Private security governance and national action plans on business and human rights

This thematic supplement should be read in conjunction with ’National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: A Toolkit for the Development, Implementation, and Review of State Commitments to Business and Human Rights Frameworks’.

The private security industry has grown significantly over the past several decades, with private security personnel outnumbering police personnel in many countries across the globe. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights articulate the obligations of States to protect human rights and the responsibilities of businesses to respect human rights. This duty to protect applies with regard to all business entities, including private security providers (PSPs). States thus have an obligation to implement regulatory and legislative measures to ensure PSPs respect human rights.

This supplement provides in-depth information on the private security sector for those involved in the process of developing a National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights including states and other human rights stakeholders, such as national human rights institutions and civil society organisations as well as PSPs themselves. It provides information on how to evaluate the human rights risks and impacts of ongoing and potential private security operations and services. It also provides insight and guidance on the analysis of existing legal frameworks and policy responses for the development of new laws, policies, and practices that respond specifically to the human rights risks related to the private security industry.

Following an overview on human rights and the private security industry, the Supplement’s guidance consists of two main elements:

• The “NAP process” assists in mapping the specific parts of government that play a role in private security governance and oversight, and which therefore should contribute to the drafting of the NAP. Additionally, it provides suggestions for identifying and consulting with external stakeholder groups and communities when addressing private security in NAPs.

• The “National Baseline Assessment” (NBA) allows the user to analyse legal and policy gaps in the protection of human rights by the State which relate to the private security sector. In this way, it serves to inform the formulation and prioritisation of actions in a NAP.