National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

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The National Action Plan - Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (2016-2020) (NAP) is an initiative of the German Federal Government to improve the human rights situation along the value and supply chains of German companies in Germany and worldwide, with the same target worldwide equal competitive conditions ("global level playing field") is pursued.

The action plan was decided by the Federal Cabinet on December 16, 2016 and is being implemented by the Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights (IMA WiMR) under the leadership of the Federal Foreign Office .

background

Companies operating in Germany are subject to the legal system of the Federal Republic of Germany, which contains a large number of standards for the protection of human rights . However, when doing business internationally, it is more difficult to determine the actual or potential negative impact on human rights. The guiding principles for business and human rights adopted by consensus in June 2011 by the United Nations Human Rights Council therefore set an international frame of reference which, with its three-pillar model of “protection, respect and remedy”, clearly defines the duties and responsibilities of all actors. The key here is the presentation of human rights due diligence obligations of companies, which consequently represent an important element of the NAP.

Goals and content

In the NAP, the Federal Government formulates the expectation that all companies will comply with their human rights due diligence by establishing processes that identify, prevent and mitigate the negative effects of their business activities. The federal government defines the due diligence on the basis of the following five core elements:

  • Company management policy statement on respect for human rights
  • Establishing a process to determine actual and potentially adverse effects on human rights (risk analysis)
  • concrete measures to prevent and avoid negative effects of entrepreneurial activity on human rights (remedy)
  • reporting
  • Establishment of a complaint mechanism

In addition, the NAP addresses the state's obligations to protect human rights. There are political measures u. a. in the following areas:

  • Public procurement
  • Foreign trade promotion
  • Trade policy
  • Development policy

For example, the NAP creates a link between compliance with human rights due diligence and instruments for promoting foreign trade (e.g. export credit guarantees, investment guarantees). The examination of human rights aspects is given greater independence and visibility in the examination procedure for the granting of instruments for promoting foreign trade.

Implementation and measures of the NAP

The management of the NAP implementation is the responsibility of the Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights, which meets regularly and to which nine other ministries ( BMI , BMJV , BMF , BMWi , BMAS , BMEL , BMFSFJ , BMUB and BMZ ) belong in addition to the lead Foreign Office . In addition, the Federal Chancellery has observer status. The IMA receives recommendations and comments from the civil society stakeholder platform on the NAP, the “WG Economy and Human Rights” of the national CSR forum, which meets regularly at the BMAS .

Business support

In the NAP, the Federal Government commits itself to a catalog of measures in order to meet the state duty to protect human rights in the context of the globalized economy. So that German companies can meet their demanding task of human rights due diligence, especially in value and supply chains, the Federal Government offers support services such as: B. in the form of practical advice.

With the NAP, the Federal Government has set up the NAP Helpdesk Business and Human Rights in the Agency for Business and Development as a support element for companies and associations. The central task of the NAP Helpdesk is to provide initial advice and referral advice as well as to raise awareness of the subject of “business and human rights” in general. The support specifically consists of confidential and free advice, referral to relevant partners and events for the exchange between politics, business and civil society.

Industry initiatives such as For example, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles or the Sustainable Cocoa Forum, the Round Table on Human Rights in Tourism or the Sustainable Palm Oil Forum support companies in implementing their human rights due diligence in the respective sector.

Complaint Mechanisms / Redress

As one of the five core elements, companies are required to set up complaint mechanisms that are accessible to all those affected and that work transparently and fairly.

The “National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises ” (NKS), located in the BMWi, serves as an extrajudicial state complaints office. Chapter IV of the OECD Guidelines is closely based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights . In the event of possible corporate violations in relation to human rights, the National Contact Point can therefore be a point of contact for those affected or other complainants. The NAP stipulates that companies that apply for government support through the instruments of foreign trade promotion must participate in complaint procedures at the NCP that may be directed against the company. In addition, industry dialogues are intended to help develop industry-specific complaint mechanisms in the future.

Monitoring of NAP implementation by companies

The NAP does not establish any new legal obligations for companies. However, the federal government underpins its expectations of the companies with a clear target. Compliance with the five core elements of the NAP will be checked annually from 2018. The first interviews with companies were carried out in autumn 2018, and discussions were held with representatives of stakeholder groups (social partners, business associations, non-governmental organizations). The so-called "Inception Report" from September 2018 served as the working basis for the procedure in this phase. The first interim report on monitoring was published in July 2019. On July 29, 2019, a cover letter was sent to around 1,800 companies by email, asking them to participate in the 2019 survey on behalf of the federal government. The completed online questionnaire should be returned by October 1, 2019. Another survey round is planned for spring 2020.

The NAP states: “The aim is for at least 50% of all companies based in Germany with over 500 employees to have integrated the elements of human rights due diligence described in Chapter III into their business processes by 2020. This also means that if the companies do not implement certain procedures and measures, they can explain why this did not happen (“comply or explain” mechanism). The information provided by the companies in the questionnaire is subjected to a multi-level plausibility check.

