Kyiv, 10 December 2022 — Today, on 10 December, Human Rights Day, experts from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine joined the Human Rights Non-Conference 2022 to hold a human rights protection master class on “Business, Human Rights and War: Lessons the Society Has Learned and Ways to Find the Right Solutions in Difficult Times”. This is the seventh Human Rights Non-Conference taking place at the initiative of the Centre for Civil Liberties, which brings together the human rights community, activists and representatives of the State to discuss the most pressing issues in the field of human rights protection.

During the master class, participants discussed human rights challenges that arose for businesses after the full-scale war in Ukraine started, as well as the companies’ response to them and the contribution they made to the observance of human rights in the context of the war. At the event, Olena Mytnyk, UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist, emphasized that observance of human rights in business is one of the key factors needed for the rapid economic recovery of Ukraine.

“This war is undermining the economic stability of Ukraine, and now it is necessary to find a solution for effective, fair and sustainable recovery. Human rights values should be at the core of such recovery plans, and civil society, human rights defenders and activists play a vital advocacy role on that front," said Olena Mytnyk.

At the master class, experts presented the results of the Business and Human Rights Context Assessment.* Supported by the Government of Japan, this study was designed to help companies, their suppliers and partners manage the potential and real risks of doing business during the war.

Every day, the war in Ukraine has a devastating effect on the lives of all Ukrainians, and undermines the country’s economic stability. To ensure sustainable recovery and growth, special attention should be paid to human rights protection, gender equality and non-discrimination when implementing the emergency measures and early recovery plans. The relevant priorities are provided for in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The first results of the study showed that since the start of the war the safety of workers has become one of the key priorities for businesses, often leaving many human rights issues overlooked.

In particular, a representative sociological survey carried out for this study showed that the most frequently mentioned violations of labour rights were failure to pay or only partial payment of wages, cases of forced leave, and significant safety risks. However, as evidenced by focus group interviews, the majority of Ukrainian companies are trying to minimize the impact of war on their activities and ensure observance of the rights of their workers. Some large companies have conducted internal analysis to determine the actual state of human rights observance and identify major problems therewith. However, the war has revealed the failure of many officially registered company policies in the extreme conditions, and that these policies now require revision.

The human rights protection master class became a platform for discussing the identified challenges and possible solutions to overcome them.

General information: 

UNDP in Ukraine promotes human rights norms and values in Ukraine, paying particular attention to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In 2021, under the Human Rights for Ukraine Project, UNDP launched a pilot initiative “Business and Human Rights in Ukraine — Accelerating Sustainable and Equitable Development through Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” to identify baselines, gaps and opportunities and to fully understand the current situations of rights holders and duty bearers.

In 2022, UNDP launched a new global project “Human Rights Due Diligence in Global Supply Chains: Leveraging the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for a Just Recovery”, funded by the Government of Japan.

* The context assessment study will be published and available for review by the end of 2022.