Tulia Machado-Helland on the UN Business and Human Rights Forum

By Tulia Machado-Helland, Head of Human Rights at Storebrand Asset Management

There is limited understanding of the financial sector as a sustainability stakeholder among the participants in the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, but there is growing interest in the role that investors can play towards ensuring that human rights are respected by companies and protected by governments.

However, business trends in many areas – such as in the arms industry and in land acquisition – mean that investors are likely to face significant pressure now and in the near future, to ensure that companies they are invested in, meet their responsibilities on human rights due diligence. Investors have also a big role to play in engaging governments, to ensure that adequate standards and safeguards are in place. The Forum offers investors an opportunity to engage with government representatives, civil society and companies to achieve this.

The investor’s voice has been gaining momentum at the Forum over the past years and the insights from the panels will be reported to the UN Human Rights Council in June. I would encourage more investors to attend the UN Forum to participate in discussions and increase collaboration with other stakeholders on the role that investors can play in supporting rights-respecting business conduct.

With human rights rising on the investment and business agenda, I recently had the privilege of engaging with diverse stakeholders on these issues by participating in two panels where I shared insights on Storebrand Asset Management’s approach and discussed how companies can improve responsible business conduct.

Arms industry and human rights due diligence panel

The arms industry has taken centre stage in the news over the past years and is equally high on the investment radar. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute noted that arms and military services revenues by the 100 largest companies in the industry rose 4.2 per cent to $632 billion in 2023. However, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights highlighted that despite existing regulatory frameworks, arms products and services are still being exported to states where they are used to commit severe human rights violations, including potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. With global tensions rising and investors seeking to mitigate portfolio exposure to high-risk arms industries, the need for recognized legal and normative frameworks to ensure human rights is more pressing than ever.

Joining me on the panel were rights holders, civil society members, government representatives, and experts. In this session, we shed light on frameworks for ensuring adequate human rights due diligence, responsible arms trade, and access to remedies for victims.

I provided insights, from the perspective of being responsible for human rights at a financial institution, about Storebrand’s proprietary process for collecting and analysing data, and explained our norms-based and product-based screening processes for the arms industry. I also addressed the challenging question of whether the arms industry can be categorized as “sustainable” and invited grassroots organizations to collaborate more effectively with investors. The contributions were met with positive feedback among panellists and in the audience.

Securing Indigenous Peoples’ rights panel

I also participated on a panel discussion on Indigenous Peoples' land rights, alongside representatives from Indigenous communities, governments, and the UN. The session explored how land acquisition should be integrated into business human rights due diligence, before and after obtaining business licences to operate in Indigenous Peoples’ territories, and the measures governments must take to protect these rights.

In this panel, I emphasized the importance of policy commitments and due diligence processes based on the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. I stressed the need for companies to verify states’ own processes, ensuring that they have consulted and obtained consent from all affected communities; and guaranteeing just and fair redress to avoid contributing to violations committed by the states, before accepting any concessions or permits to operate. Companies should also conduct their own due diligence identifying indigenous lands and resources as well as engage with rights holders for a proper FPIC process. This contribution was also met with positive feedback from different stakeholders, including indigenous people representatives.