Our key takeaway: Time and time again, we are confronted with shocking statistics on attacks against human rights defenders (HRDs): 358 HRDs were killed in 2021, with 59% working on business-related abuses such as infringements on land and Indigenous peoples’ rights. This is a conservative estimate, with numbers projected to grow significantly due to the “twin crises of climate change and global inequality.” Oxfam shines the light on companies silencing HRDs either directly, through intimidation, criminalisation, and smear campaigns, but also through inaction - choosing not to act to protect HRDs despite being uniquely placed to actually advocate for increased protections for HRDs. Oxfam provides clear recommendations on how companies can do this, which - you guessed it - are grounded in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Some actions companies can take now include implementing robust human rights and environmental due diligence across the value chain; establishing effective grievance mechanisms that HRDs can easily access; using or building leverage to advocate for increased protections; engaging with key stakeholders to ensure their genuine participation in decision-making; and refusing to support lawsuits aimed at diminishing protections for HRDs. Companies can no longer take a ‘hands-off, it doesn’t concern me’ approach to attacks against HRDs. As Oxfam rightly puts it, “[t]he cost of inaction is too high, both for human rights defenders and for the bottom line.”
Oxfam have released 'Threats to human rights defenders: Six ways companies should respond' (April 2023):