Human rights aren’t the first set of risks that companies and their risk managers think of when completing their risk registers. In a world of many competing risks (eg cyber security, bribery, fraud, supply chain breakdown, power outages), human rights are usually low on the list; and that is even if they have made it to the list.

However, if we rephrase the issue into a question, it may stimulate a rethink. “How is your company dealing with the risks that ensure it doesn’t harm people?

Now this may lead to the answer “oh is that what you mean by human rights? Well, we have health and safety on our risk register, so we have dealt with it after all, right?” Probably not! As we re...