Today, following business and human rights: the basics (part 1) which included 4 key introductory texts for anybody wishing to make sense of this rapidly evolving field and become familiar with the issues, this short overview focuses on the role of National Human Rights Institutions in business and human rights.
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play an important role in the business and human rights sphere and are well placed to help align business activities with international human rights standards in line with their general mandates to promote and protect human rights. Some NHRI”s already address many business related human rights issues through:
- Investigations & complaint handling
- Monitoring
- Education & training
- Access to remedies
For other NHRI’s business and human rights is an emerging topic. Key background materials introducing NHRI’s perspectives are:
- The International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (ICC) published the Edinburgh Declaration regarding Business and Human Rights in October 2010 (5 pages)
- Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) has produced an outcome statement for the conference on business and human rights held in October 2011 (4 pages)
- The Australian Human Rights Commission developed a number of introductory fact sheets to guide business in addition to its other activities relating to labour rights and other issues.
- The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia organised an International Conference on Mining and Human Rights in October 2012 which resulted in recommendations to Government, business and the civil society sector and was attended by the UN Working Group for Human Rights and Business.
The important contributions to the field by academic institutions, civil society organisations, other organisations and individuals are the content for another blog.
For now, all the best and please feel free to add to the list and comment!
