Our Approach
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Explore the sections below to learn more about how and why we built the Guide, and the ideas that shaped it.
Conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs) are characterized by “the presence of armed conflict, widespread violence or other risks of harm to people”.[1] These environments present serious challenges for companies—and material risks for investors. Beyond the elevated likelihood of severe human rights and environmental harms, CAHRAs expose companies to a complex web of regulatory, legal, operational, and reputational risks, including sanctions, export and import restrictions, anti-money laundering violations, potential civil or criminal liability, expropriation of assets, and advocacy campaigns.[2]
In recognition of high risk areas, the UNGPs call for heightened human rights and environmental due diligence (hHREDD). This means companies must go beyond standard human rights due diligence practices to consider their impacts on conflict dynamics, align their operations with the severity of the risks involved, and adapt their stakeholder engagement strategies accordingly. For each Effectiveness Criteria, this Guide contains a dedicated section on key considerations for stakeholder engagement in these contexts. Even before this step, companies should have already conducted conflict analysis across their value chain. Resources like Responsible Investment Association Australasia's (RIAA) Investor Toolkit on Human Rights and Armed Conflict, and the Investor Pilot Project on CAHRAs developed by PeaceNexus, the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, and Heartland Initiative, are good starting points. Additionally, considerable work has been done on stakeholder engagement in CAHRAs within the international development and peacebuilding communities (e.g., Memorandum on Stakeholder Engagement in Conflict Contexts, Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Conflict Prevention & Peacebuilding: A Manual, ICRC Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), which can be adapted for corporate purposes. [1] OECD, “OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Third Edition” (OECD, 2016), 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264252479-en. [2] Heartland Initiative, Wespath, and Schroders, “The Saliency Materiality Nexus,” September 6 2024, https://www.schroders.com/en-us/us/individual/insights/the-saliency-materiality-nexus/. |
