Does your government have a plan to prevent business-related human rights abuses?

Since 2011 the international community has converged on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) as the framework to address business-related human rights abuses. An essential part of the UNGPs is in underlining of a state’s duty to protect against human rights abuse by third parties.

Numerous actors including the UN Human Rights Council, the G20, national human rights institutions and business associations have issued a number of formal statements strongly encouraging governments to develop national actions plans (NAPs) to implement the UNGPs.

A new analysis from the Danish Institute of Human Rights shows, that as of November 2018, 21 states have already developed 22 NAPs (the UK has 2) while 11 more states are in the process of developing such plans. In addition, there are 15 states in which non-states initiatives are pushing for a NAP.

Need for more accountability

While there has been great enthusiasm for states to develop NAPs, there has been more limited focus on how successful current NAPs are in implementing the UNGPs and enhancing protections for rights-holders against business-related human rights abuse.

Without an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of current NAPs, covering the development process, content, and implementation process, there is danger that an accountability gap grows.

By studying all the published NAPs, a team from the Danish Institute of Human Rights has identified both positives and a number of areas of concerns regarding both process and content related issues.

By gathering the information in one place and highlighting relevant findings, the hope is to provide insights to professionals working with the development of future NAPs.