amfori is a global business association bringing together over 2,400 retailers, brands and associations from more than 40 countries. Our membership contains organizations of all sizes and sectors with a combined turnover of more than one trillion euros. We provide a forum where our members can collaborate to tackle different issues in the business and human rights discourse. amfori offers a wide range of human rights due diligence services such as amfori BSCI and the Country Due Diligence Tool. Acknowledging the need to remediate any adverse impacts that are discovered i.e. via our members due diligence efforts, amfori also supports its members in providing effective (access to) remedy.  On 3 February 2020, we convened a workshop addressing ‘Access to Remedy in Global Supply Chains’.

More than 80 people joined the discussion on  challenges, opportunities and future pathways of non-State-based grievance mechanisms. We came to the understanding that creating a mechanism that addresses human rights and environmental issues related grievances in the global supply chain is hard work, but it needs to be done and the efforts and experiences should be shared and integrated where possible. Continuous learning, collaboration between all stakeholders and trust-building will be key to ensure effective access to remedy in the future.

There was a common understanding that the current landscape of grievance mechanisms (GMs) consists of a myriad of different systems that is lacking oversight and is difficult to navigate. There is also too much distance geographically and culturally between impacted stakeholders and GMs. We need to think collaboratively of joint approaches considering that GMs need to serve a lot of different purposes which makes it challenging to install something that works for everybody, everywhere.

Understanding that there is a close relationship between the effectiveness of a GM and obtaining effective remedy, we discussed the ways in which remediation can be effective both in terms of process and outcome. The participants acknowledged that the current ‘effectiveness criteria’ included in Principle 31 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) are in essence good, but agreed that companies and stakeholders need more details and practical guidance on how to implement them adequately. Establishing what effective remedy looks like and who should provide it, remains a difficult task. Ideally, there is not one type of remedy provided but rather a bouquet of remedies. To assure a GM is truly effective, there needs to be trust in the GM. To build up this trust, the needs of future GM users should be at the heart of the GM design or revision process.

The discussions clarified that while the installation of a GM is an abstract exercise, GMs address issues that are far from abstract as you are dealing with human beings, their lives and how those lives are impacted by business activities. More independent research is necessary to assess the impact of business on specific stakeholders such as women, children and local communities and this will contribute to the necessary continuous learning around GMs.

GM owners need to make sure that setting up a GM is not a mere ticking box exercise and that the GM is actually used by the impacted stakeholders. Not receiving any complaints is not necessarily positive as it can be a major indication regarding the inaccessibility of a GM. When filing a complaint, an individual rights-holder puts his or her own existence in the balance while not having the same level of resources as the duty-bearers. Therefore, rebalancing this unbalanced situation should be the starting point of GMs by providing support and protection for rights-holders when pursuing remediation.

A lot of good practices are already established and there is a willingness to share, but there is currently no available platform to facilitate meaningful interaction. In the future, more transparency and collaboration on providing access to remedy will be required.  At the workshop, amfori launched the idea of a global and independent Access to Remedy (A2R) Hub where:

• Those who have commitments towards providing A2R can find guidance, tools and support.
• Those who monitor A2R can have access to data and information.
• Those impacted, are supported in their endeavors to be provided with effective remedy.
• Different access points are hosted in one place including an overview of existing grievance mechanisms and initiatives.
• Stories and challenges are shared and discussed.
• Intended stakeholder groups can participate in the debate and decision-making process.

The generosity we have seen in sharing experiences and resources assures us that solutions are available and merely need to be connected. amfori looks forward to engage with relevant stakeholders to further integrate different efforts and initiatives i.e. during upcoming events on this important topic, such as the Conference for Grievance Redress and Accountability Mechanisms. We also plan to build further on the different ideas that were raised during the workshop and invite everybody to continue the discussion on our Discussion Board. There is a great eagerness to (continue to) tackle this topic creating a momentum, let’s seize it together!

Editor’s note: the topic of grievance mechanisms and related aspects of the right to remedy have been explored in a number of Business and Human Rights Journal articles. Jonathan Kaufman and Katherine McDonnell have written on community-driven operational grievance mechanisms, Benjamin Thompson on effectiveness criteria for operational-level grievance mechanisms, and Karyn Keenan on the Canadian Corporate Responsibility Ombudsman. Two articles, one by Joana Nabuco and Leticia Aleixo, one by Baskut Tuncak, have explored different remedy-related issues following the collapse of the Doce river dam in Brazil. There is also a review by Manoj Kumar Sinha of a 2016 book on ‘The Role and Impact of Non-Judicial Grievance Mechanisms’. The latest issue of the journal is available here.

Charline Daelman is Social Sustainability Expert at amfori.