Business and Human Rights Mandate of the Working Group on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises

A/HRC/RES/35/7View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2017.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Business Enterprises Conferences Corporate Social Responsibility Human Rights Principles Transnational Corporations Working Groups

What’s in this document?

20 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the work of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises in the fulfilment of its mandate, and notes its role in regional forums and consultations to discuss challenges and lessons learned from implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights with States and other stakeholders in a regional context;

Recognizes that the effective implementation of the Guiding Principles should cover a broad range of public policy areas and involve the participation of relevant stakeholders, and encourages all States to take steps to implement the Guiding Principles, including by developing a national action plan or other such framework;

Calls upon all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect human rights in accordance with the Guiding Principles;

Takes note of the report of the Working Group on the challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in the implementation of the Guiding Principles³ and its study on cross-border cooperation between States with respect to law enforcement on the issue of business and human rights,⁴ prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 32/10;

³A/HRC/35/32.

⁴A/HRC/35/33.

Welcomes the efforts of the Working Group to collect and disseminate information on ongoing processes to develop national action plans and other relevant data on global progress in the implementation of the Guiding Principles, and in this regard invites States and all relevant stakeholders to submit information to and engage with the Working Group on their national action plans and other relevant initiatives and on the implementation of such commitments;

Notes with appreciation the guidance prepared by the Working Group for the development and implementation of effective national action plans or other such frameworks, including with regard to access to both judicial and non-judicial remedy;

Encourages the Working Group to promote good practices and to identify challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles;

Welcomes the role of the Working Group in guiding the three-day annual Forums on Business and Human Rights;

Decides that the Working Group shall guide the work of the Forum and prepare its annual meetings, and invites the Working Group to chair the Forum and to submit a report on the proceedings and thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council for its consideration;

Welcomes that the central theme of the 2017 Forum on Business and Human Rights is “Realizing access to Remedy” as it can allow taking stock and identifying further ways forward in the implementation of the third pillar of the Guiding Principles;

Decides to extend the mandate of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, as set out by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4, for a period of three years;

Requests the Working Group, in accordance with its mandate, to give due consideration to the implementation of the Guiding Principles in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Encourages all States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, treaty bodies and civil society actors, including non-governmental organizations, as well as public and private businesses to cooperate fully with the Working Group in the fulfilment of its mandate by, inter alia, responding to communications transmitted, as provided in paragraph 6 (b) of resolution 17/4, and, in the case of States, to reply favourably to requests for visits by the Working Group;

Invites international and regional organizations to seek the views of the Working Group when formulating or developing relevant policies and instruments, and invites the Working Group to continue to collaborate closely with relevant United Nations bodies, including the treaty bodies and the special procedures;

Emphasizes the importance of stakeholder dialogue and analysis to maintain and build on the results achieved to date to prevent and address business-related human rights abuses and to inform further deliberations of the Human Rights Council on business and human rights;

Welcomes the efforts made by national human rights institutions to enhance their capacity to support corporate responsibility, including through the implementation of the Guiding Principles by all stakeholders;

Recalls the report of the Secretary-General on the challenges, strategies and developments with regard to the implementation of resolution 21/5 by the United Nations system, including programmes, funds and agencies,⁵ and the recommendations made therein, underscoring the need to embed the business and human rights agenda and the Guiding Principles throughout the United Nations system;

⁵A/HRC/26/20.

Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide all the resources and assistance necessary for the Working Group to fulfil its mandate effectively, including its role in guiding the work of the Forum on Business and Human Rights;

Also requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide the Forum, in a transparent manner, with all the services and facilities necessary, bearing in mind the growing participation in the Forum and paying particular attention to regional balance and ensuring the participation of affected individuals and communities;

Decides to continue its consideration of this question in conformity with its annual programme of work.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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