More than ever, businesses must uphold their responsibility to respect human rights, remain resilient in their commitment to creating inclusive and safe workplaces, and act in accordance with international human rights law and standards, regardless of government actions or political climate,” the experts said in a statement.
On 21 January, the new US administration issued Executive Order 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
The order revokes affirmative action policies and directs a cessation of DEI practices across Federal employers, agencies, contractors, and subcontractors. It further “encourages” private sector businesses to follow suit, raising significant concerns for human rights experts about the potential human rights impacts, particularly for marginalised communities.
“We are deeply concerned by this unprecedented attack on DEI programmes, which the Executive Order defines as “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race and sex-based preferences.”
The experts were also alarmed by the US Department of Justice memo of 5 February 2025, titled “Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination Preferences.” The memo mandates a report to the Associate Attorney General by 1 March 2025 recommending measures to end these policies, and tasks the Civil Rights Division with investigating, eliminating, and penalising “illegal DEI practices” in the private sector and federally funded educational institutions.
“Reversing DEI initiatives not only violates the State’s duty to protect against discrimination, but it reverses years of progress made in the US in creating inclusive and safe workplaces for all, with a chilling effect on individuals, organisations and businesses wanting to move forward with anti-discrimination initiatives,” the experts said.
The measures will also reinforce structural inequalities and discrimination that civil society and the business community have worked hard to address, they warned.
DEI initiatives are not only an essential element of responsible business but also benefit enterprises, including in the US, they said.
Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights independently of the State’s ability or willingness to fulfil its own human rights obligations, the experts recalled. These responsibilities exist over and above compliance with national laws and regulations, they said.
“To navigate these challenging times, we encourage businesses to engage with civil society actors, and to collaborate with their peers to exercise joint leverage to produce positive change for all,” the experts said.