The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights will Turn 10: Our Contribution

NYU Stern BH

7 July 2020

June 2021 will mark the tenth anniversary of the endorsement by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

‘The UNGPs – as they provide a global authoritative framework for state duties and business responsibilities– represented a major step forward to address business-related human rights abuse’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Support to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights’ Yearlong project ‘UNGPs10+’

As part of its mandate to promote the UNGPs, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights is launching today a yearlong project to take stock of achievements to date, assess existing gaps and challenges, and develop a vision and roadmap for implementing the UNGPs more widely and more broadly between now and 2030.

‘The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights is today, a key mechanism to ensure the proper dissemination and implementation of the UNGPs. We are therefore looking forward to supporting its project through a consultant, helping the UN Working Group to elaborate its programme and the co-organization of public, awareness-raising events’ explains Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

‘This support fits very well with one of the key objectives of the Geneva Human Rights Platform which aims, as a ‘Mechanisms Lab’, to ensure the sustainable functioning of the Geneva-based human rights mechanisms and bodies’ he adds.