ENNHRI recommends new European Commission to develop and adopt EU-level Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

ENNHRI, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, has issued a statement to the new European Commission with recommendations on EU actions to support respect for human rights in the context of business activities within and outside of Europe.

ENNHRI recommends the European Commission to develop and adopt an EU-level Action Plan on Business and Human Rights to articulate commitments of the EU and its member states in relation to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Recommendations include for the European Commission to:

• Review the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU regarding disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups
• Create European Human Rights Due Diligence legislation
• Define clearly how to include human rights concerns in public procurement pursuant to the revised 2014 EU Procurement framework
• Create more effective human rights clauses in trade agreements and conduct human rights impact assessments of the trade agreements before they enter into force
• Define concrete steps for the implementation of the “EU guidelines on human rights defenders” in the field of business and human rights
• Develop measures to implement the recommendations formulated by the EU Agency for Fundamental rights in a 2017 opinion
• Encourage the strengthening of National Action Plans in Business and Human Rights through institutionalising peer review of them at the EU level