Germany – IP

III. Federal Government expectations regarding corporate due diligence in respecting human rights

Core elements of due diligence in the field of human rights

 Procedure for the identification of actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights [page 9]

The size of an enterprise, the sector to which it belongs and the nature of its business activity directly influences the risk that its operations will have an impact on human rights. The required depth and breadth of the risk assessment depends on these factors…

Contextual circumstances such as the political framework and the presence of vulnerable groups of people (indigenous populations, for instance) should be factored into the analysis.

1. The State Duty to Protect

1.1 Basic rules of economic policy

 Protection within states’ own territory – challenges within Germany

The current situation [page 16]

The Federal Government is currently preparing for the incorporation of numerous international legal instruments into German law. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is planning the examination prior to ratification of …the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No 169) as well as of the Optional Protocol of 2008 to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the revised Social Charter.

Development Policy

Measures [page 20]

The Federal Government will also take specific action to step up its wide-ranging commitment to the protection of human rights defenders when applying the UN Guiding Principles. In the field of business and human rights, as elsewhere, development policy is about standing up for the rights of vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples or children and youth or persons with disabilities.