The adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) marked a milestone in shaping the discourse on corporate accountability for human rights. The UNGPs propose that corporations engage in human rights due diligence (HRDD). Ever since, scholars have been evaluating HRDD as its implementation, and they have raised criticisms of it on conceptual and empirical grounds. We argue that the basis for these criticisms lies in the fact that HRDD is conceptualized and implemented at present primarily as a management process.This, however, is problematic, because it ultimately jeopardizes the primary objective of HRDD: to eradicate business-related human rights abuses. The purpose of the paper is to respond to the scholarly call for HRDD implementation that stresses genuine dialogue and prioritizes rightsholders. In so doing, we conceptualize HRDD as an inclusive, sequential, and deliberative process. Understanding HRDD as a deliberative process puts rightsholders front and center, which is in line with the moral foundations of business and human rights. Our deliberative approach to HRDD advocates for a shift towards more inclusive processes that empower affected individuals and communities, ensuring that their voices are heard and – most importantly – that their insights are integrated into decision-making processes.
