Over the last six years, the world has witnessed a 70% rise in the number of countries posing an ‘extreme risk’ to the human rights of their populations, according to the annual Human Rights Risk Atlas, released by risk analysis company Maplecroft, which reveals the figure has leapt from 20 in 2008 to 34 this year…“…Worker’s rights are seriously compromised, rural and indigenous communities face grave violations related to land grabs and forced displacement, particularly where their land ownership is not formally documented. Increasingly, repressive or corrupt governments clamp down on human rights, particularly freedom of expression, to maintain their grip on power and economic control. Companies cannot rely on robust governance and remedy structures in these markets …which means the onus is on them directly to implement appropriate levels of due diligence and mitigating action.” [says Lizabeth Campbell, Maplecroft’s Head of Societal Risk and Human Rights]…