Human Rights Impact Assessment in Practice: The Case of the Health Rights of Women Assessment Instrument (HeRWAI)

Incorporating human rights into the corporate domain: due diligence, impact assessment and integrated risk management

“…Proponents of HRIAs are persuaded that the tool serves as a means to improve development and policy outcomes by focusing on the rights of affected stakeholders and internalizing a system of processes to identify and, consequently, mitigate rights impacts (Harrison 2011;Bakker et al 2009). In particular, Bakker et al (2009) contend that HRIAs can assist in drawing connections between impacts and development interventions.…”

“…In particular, Bakker et al (2009) contend that HRIAs can assist in drawing connections between impacts and development interventions. Proponents also suggest that HRIAs can: (1) improve decisionmaking by ensuring that stakeholders are informed and empowered; and (2) promote accountability in the policymaking and development process (Maassarani et al 2007;de Beco 2009).…”

“…While these are positive developments, some quarters of the academic and practitioner communities have expressed concerns about the utility of stand-alone HRIA tools, the adequacy of current methodologies, the potential for duplication of processes if other forms of impact assessment are performed concurrently, and the dearth of appropriate indicators (NomoGaia 2012;Bakker et al 2009;Harrison 2011;Andreassen & Sano 2007). In addition, the authors of this paper have concerns about the ability of HRIA methodologies to take into account collectively exercised rights, for example, the right to free, prior and informed consent, owing to the tool's strong individualist lens.…”

Extreme energy, ‘fracking’ and human rights: a new field for human rights impact assessments?

“…Recent academic literature on HRIAs 88 has identified a number of distinct advantages of such assessments over broader SIAs. With recent UN-based developments regarding the human rights due diligence obligations for companies, 89 particularly in the extractive industries, the HRIA methodology is valuable because it uses a set of norms and standards that are based on shared values and, therefore, represents a solid normative foundation on which to base impact assessments.…”

Uranium mining and First Peoples: the nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies

“…One possible pathway forward that has been advanced in the literature is the process of human rights impact assessment (HRIA) (Harrison, 2011;Bakker et al, 2009;de Beco, 2009;NomoGaia, 2012). It is proposed that future work in this area focus on the strengths and weaknesses of SIA and HRIA, as well as the development and application of Indigenous rights instruments and the subsequent incorporation of human rights considerations into corporate decision-making processes.…”