As part of the surveys, companies can submit an implementation plan with regard to individual NAP requirements by the end of 2020. The actual implementation of this plan will be checked at the beginning of 2021, until then a company will be considered neither a “fulfiller” nor a “non-fulfiller”.

The results reports for the 2019 and 2020 surveys are published and show what percentage of large companies in Germany meet the NAP criteria and how many do not. In order to recognize that companies have clearly set out to comply with human rights due diligence, the reports provide information on a group of companies that are among the "non-performers" but already show good approaches. "If less than 50% of the aforementioned companies have integrated the elements of human rights due diligence described in Chapter III [of the NAP] into their business processes by 2020 and therefore insufficient implementation has taken place, the Federal Government will examine further steps up to legal measures." This specific target definition of a NAP and the monitoring as a review instrument are internationally unique. In the event of inadequate implementation, the federal government will examine follow-up measures, including explicitly the option of legal requirements in the future.

Process of drawing up the action plan

In 2014, the Federal Foreign Office (AA) took the lead in the creation process of the NAP, which was based on international recommendations, in particular by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the end of 2014, a steering group was convened made up of six ministries ( AA , BMAS , BMJV , BMWi , BMZ , and BMUB ), three representatives from business associations ( BDA , BDI and DIHK ), and two representatives from associations of non-governmental organizations ( Forum Menschenrechte and VENRO ) , a representative of the German Trade Union Federation ( DGB ) and two advisory members ( DIMR and econsense). Consultation with experts and the involvement of the public were made possible in the two formats plenary conferences and hearings.

A first plenary conference in November 2014 at the Foreign Office served to identify key issues that were agreed by consensus among the participants from business, trade unions, NGOs and federal ministries. Topic sponsors from the steering group were appointed for these topics. In May 2015, the DIMR presented a so-called “National Baseline Assessment” (status quo report) on the basis of expert interviews with the various groups of those involved in the proceedings. The inventory was discussed with the interested public in a second plenary conference, carried out by the BMAS and the AA, in May 2015. Around 40 experts took part in a total of twelve hearings on the main topics, which took place between April and November 2015. The hearings were merged with a third plenary conference, organized by the BMZ and the AA, in December 2015, thus closing the consultation phase. After a coordination phase with the other federal ministries, the document was presented to the federal cabinet in December 2016 and approved there.

Final survey 2020

The final quantitative monitoring survey ran from March 2 to May 29, 2020. The central result of the survey is that at the time of the 2020 survey, significantly less than 50 percent of companies based in Germany and more than 500 employees had adequately integrated the core elements of human rights due diligence described in the NAP into their business processes. Even companies that plan to implement the requirements of the NAP by the end of 2020 have no significant influence on this finding.

The in-depth analysis of the company's responses should be completed by mid-August. The responsible Interministerial Committee will then receive the comprehensive report on the investigation results and discuss them. There will also be a discussion of the results with the stakeholders.

criticism

Various German non-governmental organizations ( CorA , Forum Menschenrechte , VENRO , Amnesty International , Bread for the World , germanwatch , Misereor ), some of which were involved in the creation of the NAP, criticized in a joint comment that the NAP fell short of their expectations. In particular, he failed to demand that private and public companies commit themselves to human rights due diligence. On the other hand, the monitoring of the NAP and the target that by 2020 at least half of all companies with more than 500 employees must have integrated human rights due diligence into their corporate processes are rated positively. In the commentary, the Federal Government is proposed to change, to exclude companies more consistently from public contracts, subsidies or foreign trade promotion if they disregard their duties of care.

The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR), which was also involved in the creation process, confirmed that the NAP had ambitious, but toothless objectives in its statement of December 2016. On the other hand, the concern to promote a branch and sector-specific implementation of the UN guiding principles is valued . Although the DIMR criticizes the request for reporting as not particularly far-reaching, with industry dialogues and an offer of support to the companies, the NAP still sets an important process in motion that ultimately determines its quality.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights: National Action Plan - Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2016-2020). Retrieved May 22, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Agency for Business & Development: Individual Advice - NAP. Retrieved June 1, 2018 .
  3. ↑ InceptionReport (PDF) Federal Foreign Office. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  4. ↑ Interim report exploratory phase 2018 (PDF) Federal Foreign Office. July 5, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b Foreign Office: Foreign Office - Monitoring of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Federal Foreign Office: Monitoring of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Retrieved July 15, 2020 .
  7. ^ CorA, Forum Menschenrechte, Venro, Amnesty International, Bread for the World, germanwatch, Misereor: No courage to be more committed. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 22, 2017 ; accessed on May 21, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / germanwatch.org
  8. ^ German Institute for Human Rights: Hesitant implementation. Retrieved May 28, 2018 .