51 and be prepared to accept any consequences—reputational, financial or legal—of the continuing connection”. The above applies to existing business relationships. An enterprise may also be considering entering into a new relationship with a third party which it identifies has been involved in human rights abuses in the past. In this case, the enterprise should first assess whether it is likely to be able to use its relationship to mitigate the occurrence of such abuse in connection with its own operations, products or services and try to ensure—through the terms of contract or other means—that it has the leverage to do so. If it assesses that this is possible, then the risks of entering the relationship may be deemed acceptable, provided the enterprise then pursues action to mitigate them. If it assesses that it will not be able to mitigate the risk of human rights abuses by the other party or that the risks to human rights are simply too high, it will be ill-advised to enter the relationship. Q 47. How should an enterprise approach complex situations with no obvious or easy solutions? In some situations it will be relatively straightforward to prevent or mitigate potential human rights abuse that has been identified. In others, it may be more difficult. If complex challenges arise, they will often necessitate greater participation of senior management in reaching decisions on appropriate action. Decision processes should then draw on all the relevant expertise available within the enterprise. Moreover, in many cases an enterprise will benefit from independent, trusted expert advice from outside in helping it reach decisions that are credible and seen by others as credible, including from a human rights perspective. There may be respected sources of advice within the Government, national human rights institutions, civil society, multi-stakeholder initiatives, etc. If direct engagement with those affected is feasible without exposing them or others to more human rights abuse, this should be pursued. QUESTIONS TO ASK What lines of responsibility and accountability exist for addressing our findings of potential human rights impact? What systematized approaches might help us integrate findings from our assessments across the relevant business units or functions, so that we can take effective action?