10th UN Forum on business and human rights

A RECORDING OF THIS SESSION IS AVAILABLE HERE.


Session organized by the UN Working Group on business and human rights and OHCHR

Interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish


Brief description of the session:
As 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights (UNGPs), the Forum will look back at achievements and challenges of the first decade of implementation. This year’s Forum will also look ahead to the next decade and discuss ways forward for addressing major current challenges and seizing opportunities for realizing wider and more comprehensive implementation of the UNGPs by all States and businesses.
As part of the regionally focused dialogues of the Forum, this session will focus on how to realize the “UNGPs 10+ roadmap” recommendations in the African region. It will provide an additional opportunity for States to share their own commitments and plans for scaling up action to implement the UNGPs over the next decade, in an exchange with other relevant stakeholders.
In the last 10 years, UNGPs implementation efforts have been uneven across regions. For the next decade, a lot more attention and action will be needed in all regions, including Africa. Allocation of financial resources to support implementation efforts, including a significant increase in capacity-building, political will and opportunities for peer learning, have been identified as key aspects for the road ahead for the continent to develop a more sustainable path forward, that balances the great opportunities offered by the abundant natural resources and need for investments that respect people and environment. This session will discuss current challenges and what is required to address them in the next 10 years of action. Discussions on the way forward will build on recent actions and initiatives taken by various stakeholders aiming to develop effective regulatory frameworks to strengthen prevention of business-related abuses and to ensure accountability for harm caused. This includes initiatives by the African Union, African governments, business and civil society.

Key objectives of the session: 
The session aims to:

• How to realize the “UNGPs 10+ roadmap” recommendations in the Africa region
• Consider the role of the African Union, including its Policy on Business and Human Right in taking meaningful action to promote responsible business conduct by States and businesses in line with the UNGPs in the next decade;
• Share good practices and learn from the experience of ongoing efforts led by governments, business, civil society and other actors aimed at advancing implementation of the UNGPs in  Africa;
• Discuss how to build on these initiatives to move forward in the next decade of implementation of the UNGPs.

Key questions:

• Where do gaps and challenges remain in the region? What has not worked to date?
• What are the key obstacles, drivers, and priorities that need to be addressed to achieve fuller realisation of the UNGPs in Africa?
• What can be learned from the progress made, in order to find further solutions for advancing implementation of the UNGPs in Africa in the next 10 years?