New paper by leading academic on implementing human rights due diligence in Ireland
"Embedding Business & Human Rights in Ireland: Legislating for Human Rights Due Diligence" 18 Dec 2019
Ireland’s National Plan on Business and Human Rights 2017-2020 contains a number of commitments relating to human rights due diligence for business enterprises. The Irish Government has adopted a soft recommendatory approach to the this issue as exemplified by the stated commitment to “[e]ncourage and support awareness and effective human rights due diligence by State owned or controlled companies”. This stance would appear to be out of step with Ireland’s existing international human rights law obligations. For example, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has interpreted the State’s obligation to protect human rights as entailing “a positive duty to adopt a legal framework requiring business entities to exercise human rights due diligence”.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and civil society organisations have called on Ireland to adopt mandatory human rights obligations for companies, in particular those which the State finances or has a controlling interest.
This article seeks to explore the potential for embedding business and human rights in Ireland through legislating for human rights due diligence for business enterprises.