Proforest took part in the 10th Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights for Latin America and the Caribbean

Proforest took part in the tenth edition of the Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Panama City, one of the region’s most important forums for discussing how businesses can respect human rights and build more responsible and resilient supply chains.

The event brought together businesses, civil society organisations, rights holders, governments and industry professionals at a time when the regional debate on due diligence is undergoing a fundamental shift: moving away from compliance with procedures to focus on verifiable actions and results.

From policy to outcomes: a shift in the due diligence approach

The central message to emerge from the forum reflects a significant shift in how human rights due diligence is understood and assessed: the emphasis is moving away from risk identification towards demonstrating concrete outcomes.

For years, much of corporate practice has focused on documenting the existence of policies, procedures and risk management processes. However, discussions in Panama reflected a growing consensus: success will no longer be measured by regulatory compliance or the existence of internal frameworks, but by the real changes that corporate action generates in people's lives — fewer harms, greater protection of human rights, and better tangible outcomes for the communities and workers involved.

This shift has a direct implication for how companies must approach their management systems: having a process in place is no longer sufficient; they must be able to demonstrate that it works.

Evidence and monitoring: the new standard for effectiveness

Building on this first message, the forum highlighted that monitoring and evaluation are becoming essential — no longer optional — components of effective due diligence.

There is a growing expectation that companies will be able to demonstrate, through verifiable evidence, that the mitigation measures implemented genuinely prevent negative impacts, rather than simply reporting their existence. This trend reinforces the need for organisations working across agricultural and forestry supply chains — such as Proforest's work alongside companies, producers, traders and communities — to build robust monitoring mechanisms into their strategies from the outset, rather than as an afterthought.

Access to remedy: an ongoing challenge

A third key message centred on access to remedy mechanisms, identified as one of the most pressing challenges discussed at the forum. Despite progress in risk identification and due diligence policy design, significant gaps remain in the ability of affected people to access effective, rights-based remedy processes when negative impacts occur.

The forum underlined the need to strengthen these mechanisms as an integral — rather than peripheral — part of corporate due diligence systems.