Businesses should support and respect the protection of proclaimed human rights.Businesses should not cause negative impacts on human rights through their own activities or contribute to the cause of such impacts and should handle a potential impact that may arise. Even if the Business did not contribute to the creation of such impacts, it should try to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts that are directly related with the activities or products that are a result of its business relationships, and with services it offers.

Supporting human rights means voluntary actions in this regard. These actions may include the company’s core business activities, strategic social investments and philanthropy, advocacy and public policy engagement, partnerships and collective actions. However, supporting human rights does not replace respecting human rights. In practice, respecting human rights is generally closely related to supporting them.

You can learn more about Principle 1 here. 

The second principle is about being implicated in a human rights abuse that another company, government, individual or other group is causing. The risk of complicity in a human rights abuse is particularly high in areas with weak governance and/or where human rights abuse is widespread. However, the risk of complicity exists in every sector and every country.

You can learn more about Principle 2 here.

Freedom of association implies the right of all employees and all workers to freely and voluntarily establish and join groups of their choice. These groups have the right to carry out their activities, including supporting and defending their occupational interests, without any intervention. Collective bargaining is a voluntary process or activity through which employers and workers discuss and negotiate their relations, including the terms and conditions of work. (International Labor Organization, ILO) The UN Global Compact does not make it an obligation for companies to change their current employer-employee relationship structure, and it does not provide any opinion on if a certain national law is in compliance with the international standards. The International Organization of Employers (IOE) developed The Employer’s Guide to the Global Compact to clarify what labor principles mean for businesses.

You can learn more about Principle 3 here.

Forced and compulsory labor includes slavery; bonded labor or debt bondage; physical abduction or kidnapping; physical confinement in the work location; the work or service of prisoners if they are hired to or placed at the disposal of companies involuntarily and without supervision of public authorities; work required to punish the freedom of opinion or expression of views; forced overtime; the lodging, leasing, non-payment of deposits (financial or personal documents) for employment; induced indebtedness.

You can learn more about Principle 4 here.

Forced and compulsory labor includes slavery; bonded labor or debt bondage; physical abduction or kidnapping; physical confinement in the work location; the work or service of prisoners if they are hired to or placed at the disposal of companies involuntarily and without supervision of public authorities; work required to punish the freedom of opinion or expression of views; forced overtime; the lodging, leasing, non-payment of deposits (financial or personal documents) for employment; induced indebtedness.

ILO Convention No. 182 requires Governments to give priority to eliminating the worst forms of child labor (slavery, prostitution, illegal activities, and works that may harm the health, safety or morals of the child) undertaken by children.

You can learn more about Principle 5 here.

Discrimination in respect of employment and occupation means treating people differently or less favorably because of characteristics that are not related to their merit or the inherent requirements of the job, such as race, color, gender, religion, political views, national extraction, social origin, age, disability, HIV/AIDS status, trade union membership, and sexual orientation. Discrimination can arise in a variety of work-related activities such as recruitment, remuneration, hours of work, security of tenure, job assignments, performance assessment and advancement, maternity protection, training and opportunities and occupational safety and health.

You can learn more about Principle 6 here.

Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on the United Nations Environment and Development defines precautionary approach as follows: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”

In summary, when there is a serious and irreversible threat for the health and the environment, a precaution is better than a treatment even if such threat is not completely understood or detected. Businesses should support economic measures to protect the environment and should not use scientific uncertainties as an excuse to postpone actions to be taken for environmental problems.

You can learn more about Principle 7 here.

“Businesses and the private sector should increase self-regulation, guided by appropriate codes, charters and initiatives integrated into all elements of business planning and decision-making, and fostering openness and dialogue with employees and the public.”

Corporate environmental responsibility is now seen as a core element of the business world. Acting responsibly for the environment when doing business supports long term sustainability of the business in a world where resources are becoming increasingly limited, in addition to contributing to risk management, and encourages innovation. All shareholders including clients, investors, governments, employees and NGOs expect business to minimize their environmental impacts, and create positive impacts, if possible.

You can learn more about Principle 8 here.

Environmentally friendly technologies protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutes.

You can learn more about Principle 9 here.

The 10th principle commits UN Global Compact participants not only to avoid bribery, extortion and other forms of corruption, but also to develop policies and solid programs to address corruption. The United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention is the legal base to the 10th Principle.

You can learn more about Principle 10 here.