International Support for Effective Dispute Resolution Between Companies and Their Stakeholders: Assessing Needs, Interests, and Models

This report presents the results of interview-based research aimed at identifying whether and how the international community could improve capacity for the effective mediation of disputes between businesses and those affected by their operations. It seeks to answer the questions:

• Is there benefit in developing some form of “international mediation facility” to support more dialogue-based resolution of disputes between companies and their stakeholders in society?
• Is it viable and practicable to do so?
• If so, what kind of roles or functions should such a “facility” have, and what form should it take to best perform those functions?

This research was conducted by the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights (Special Representative), Professor John Ruggie. In 2008, the Special Representative proposed, and the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) endorsed, a three-pillar framework for understanding and addressing business and human rights challenges. It consists of the State duty to protect human rights against abuse by third parties, including business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and the need for greater access to remedy where abuses nevertheless occur. The HRC subsequently requested the Special Representative to take forward this “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework and to “operationalise” it. The ultimate product of this “operationalisation” is a set of “Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights” which the Special Representative will present formally to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011.