Today SOMO, CEDHA and Cividep India have issued a new guide for civil society organisations (CSOs) entitled 'How to use the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in company research and advocacy'. This guide aims to provide concrete support, guidance and a uniform reference framework for CSOs in using the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

These Guiding Principles can be utilised to address the responsibility of business to respect human rights and thereby support local communities, workers and other rights holders to ensure fulfilment of their human rights. The guide provides a method for CSOs to use the Guiding Principles in company research and advocacy, and helps them to hold companies accountable for their corporate responsibility to respect internationally recognised human rights.

This guide is the second in a series of guidebooks for CSOs published by SOMO. The first guide addressed to topic of Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI); interactive processes in which business, CSOs and possibly other stakeholder groups interact to make business processes more socially and/or environmentally sustainable.

The new guide can be read online or downloaded. The MSI-guide can also be read online or downloaded here.