Human rights due diligence is a critical part of fulfilling the “corporate responsibility to respect” asdefined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). It is an ongoing, cyclical process that takes account of the dynamic nature of human rights situations.

It is also a key tool in the global efforts to Build Back Better, since it enables companies to focus their attention on the most severe human rights risks and identify the human rights impact of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A number of governments (of EU and EEA member states in particular) have recently introduced , or have announced their intention to consider the introduction of, legislative regimes to require companies and corporate groups to carry out human rights due diligence. These kinds of regimes are referred to as“mandatory human rights due diligence” (mHRDD) regimes.

Momentum is building within the European Union for an EU-wi de approach to mandatory human rights due diligence. Work has begun within DG Justice on a new legislative initiative which would require companies to carry out human rights due diligence as a legal duty or standard ofcare.

mHRDD regimes have a potentially vital role to play as part of a “smart mix” of measures to effectivelyfoster business respect for human rights, as called for in the UNGPs.

Working towards more harmonised approaches to mHRDD is potentially useful, to reduce the potential for overlapping and inconsistent regulatory requirements, to address the problem of gaps between regimes , and to facilitate business compliance.

However, there is not one, single model for mHRDD regimes. On the contrary, when it comes to translating the ideas set out in the UNGPs into a legally binding regime, there are many different variants, meaning that when people are discussing mHRDD regimes they are potentially discussing a wide range of legal and regulatory possibilities.