A RECORDING OF THIS SESSION IS AVAILABLE HERE. About this sessionThis Forum session provides a platform for global and regional trade union organizations to highlight their key inputs to the ongoing project
‘Business and human rights: towards a decade of global implementation’ (UNGPs10+ / NextDecadeBHR), led by the
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG).
The UNGPs10+ project is centred around the upcoming tenth anniversary of the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the global authoritative framework on business and human rights that was unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. It 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.
To inform the stocktaking and roadmap development, the UNWG seeks to hear perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders from all regions, including trade unions. Given the key role of trade unions in promoting respect for human rights in the workplace (and beyond) and as central actors effective multi-stakeholder dialogue at international, regional, national and local levels, the UNWG attaches great importance to ensuring that union voices are heard in the UNGPs10+ process.
This Forum session therefore serves as an opportunity for direct dialogue between the UNWG and union representatives and for union organizations to publicly highlight their assessments and priorities for the next decade of UNGPs implementation. It is part of a
series of engagements linked to UNGPs10+, which complement the
call for written input open to all interested parties.
Guiding questions- What have been the main challenges in ensuring business respect for workers’ human rights in the current context?
- From a union perspective, what issues, sectors, themes, or key drivers should be prioritized in the next decade in order to better advance business respect for human rights?
- How can convergence around the UNGPs at a global governance level be strengthened [ILO/OECD/G20 etc]?
- In concrete terms, what will be needed in order to achieve meaningful progress with regard to those priority areas?
- What are challenges, potential pitfalls, and opportunities around the current drive toward mandatory measures? What will it take to make business and human rights legislation effective in the next ten years?
Session organized jointly by ITUC and the UNWG
