If your charity works in the field of human rights there are a range of issues that you may wish to select as the focus for positive screens, negative screens or engagement approaches.
Human Rights is an issue considered by many pooled investment funds and it can be incorporated into segregated mandates by many fund managers. Your charity may wish to consider factors such as:
. Whether companies operate in countries with oppressive regimes and if they have policies with regard to human rights
. Supply chain management
. Labour standards
. The treatment of stakeholders
. The governance and accountability of companies, for example in relation to issues of bribery and corruption
. A company’s involvement in the military sector
. If a company has been the subject of allegations of breaches of human rights principles
. If a company operates in developing countries, its activities in relation to the provision of medicines and marketing of breast milk substitutes
. Whether a company has any involvement in the pornography and adult entertainment industry
The relevance of the above issues and the extent you wish to incorporate them into your investments will depend upon the mission and activities of your charity.
As well as incorporating human rights issues into equity investments it may also be possible to incorporate it into investments in government bonds. For example, some products consider a country’s performance on human rights and the ratification of international conventions.
The Investor Alliance for Human Rights is a collective action platform for responsible investment that is grounded in respect for people’s fundamental rights.