"Best Practice Note for Business Human Rights Defenders" May 2025

This Note provides inspiration, practical policy, and implementation examples for businesses, particularly consumer goods companies, to help inform continuous improvement measures to respect Defender rights in line with the Guiding Principles...

The HRC and FPC invited its stakeholder community to review this Note prior to publication and share their feedback. Comments from the organisations who responded to this invitation are included below in full and without amendment...

Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur: Businesses not only have a responsibility to respect human rights, they also have a critical role to play in that regard...CGF's 'Best Practice Note' can only do so if considered as a starting point, rather than an achievement...A real understanding of what 'zero tolerance' means and of the urgency to protect human rights defenders now needs to be demonstrated by leadership and commitment at the highest level...

Oxfam America: The note remains largely aspirational and lacks a clear commitment from members...The absence of any reference to strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) is concerning...Members need to take a clear position to not initiate, support, or be complicit in SLAPPs or other legal actions aimed at suppressing dissent...The note focuses essentially on supply chain risks, overlooking threats from companies' own actions...

Rainforest Action network: Zero-tolerance means companies must use their leverage to address the root causes, and, depending on the situation, press for the prevention, cessation, and remedy of attacks against HRDs...The 'Best Practice Note' is a symbolic step forward, but falls short of the actions needed to address the crisis promptly and effectively...Best practice must be demonstrated through action, not disclaimers that water down commitments...

Zero Tolerance Initiative: Human rights defenders (HRDs) often face intimidation, violence and criminalisation when companies fail to respect human rights in their value chains...Zero-tolerance means companies must use their leverage to address the root causes, press for prevention, cessation and remedy of attacks against HRDs across their value chains...Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is a right of Indigenous Peoples recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples...