New partnership helps businesses and states take action on human rights

The international independent organization GRI and Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) will collaborate to promote sustainability reporting as part of states’ ongoing development and implementation of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. The two organizations will also promote human rights reporting under the 2030 agenda as a way to make the link between the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and human rights. The partnership was officially launched today during the 5th GRI Global Conference on empowering sustainable decisions.

“Business and finance are key to achieving the global goals on sustainable development. But not all business is good business. The protection of human rights enables sustainable development and are essential to prosperity. We know that strong public institutions, healthy and educated people, and equality of opportunity are key drivers of economic growth,” says DIHR Deputy Director, Eva Grambye.

“We are proud to partner with DIHR, one of the world’s leading national human rights institutions, to build a bridge between business and states. Together, we are working to help them both contribute to the 2030 development agenda in ways that create a more equitable world,” says GRI Deputy Chief Executive Teresa Fogelberg.

Focus on national action plans

The announcement of the new partnership comes just one week after the EU Roadmap to Business and Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam concluded that EU has the potential to be an international game-changer when it comes to business and human rights, and that EU could live up to this potential by making sure all EU member states develop National Action Plans (NAPs), which is the focus of the new partnership between DIHR and GRI.

Going forward GRI and DIHR will develop tools and instruments to support states in the development of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights, while promoting human rights and sustainability reporting in the context of the SDGs. One of the desired outcomes of the partnership will also be to stimulate further transparency around states procurement practices.

“We have collaborated with GRI for the past 15 years to promote human rights in the corporate sphere. Now we are turning to states. They have to realize that human rights are not a cost but an investment with high returns. Human rights are both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do,” says Eva Grambye.

Both GRI and DIHR share the understanding that sustainability reporting is a critical tool for creating greater transparency around human rights issues such as gender inequality, child labor and the rights of indigenous people to the land on which they live. This official partnership is an extension of the working relationship between the two organizations and sets the terms for collaboration to 2030.

“Each year, 12% of GDP in OECD member countries is spent on purchasing goods and services. This usually occurs without these public agencies holding themselves accountable for the conditions under which those products are produced. Businesses are no longer allowed to operate this way, and rightfully so. It’s time for states to lead by example,” said GRI Deputy Chief Executive Teresa Fogelberg.

More to come

Following the official launch of the partnership, GRI is convening sessions at the 5th GRI Global Conference on important human rights topics including linking policy and practice on corporate human rights reporting, the role of private sector collaboration in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, reporting on disability, and respect for land rights.

For more information about the partnership between GRI and DIHR please contact GRI Media Relations Manager Davion Ford at ford@globalreporting.org or DIHR Special Advisor Tulika Bansal at tuba@humanrights.dk.