Business and human rights: More than charity, but about dignity

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By Lucy Peace Nantume

In the past month, I joined dialogues with stakeholders in Busoga, Albertine, and the Kampala Metropolitan region to discuss how business activities are shaping the lives and rights of citizens.

These engagements are part of the Business and Human Rights project I am privileged to serve, aimed at advancing respect for human rights by businesses. These conversations have revealed a recurring and profound question: What does “Business and Human Rights” really mean?

This question is not just theoretical. It’s a question that cuts to the heart of how businesses operate, how communities thrive, and how we define progress in our society. It’s a question that challenges us to rethink the role of business, not as a benefactor, but as a responsible partner in upholding human dignity.

What business and human rights really means

When people hear the phrase Business and Human Rights (BHR), many think of corporate donations, charity drives, or companies distributing branded T-shirts in schools. But BHR is not charity. It is about something far deeper: the responsibility of businesses to respect the dignity and rights of every person affected by what they do.

Why this matters

Businesses have the power to transform lives. They create jobs, build infrastructure, and drive innovation. But let’s not ignore the other side of the story, the harm that can occur when businesses prioritise profit over people.

• What happens when families are displaced from their land without fair compensation?
• What happens when workers are underpaid or forced to endure unsafe conditions?
• What happens when rivers and wetlands are polluted by industrial waste?
• What happens when women are excluded from opportunities or face harassment and discrimination in the workplace?

These are not hypothetical scenarios. They are real, lived experiences for many people in Uganda and beyond. And they are why the conversation about business and human rights is not just important, it is urgent.

The core principles

 At the heart of the global framework for Business and Human Rights are three simple but transformative principles:

1. Governments have the duty to protect people from business-related abuses.
2. Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights by avoiding harm and addressing any abuses they cause or contribute to.

3. Victims of business-related harm must have access to justice and remedies, ensuring that accountability is not reserved for the powerful but extends to the vulnerable.

Beyond charity


Traditional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) often looks like donations to a local school or a new borehole for a community. These are welcome, but they do not answer deeper questions:

• Are children working in your supply chain instead of sitting in that school?
• Are your employees treated with dignity and fairness?
• Are you safeguarding the environment for future generations?

BHR is not about businesses “giving back”. It is about businesses doing no harm in the first place.

Uganda took a bold step in 2021 by adopting a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. This signalled recognition that our economic growth must not trample human dignity. But a plan is only as good as its implementation. The real work lies in ensuring that businesses, communities, and leaders bring these commitments to life.

This is not just the government’s responsibility. It’s a shared responsibility that requires businesses to embed respect for human rights into their operations and for communities to hold them accountable.

This work is not abstract for me. It is one of the assignments that occupies much of my time. I have seen the positive change when businesses, communities, and government work together to uphold dignity. I have also witnessed the pain when they do not. That is why I believe we, as consumers, workers, leaders, and citizens, must understand what Business and Human Rights really mean.

So, the next time you hear the phrase Business and Human Rights, don’t think of charity. Think about accountability. Think about dignity. Think of shaping an economy where growth and human rights go hand in hand.

The writer is a lawyer and human rights practitioner. She currently serves as a Business and Human Rights Expert at Enabel. She also works in transformational leadership and family-life mentorship.