The activities of businesses have an impact on the everyday lives of each individual. Enterprises have a positive influence by creating new jobs, contributing to the development of local infrastructure, and driving the local economy. However, businesses can also negatively affect the human rights of their employees and contractors, customers, workers in supply chains, communities, and end consumers of their products or services. They can have a direct or indirect impact on nearly the entire spectrum of internationally recognized human rights.

In response to the negative impact of business on human rights, and the need to regulate its activities and enhance accountability, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously adopted the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) in 2011, thereby establishing a unified international standard for responsible business conduct. 

The UN Guiding Principles are composed of three components: 1) the state's duty to protect human rights, 2) corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and 3) access to effective remedies. According to Principle 27 "States should provide effective and appropriate non-judicial grievance mechanisms, alongside judicial mechanisms, as part of a comprehensive State-based system for the remedy of business-related human rights abuse." In this context, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) play a crucial role. 

NHRIs play a vital role in protecting human rights, including the protection of human rights in business. Due to their unique position, NHRIs can significantly influence the awareness of standards and best practices for respect of human rights in business by providing training on the subject, engaging with businesses and governments, participating in the development of national action plans, advocating for legislative reforms, and collaborating with civil society and rights holders. 

In promoting the protection of human rights in business, NHRIs can perform the following functions:

• Advising the government on the actual and potential impact of business on human rights within the territory and jurisdiction of the state, for instance, by informing the government about the impact of specific industries.

• Advising the government on relevant laws and policies, such as the effectiveness and/or necessity of revising laws and regulations related to business and human rights, including corporate law, environmental regulations, anti-discrimination laws, and land and property legislation.

• Ensuring proper regulation of the activities of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises.

• Participating in the development of national baseline studies on business and human rights, as well as in the formulation and implementation of national action plans on business and human rights.

• Engaging in the universal periodic review process and other UN treaty bodies to ensure that issues related to business and human rights are addressed

• Advising and monitoring the state’s provision of effective access to remedies, including the effectiveness and/or necessity of revising relevant legislative and administrative provisions on judicial remedies to ensure their accessibility for rights holders and applicability concerning human rights violations related to business activities

Paris Principles

The establishment of NHRIs was guided by the Paris Principles, adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1993. The Paris Principles set forth minimum international standards for the status and functioning of NHRIs. They also outline the responsibilities that should be included in the mandates of NHRIs to ensure the effectiveness of their operations. 

The mandate of NHRIs, as outlined in the Paris Principles, encompasses activities related to business and human rights. For example, NHRIs can: advise the government on ensuring that relevant laws and policies protect rights holders from business-related human rights violations; leverage their role as educators to raise awareness among civil society and other stakeholders about the government's obligations and business responsibilities concerning human rights; and use their complaint-handling function to address grievances related to human rights violations associated with business activities. NHRIs can facilitate access to remedies both directly through their own procedures and indirectly by raising awareness and building capacity.

Edinburgh Declaration  

The approaches through which NHRIs can address business and human rights issues were outlined in the Edinburgh Declaration, adopted at the tenth annual conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. 

The Edinburgh Declaration also highlights activities that NHRIs can undertake on business and human rights issues within their core mandate areas in accordance with the Paris Principles, including monitoring the respect for human rights by both state and non-state actors; advising all relevant stakeholders on preventing and addressing human rights violations; providing and/or facilitating access to judicial and/or non-judicial remedies; conducting research and engaging in education, advocacy, and awareness-raising activities; and integrating business and human rights issues in engagements with international human rights bodies.

Examples of successful practices by NHRIs

Today, there are numerous examples of successful practices by NHRIs in the area of protecting human rights in business. For instance:

The Danish Institute for Human Rights plays a coordinating and facilitating role regarding business and human rights in Denmark. This includes: monitoring and advising the Danish government on policy measures and strategies; engaging with organizations representing Danish businesses or directly with Danish companies on the development of tools and methodologies; and collaborating with Danish civil society organizations on business and human rights issues. The Institute is also actively involved in developing various tools for businesses to self-assess their implementation of human rights, methodologies for conducting National Baseline Assessments on business and human rights, educational webinars and courses, as well as conducting research and capacity-building activities on human rights in business worldwide. 

Netherlands Institute for Human Rights – NIHR supported a government-commissioned study aimed at identifying which business sectors should be considered high-risk from a human rights perspective. NIHR also provided feedback to the government on the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, published in 2013, highlighting strengths and weaknesses along with recommendations.

In France, the government approached the French Human Rights Commission for proposals on preparing a National Action Plan for implementing the UN Guiding Principles. The Commission has significant experience in this area, having issued a report in 2008 containing 87 recommendations regarding France's strategy on corporate responsibility in the field of human rights, as well as its domestic and international initiatives in this domain.

In 2015–2016, the National Human Rights Commission of Zambia conducted a baseline study on business and human rights. The study involved a thorough analysis of laws, regulations, case studies, reports, and initiatives, as well as an analysis of the human rights impacts associated with business activities. The study presented key findings and recommendations for each component of the UN Guiding Principles, with one of the main recommendations being the implementation of a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. 

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has developed several due diligence tools to raise awareness and provide guidance to organizations regulated by federal legislation regarding human rights. For example, the Human Rights Maturity Model focuses on addressing discrimination within organizations.  

The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia regularly monitors the impact of the mining industry on human rights by visiting affected communities and individuals, publicly reporting on the findings of these monitoring visits. The Commission has also participated in conducting research on the environmental consequences of mining activities in rural areas.

In Kazakhstan, NHRIs are represented by the National Human Rights Centre. Since 2022, the country has had 20 representatives of the Ombudsman for Human Rights (3 in cities of national significance and 17 in regions).

The National Human Rights Centre participates in the development of proposals to improve national legislation. For instance, the Action Plan on Human Rights and the Rule of Law, signed by a Presidential Decree on December 8, 2023 includes four recommendations from the National Center, including “improvements to labor legislation, such as defining the concept of 'sexual harassment in the workplace,' developing effective procedures for filing and reviewing complaints, as well as remedies and sanctions”.

The National Human Rights Centre of Kazakhstan holds a "B" status from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, which signifies "partial compliance with the Paris Principles." Since 2023, the UN Development Programme in Kazakhstan has been collaborating with the National Center to enhance its capacity and achieve "A" status—full compliance with the Paris Principles. 

National human rights institutions play a vital role in promoting the protection of human rights in business by performing monitoring, advisory, and educational functions. Their work contributes to the establishment of a fairer and more responsible business environment.

For NHRIs to effectively ensure access to remedies for restoring rights violated by business activities, it is essential that they possess the appropriate mandate, financial resources, and human capacity. To ensure the sustainability of the complaint mechanism, NHRIs must have established regular processes for monitoring human rights violations by businesses, as well as an effective advisory body, their own investigative initiatives, research, education, and more.