What exactly is the connection between business and human rights?
Business firms’ activities can have a beneficial or bad impact on people’s enjoyment of their human rights. Indeed, history reveals that businesses may and do violate human rights when they do not pay enough attention to the danger.
Employees and contract workers, consumers, workers in their supply chains, communities surrounding their operations, and end consumers of their products or services are all affected by businesses. They can affect almost every aspect of internationally recognized human rights, either directly or indirectly.
What factors contributed to Business Human Right’s inclusion on the UN’s agenda?
The rising reach and influence of corporate operations has sparked a discussion regarding their duties and responsibilities in relation to human rights, leading to the inclusion of business and human rights on the UN agenda.
What are the UNGPs, exactly?
In 2005, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution requesting that the Secretary-General appoint a special representative to recognise and reiterate standards of corporate accountability and responsibility for transnational corporations and other business enterprises in relation to human rights. The SRSG developed the UN “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” Framework, which was submitted to the Human Rights Council in 2008. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which were unanimously accepted by the Human Rights Council in June 2011, were produced using this framework.
These Guidelines established the first worldwide standard for preventing and resolving the risk of adverse human rights consequences from business activity, and they continue to serve as an internationally recognized foundation for improving business and human rights standards and practices.
Human Right and Business in India:
By releasing a zero draft in December 2018, the Indian government began the process of producing a Business and Human Rights National Action Plan (NAP), with the goal of publishing the final NAP in 2020. In conjunction with other Central and State ministries, the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs headed the process of formulating the NAP. Protect, respect, and redress are the three pillars defined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and the zero draft is essentially a summary of applicable current law and practices. It does not include an examination of the current state of these laws and regulations, or any gaps that may exist. The expression of commitment and indication of future course of action are the most crucial parts of the zero draft.
The NAP Guidance offers a five-phase method for producing the NAP: initiation, evaluation, and consultation, initial NAP writing, implementation, and updating. Since 2011, when the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental, and Economic Responsibilities of Corporate were introduced, the Indian government has recognized the necessity of responsible business activity (NVGs). National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct were recently modified to replace the NVGs (NGRBC). In addition to these voluntary initiatives, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which supervises India’s stock markets, has made required ESG disclosures for the top 100 businesses listed on Indian stock exchanges since 2012. The top 100 firms are now required to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. India’s NAP is well-supported by these rules and mandated disclosures.
Aishwarya Says:
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