Main legal sources and principles

Companies operating in volatile zones face many legal and reputational risks related to their operation within the bounds of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights Law (HR). Adherence to essential Human Rights principles can, moreover, help to reduce potential security threats and increase acceptance of companies' operations.

International Humanitarian Law

• Geneva Conventions 1949
• Additional Protocols 1977

Human Rights

• Universal Declaration on Human Rights
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Selected HR conventions

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Labour rights

• Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
• Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
• Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
• Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
• Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
• Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
• ILO Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No. 169)