Building capacity of national human rights institutions and strengthening policy outcomes on business and human rights

Background

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has introduced a range of regulatory and policy initiatives which seek to enhance business respect for human rights and the environment throughout their global value chains. The project builds on the current momentum behind the development and implementation of EU regulatory and policy initiatives and aims to ensure these effectively prompt businesses and financial institutions to conduct human rights due diligence.

The project has two components:

• Strengthening business respect for human rights in policy and regulation

The proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDD Directive) would require businesses to identify and address human rights risks within their own activities and value chains at a global level, while other EU regulations aim to drive responsible business conduct through disclosure requirements, taxonomies and market access rules. These regulations have the potential to contribute to an enabling environment for a transformed economy if aligned with international standards such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UNGPs and coherent across different policy areas.

How do the pieces fit in the puzzle? Making sense of EU regulatory initiatives related to business and human rights

• Building capacity of  NHRIs to engage in the implementation of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws

National human rights institutions (NHRIs) have a critical role to play in the negotiation, transposition and implementation of the CSDD Directive. The project will enable European NHRIs to collaborate and learn from each other to make national level legislation and future implementation mechanisms as effective as possible.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights (the Institute) will collaborate closely with the European Network of NHRIs Working on Business and Human Rights and will also work with NHRIs outside of the EU to enhance their capacity to engage with mandatory human rights developments.

The Institute contributes to statements by the European Network of NHRIs (ENNHRI) on various policy and regulatory developments, including the proposed CSDD Directive, the proposed Forced Labour ban, and other files to align them with international instruments (i.e., the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises) and human rights standards.

In addition, the Institute is rolling out a training programme for NHRIs on the CSDD Directive and other business and human rights-related developments. Please see select reports from workshops including main discussion points, recommendations based on NHRIs’ mandates and resources to dive deeper into each topic:

Workshop report: National human rights institutions engagement in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Workshop report: Communicating on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Workshop report: Engaging with Supervisory Authorities under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Partner

• Laudes Foundation