84
as the commentary to Guiding Principle 24 states, “severity” should not be seen
as an absolute concept, but as relative to the other human rights impact the
enterprise has identified. Where possible, enterprises are advised to engage
with those whose rights are at risk in order to ensure they have understood
what impact they may have.
Depending on the operational context, the most severe human rights impact may
be faced by persons belonging to groups that are at higher risk of vulnerability
or marginalization, such as children, women, indigenous peoples, or people
belonging to ethnic or other minorities. If the enterprise decides it needs to
prioritize its responses to human rights impacts, it should take into account the
vulnerability of such groups and the risk that a delayed response to certain
impacts could affect them disproportionately.
Q 89. What does this mean for impact that is not deemed
severe?
Addressing the issues deemed as most severe in no way implies that other
human rights impact identified through the enterprise’s due diligence process do
not need to be addressed. Rather, this principle is about sequencing responses
in the event that not all impact can be addressed at once. An enterprise is still
accountable for addressing all its actual and potential human rights impact. It
is also worth keeping in mind that even impact that initially is not considered
severe may evolve into more serious abuses (or be perceived to do so) if not
addressed properly.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents