An effective grievance mechanism is an essential addition for any responsible company to its tools for monitoring, auditing and stakeholder engagement. But what exactly makes a grievance mechanism effective? This guidance aims to help answer that question. It provides a tool for companies and their local stakeholders jointly to devise rightscompatible, effective grievance mechanisms that maximise the opportunities to achieve sustainable solutions to disputes. A rights compatible mechanism integrates human rights norms and standards into its processes and is based on principles of nondiscrimination, equity, accountability, empowerment and participation. It can deal with most kinds of grievances (bar those raising criminal liability), including – but by no means limited to those that reflect substantive human/labour rights concerns. Ensuring it is rightscompatible in both its process and outcomes is vital to the mechanism’s credibility and legitimacy, both locally and
internationally, as well as to its potential success in practice.
Access article here