11 chains or communities around their operations. Indeed, experience shows that enterprises can and do infringe human rights where they are not paying sufficient attention to this risk and how to reduce it. The International Bill of Human Rights and the core ILO conventions provide basic reference points for businesses in starting to understand what human rights are; how their own activities may affect them; and how to ensure that they prevent or mitigate the risk of adverse impact. Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide provides a range of examples under each human right.6 (See also box 2 for examples of different ways in which enterprises may be involved in adverse human rights impact.) Q 4. What additional human right standards may be relevant? Depending on the circumstances of their operations, enterprises may need to consider additional standards beyond the International Bill of Human Rights and core ILO conventions, in order to ensure that they act with respect for human rights: for instance, if their activities could pose a risk to the human rights of individuals belonging to specific groups or populations that require special attention. Certain United Nations human rights instruments have elaborated the human rights of persons belonging to such groups or populations, recognizing that they may need particular accommodation or protection in order to fully enjoy human rights without discrimination (see box 1). Vulnerable individuals, groups and communities are those that face a particular risk of being exposed to discrimination and other adverse human rights impact. People who are disadvantaged, marginalized or excluded from society are often particularly vulnerable. Examples may be children, women, indigenous peoples, people belonging to ethnic or other minorities, or persons with disabilities. Vulnerability can depend on context. For example, while women are more vulnerable to abuse than men in some contexts, they are not necessarily vulnerable in all contexts. Conversely, in some situations women from marginalized groups may be doubly vulnerable: because they are marginalized and because they are women. In armed conflict, the standards of international humanitarian law apply to business enterprises as well as to others. On the one hand, international humanitarian law grants protection to business personnel—provided they Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide (Monash University, the International Business Leaders Forum, OHCHR and the United Nations Global Compact, 2008). Available from www.ohchr.org. 6