Human rights

We aim to respect human rights in the way we do business, and to advance those rights with the power of technology.

Our commitment and approach

Microsoft aspires to leadership in business and human rights, and to serve as a catalyst for action by others—in the technology sector and beyond.

Class-leading due diligence

We aim to conduct best-in-class human rights impact assessments on our salient human rights actions, and emerging trends in business and human rights.

Rights-aware decision making

We’re deploying an integrated approach to human rights decision making across key aspects of Microsoft.

Proactive engagement

We use actions and public statements to demonstrate that Microsoft is an important voice, and advocate for the promotion of human rights.

Transparent leadership

We’re advancing transparency in our work and promoting human rights through increased disclosure and engagement.

FY18 highlights

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Global Network Initiative Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy steer our human rights work.

  • Learn our global human rights efforts
  • We’re working with the UN Human Rights Office to help them develop technology to predict, analyze, and respond to human rights situations. We’re also collaborating on joint projects and have provided a multi-million dollar grant to support ongoing efforts.

    Learn about our partnership
  • Learn about The Future Computed
  • Learn how we’re working together
  • Learn about our cybersecurity efforts

FY18 reporting resources

Microsoft Annual Human Rights Report (PDF)

Using the United Nations Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, we provide detailed disclosures for each of our salient human rights issues and activities through a downloadable report.

GNI Assessment 2015/2016 (PDF)

Download the Global Network Initiative Public Report on the 2015/2016 Independent Company Assessments.

Reports hub

Microsoft provides disclosures to help stakeholders evaluate how we’re meeting our commitments. We collect and share these reports in one place for easy reference and download.

2018 Global Reporting Initiative Index

The 2018 report content throughout this site contains disclosures from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement (PDF)

Download the report to learn about the actions we've taken to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chain.

Get the bigger picture

Explore key resources to learn more about our Global Human Rights Statement, our salient human rights issues, and our bi-annual digital trust reports.