Markus Spiske

Human Rights & Grievance Mechanisms

Multinational corporate activity may contribute to or cause environmental abuses and the violation of individuals, workers and communities’ human rights, particularly in the Global South. When taking legal action to hold companies accountable for their misconduct, victims are often confronted with weak governance, inadequate legal frameworks, and/or poor implementation of regulation and court decisions.

A grievance mechanism is a formal complaint process. It is accessible to individuals, employees, communities, or civil society organisations that are facing adverse impacts from specific business activities and operations. They are occasionally referred to as ‘complaint procedures,’ ‘redress systems,’ or ‘accountability mechanisms.’

Although grievance mechanisms are not a substitute for legal action, such as court cases, they can be used by victims of human rights abuses and other violations by companies as a way to seek remedy.

SOMO has extensive experience with Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms and helping groups to prepare complaints. You will find below all the information available for making non-judicial grievance mechanisms.