"Building capacity for the implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights"

Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises

In the present report, submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to Council resolutions 17/4 and 44/15, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises builds upon the findings drawn from the Working Group’s road map project, in which the Working Group proposed a course of action for accelerating the implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. Specifically, the Working Group addresses the persistent capacity and knowledge gaps among stakeholders – particularly States, businesses and rights holders – to understand how the State duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights in the context of business activities can be achieved in practice. Noting that one of the key action areas identified by the road map project calls for “more and better international cooperation and implementation support”, in the present report the Working Group surveys and assesses existing capacity-building measures and sets out recommendations on how the landscape of capacity-building efforts and initiatives can be shaped for the advancement of the business and human rights agenda. [...]

VIII. Recommendations

85. The Working Group recommends that States:

(a) Endorse a three-part approach to capacity-building at the international level in the field of business and human rights based on the Working Group’s road map, composed of:

(i) A global, multi-stakeholder institution or knowledge hub;

(ii) A help desk function at OHCHR;

(iii) A global capacity-building fund;

(b) Provide support, including funding, for the creation and functioning of knowledge hubs;

(c) Support the establishment and resourcing of a help desk at OHCHR;

(d) Create a global fund aimed at supporting capacity-building measures to accelerate the implementation of the Guiding Principles.

86. The Working Group recommends that the United Nations and other international actors:

(a) Ensure extensive support for the implementation of the Guiding Principles, including through bilateral assistance and in the framework of cooperation with multilateral organizations;

(b) Strengthen coordination between international actors to deliver coherent and adequate capacity-building services, and ensure collaborative research and better tracking of progress globally;

(c) Use the three-part capacity-building approach to support States and all relevant stakeholders, including by promoting good practices, supporting policy development and guidance and facilitating coordination efforts and coherence among international actors.

87. The Working Group recommends that businesses:

(a) Invest in and sustain a focus on building their capacities to fulfil their responsibility to respect human rights across their activities, operations and business relationships;

(b) Seek support for the design and implementation of responsible internal corporate policies and practices in line with the Guiding Principles;

(c) Contribute constructively to a multi-stakeholder knowledge hub by acknowledging the power asymmetries that can affect their interactions with other stakeholders, especially rights holders, participating in those spaces and commit to constructive dialogue.