FAQ

On June 16, 2011, following a six-year multi-stakeholder consultation process, the United Nations, by its Human Rights Council, unanimously adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). These guiding principles represent a benchmark in the field of business and human rights and the first initiative in this area endorsed by the UN. The UNGPs clearly define the roles of states and businesses. They establish a framework based on three pillars: Protect - Respect - Remedy. According to the UNGPs, businesses are not, and should not be, responsible for everything. States must protect human rights by establishing appropriate legislation and institutions and ensuring their effective implementation. Businesses must respect human rights. States and businesses must implement mechanisms to remedy human rights violations when they occur: complaints systems must be in place and operational, easily accessible and understandable to complainants (eight effectiveness criteria are defined by the UNGPs), complaints must be processed efficiently, and solutions must be fair and non-reprisal. A company's role regarding respect of human rights is therefore more or less difficult depending on the effectiveness of the countries in which it operates in protecting human rights. Hence the importance and necessity for companies to conduct a human rights risk assessment related to their activities by country. In some countries, such as France, due diligence regarding respect for human rights is a legal obligation for certain companies with more than a certain number of employees (law of March 27, 2017). The European Union has adopted this principle of due diligence in matters of sustainability and specifically respect for human rights in a directive of 13 June 2024 (EU 2024/1760). The role of a company in human rights, according to the UNGPs, is structured around three pillars: Commitment to respect human rights – This commitment is based on international human rights standards, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and associated covenants, and the UNGPs. Human Rights due diligence – A due diligence plan must include an analysis of the company's human rights risks and the identification of its more salient risks, one or more action plans, monitoring of their effective implementation, training to prevent the materialization of identified risks, etc. Access to remedy – If human rights violations are observed, access to just remedies must be organized. This always involves establishing easily accessible grievance mechanisms.

Due diligence is the process of verifying and assessing certain aspects, particularly certain risks, before and during a project. Many types of due diligence exist. This term often refers to pre-project financial due diligence, which involves verifying and analyzing the financial risks associated with the company or project one is about to acquire. There is also ethical compliance due diligence, which involves verifying the ethical risks that could be associated with a supplier or partner with whom one is about to work. Human rights due diligence is another area of ​​focus: a process of identifying the human rights risks related to your activities and projects, defining resulting action plans, and monitoring their effective implementation. Human rights due diligence corresponds to an expectation of "reasonable vigilance," for example, in the French law on the duty of vigilance of March 27, 2017.

Respect for human rights in relation to the ocean covers two main areas: 1- Respect for the rights of workers at sea and on the sea, which includes seafarers and fishermen. This encompasses their labor rights, their working and living conditions, and fundamental human rights. To achieve this, respect for human rights also involves combating illegal fishing activities, human trafficking, and other related activities. 2- Respect for the rights of coastal communities: This includes assessing the impacts on their land, fishing grounds (where applicable), coastal areas such as mangroves, and other similar environments.

Referring to the ocean in the singular means recognizing and acknowledging that a single global maritime system exists, because all the world's ocean spaces are interconnected. Therefore, what impacts one part of the planet, sooner or later, impacts another. Everything is linked, and we are all connected by a single ocean.