Operationalising the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights through Human Rights Due Diligence: A Critical Assessment of Current States Practices

Abstract

The past one decade had witnessed how the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) shaped the global standard for responsible business, while it had also indicated the ineffectiveness of implementation. At present, the potential of human rights due diligence to operationalise the UNGPs tends to be recognised by both state and non-state actors. States around the globe are undertaking various approaches to institutionalise human rights due diligence to fulfil their duty to protect under international human rights law. Against this backdrop, the paper aims to explore current practices of human rights due diligence institutionalisations and provides a holistic assessment of different models adopted by state actors. The research result argues that among the three major models, i.e., NAPs Model, mHRDD Model and BHR Treaty-based Model, the NAPs Model is a more optimal solution to operationalize the UNGPs. This judgment bases on not only the innate merits of the NAPs Model but also on its potential to avoid adverse impacts resulting from unilateral legislation and to foster consensus for a business and human rights treaty.

Received: 5 March 2022 / Accepted: 7 May 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022