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.

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.

This website was part of our Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms programme. This programme focused on making non-judicial grievance mechanisms accessible and effective for affected individuals, workers, communities and civil society organisations seeking to prevent, stop and remediate negative impacts caused by business activities

Contents

• What are grievance mechanisms?
• Why use a grievance mechanism?
• Who can file a complaint?
• When to use a grievance mechanism against a business?
• How can I file a complaint?