Summary

The road to sustainable development, just green transition and responsible recovery goes through respect for people and the planet. As the authoritative global framework for preventing and addressing adverse business-related human rights impacts, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)1 are a foundational tool for addressing these major collective challenges.

As the UNGPs turned 10 in June 2021,2 the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights,3 mandated by the Human Rights Council to promote dissemination and implementation of the UNGPs worldwide, took stock of the first decade of implementation. The stocktaking4 highlighted that the UNGPs have led to significant progress by providing a common framework for all stakeholders in managing business-related human rights risks and impacts. Yet, considerable challenges remain when it comes to coherent implementation with respect to ensuring better protection and prevention of adverse human rights impacts, with particular attention to the most marginalized and vulnerable, and to ensuring access to remedy for harms that occur.

Therefore, what we need now for the next decade is to raise the ambition and increase the pace of implementation, to improve coherence and create greater impact.