A RECORDING OF THIS SESSION IS AVAILABLE HERE.Session organized by the Working Group on Business & Human Rights and OHCHR Business and Human Rights Unit
Interpretation in English and French
Brief description of the session: This Forum session is part of the Forum track on trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in the context of each region of the world. Building on the
Africa regional session held in 2019, This session will provide an opportunity to look into the latest developments on Business and Human Rights in Africa and to discuss how best to build on ongoing initiatives, led by a variety of stakeholders across the region, to advance corporate accountability. The session will consist of a panel discussion among key actors working to promote human rights in the context of business activities in Africa, followed by a discussion with the audience.
Key specific objectives of the session:
The session aims to:
- Address the role of the African Union, including its Policy on Business and Human Right in taking meaningful action to promote responsible business conduct by States and businesses in line with the UNGPs.;
- Share good practices and learn from the experience of ongoing efforts led by governments, civil society and other actors aimed at advancing implementation of the UNGPs in Africa;
- Discuss how to build on these initiatives to move forward.
- Inform the WG’s project ‘Business and human rights: towards a decade of global implementation' (also known as “UNGPs 10+ / Next Decade BHR”). Centred around the upcoming tenth anniversary of the UNGPs in 2021, the project is taking stock of practice to date, identifying gaps and challenges, and developing a vision and roadmap for scaling up implementation of the UNGPs over the course of the next decade.
Background to the discussion: Human rights challenges differ widely across African countries and, over the past two decades, human rights abuses involving business actors have become an issue of increasing concern. While many communities continue to experience negative impacts of business activities across all sectors, Business and Human Rights (BHR) has been placed at the core of important policy developments and initiatives designed to improve accountability in the region.
The political momentum galvanized by the development of the African Union Policy on Business and Human Rights together with ongoing local and regional initiatives undertaken to advance corporate accountability offer a promising opportunity to affect positive change. However, these efforts have yet to translate into inclusive, informed and constructive action to achieve positive policy and regulatory results and improved human rights protection, at the national and regional level. This discussion will be aimed at clarifying how the ongoing developments and initiatives can be built upon to foster the effective implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and enhance corporate accountability in Africa.
The session will help inform the WG’s project ‘
Business and human rights: towards a decade of global implementation' (also known as “UNGPs 10+ / Next Decade BHR”). Centred around the upcoming tenth anniversary of the UNGPs in 2021, the project is taking stock of practice to date, identifying gaps and challenges, and developing a vision and roadmap for scaling up implementation of the UNGPs over the course of the next decade.
