Statement GANHRI Working Group on Business and Human Rights - OHCHR Accountability And

A/HRC/32/NI/XX

Human Rights Council 32nd session

General Debate under Item 2 & 3

20 June 2016

Statement of the Working Group on Business and HumanRights of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions on the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Improving accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse (A/HRC/32/19)

This statement is made on behalf of the Paris Principles compliantand A status accredited national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from Bolivia, Cameroon, Denmark, Ireland, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Philippines, and Venezuela, as members of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). The GANHRI Working Group welcomes the efforts of the OHCHR to identify gaps in access to judicial remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses, and congratulates the OHCHR for its report.

The Working Group welcomes the approach taken under the Accountability and Remedy Project (ARP)to offer concrete and flexible recommendations elaborated through research and multi-stakeholder consultations that can realistically be implemented by States with different legal traditions. The Working Group is committed to supporting the implementation of these recommendations at the domestic level.

In addition to legal and practical barriers to access to justice, NHRIs in their work have identified that the absence of the rule of law, as well as corruption, repression of human rights defenders and the lack of implementation and follow-up of court decisions are important barriers to access to justice.

The Working Group will continue to support NHRIs to promote full implementation of Pillar III of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by their States. The elaboration of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rightsprovides an opportunity for States to carefully assess barriers to access to remedy and identify measures using the guidance set forth by the OHCHR. This will also supportpeer-to-peer dialogue between governments,measurement of state performance, and allowStates to compare their jurisdictions.

The Working Group encourages the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights to build on the findings of the ARP in the elaboration of a legally binding instrument on business and human rights.

Finally,the Working Group is committed to supporting the work of the OHCHR to support States to improve access to remedy and to this end encourages the UN Human Rights Council to mandate the OHCHR to continue its efforts by examining the roles of State-based non-judicial remedial mechanisms and ways to strengthen them as an essential part of a well-functioning remedy architecture, complementary to judicial remedy.