National Baseline Assessment: Contribution to the update of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

Abstract

The German Institute for Human Rights (Institute) was commissioned by the Federal Foreign Office in 2021 to prepare a National Baseline Assessment (NBA) for the update of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) and, to develop proposals in connection with this for the update of the NAP. The first NAP was presented by the Federal Government on 21 December 2016. In doing so, the Federal Government complied with the request of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the EU Commission to develop an implementation plan for Germany for the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2011. In this first NAP, the German government explained how it intends to fulfil its obligations under international law in the context of economic activities and what it expects from German companies with regard to their responsibility to respect human rights.