National action plan on business and human rights in Colombia

Danish Institute for Human Rights supports a National Action Plan on Human Rights and Business in Colombia.

Since 2014, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP), an independent think tank founded in 1999 to produce knowledge and promote initiatives that contribute to the ending conflict and building sustainable peace in Colombia, have partnered to update the Human Rights and Business Country Guide to Colombia.

The process for updating the Country Guide to Colombia has run in parallel to the Colombian Government’s efforts to develop and launch a National Action Plan on Human Rights and Business (NAP). To support the development of the NAP process, DIHR and FIP developed a strategic alliance with the Presidential Advisory Office on Human Rights, responsible for developing the NAP, as well as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).

The alliance entailed a number of activities, including a training session hosted by DIHR and FIP for the Presidential Advisor’s Office, the NHRI and various government ministries in July 2015 on human rights and business, including the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) through NAPs.

FIP and DHR also provided strategic advice and a written submission with recommendations on the drat NAP document, and participated in the Government’s expert consultation in Cartagena, Colombia in October 2015.

On December 10 2015 - International Human Rights Day - President Manuel Santos of Colombia launched Colombia’s NAP, making it the first country of the Americas to launch one. DIHR applauds the efforts of the Government of Colombia to produce an ambitious and forward looking NAP, which covers all three pillars on the UNGPs, including remedy, and addresses the issue of monitoring, evaluation and accountability.

Since the launch of the NAP, DIHR and FIP hosted a multi-stakeholder forum on the Country Guide to Colombia in collaboration with the Presidential Advisors Office on March 10, 2016. Once finalized in May, these institutions will disseminate the Country Guide in an effort provide companies with guidance on how to respect human rights in Colombia, and to foster initiatives that help implement Colombia’s NAP in key sectors, including in extractives, agriculture and healthcare.