human rights reporting and assurance.

 

The proposed standards will allow companies to demonstrate the extent to which they are aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were developed by Shift’s chair, John Ruggie.

 

The reporting standard will allow companies to issue a Human Rights Statement that demonstrates how their internal policies and processes align with the UN Guiding Principles, and assist them on a journey of continuous improvement. The accompanying assurance standard will allow independent, external human rights assurance providers to confirm that the company’s Human Rights Statement fairly represents its human rights-related policies.

 

Howard Dorman, a partner at WeiserMazars commented: “The check box mentality of performing due diligence is not working in today’s highly volatile environment. It is important to change our current course and adopt standards that create a roadmap for companies to report on the business environment that they inhabit.”

 

Richard Karmel, head of Mazars UK’s award-winning social performance and human rights reporting service line added: “Several companies have made good progress in reporting how their business impacts on human rights. However, the approach to reporting has thus far been variable and fragmented. Shift and Mazars are aiming to introduce a unified approach for the benefit of both companies and their stakeholders. Recent events such as the garment factory tragedy in Bangladesh only serve to highlight just how much there still is to do.”