Comparing National Action Plans implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Comparison of European countries and the United States of America

Abstract

The analysis compares the National Action Plans (NAPs) of several European countries and the United States of America. The NAPs' development process, the conformity of their contents with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the structures for implementing the plans are compared and, as far as possible, the German efforts to implement the UNGPs are classified and evaluated. The comparison identifies numerous weaknesses, but also examples of successful implementation in the countries examined. A number of general trends can be observed across countries from which lessons learned can be drawn for new and further developments of NAPs.