A Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) is a way of conducting a structured analysis of the potential impacts and concerns regarding an initiative. Some resources on HRIAs are noted below. There are many different models and approaches, any of which might be well-suited to an initiative’s needs. For example, a beneficiary assessment focuses on existing perceptions in a community.

Human rights consulting firm NomoGaia describes its core process as a risk assessment, which is less intensive than a full impact assessment. A risk assessment analyzes:

1. The right or rights impacted
2. All relevant rights holder groups
3. The severity of the potential impact
4. The probability of the potential impact or rights issue
5. The underlying causes of the risk
6. The nature and extent of the connection to the initiative or operation

 
Human Rights Due Diligence, elaborated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is another widely adopted approach. HRDD aims to “identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how [companies] address adverse human rights impacts.” The four components are:

1. Assessing actual and potential human rights impacts
2. Integrating the assessment findings and implementing measures to mitigate impacts
3. Tracking responses and outcomes
4. Communicating to all stakeholders and rights holders how impacts are being addressed

 
No one methodology is right for every instance. Depending on specific circumstances, the TNC team should pick one and proceed under the Principles of Self-Determination, Collaborative Relationships and Overarching Good Faith. The TNC team should continuously conduct research and consult experts, and then share what it learns with the IPLC in dialogue and collaboration, making no firm conclusions until the IPLC’s perspective is fully incorporated.

Impact assessments and prioritized areas for concern will be used throughout the lifespan of the initiative to design a Conflict Resolution Plan, choose focus areas for implementation (see Implementation Module) and develop indicators for monitoring, evaluation and adaptation (see Monitoring, Evaluation & Adaptation Module).

Good Practices for a Human Rights Impact Assessement Process

Prioritize (by category if needed)
Consultation should be comprehensive, but people can lose momentum if there’s too much disparate information. If there are a large number of issues, prioritize by category to allow your approach to be both comprehensive and concise.

Listen to the IPLC
Prioritization should flow from two sources:

1. What is the IPLC most concerned about? A potential impact may become a priority if it affects something valued by the IPLC.
2. What are the initiative’s most important impacts in terms of social, cultural, environmental, economic or regulatory changes?

 
Expect the assessment to evolve
Make sure to leave room for all parts of the assessment—including the IPLC’s views about what’s most important—to evolve as new information comes in and an IPLC becomes more informed about the initiative’s impacts.

Consider multiple perspectives and consequences
Any area of concern will have an initial most obvious impact. A methodical assessment unpacks the impacts and considers short- and long-term consequences, different perspectives, trade-offs and countervailing interests. TNC teams should consider the initiative broadly and its consequences in light of the rights outlined in the UNDRIP, such as self-determination, rights to territory and protection against forcible removal, rights to culture and protection against forced assimilation, and rights to self-government and financial and technical assistance.