Working with states on business

Under international human rights law states have obligations to protect against human rights abuses in the context of business activities. Nonetheless, business activities are too often connected to human rights abuses.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) articulate states’ obligations, as well as the responsibilities of businesses in this regard. An increasing number of states are developing policies and regulatory frameworks based on the UNGPs but progress is still slow.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights helps state actors develop, implement and promote policies and legislation to prevent and remedy human rights violations connected to business activities – both nationally and internationally.

We also collaborate with other national human righs institutions on how to use their mandate to analyse business-related human rights impacts, facilitate remedy and advise state actors.  And we engage internationally to improve normative frameworks and accountability systems on business and human rights and improve policy coherence.