Liberia- 1st- Mandatory human rights due diligence

CHAPTER THREE: POLICY ACTIONS
3.2. Labor Rights

The following policy actions shall be undertaken to address labor-related abuses and violations.

b) Corporate Responsibility to Respect Labour Rights.

iv. All businesses operating in Liberia shall be mandated to conduct Human Rights Due Diligence from the onset, which shall identify possible human rights violations arising from their operations. HRDD shall address negative human rights impacts which may be linked directly or remotely to business operations, products, or services. Where the state directly engages in business, the government assumes dual roles – i.e. the international human rights obligation to protect is retained – and having delved into business, the state also has an additional obligation to respect human rights from a corporate perspective.

3.3. Access to Remedy

Access to remedy within the context of the NAPBHR is aligned with Liberia National Development Plan.
The following include the policy actions that the Government of Liberia intends to undertake:

a) Duty to Protect

iv. Ensure that all businesses carry out Human Rights Impact Assessment before the commencement of business while those already in business should do so within two years following the adoption of the NAPBHR.

v. Mandate businesses to update and report on how they address the human rights impact of their operations.

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b) Corporate Responsibility to Respect

iii. Capacity building is critical in ensuring corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Businesses shall build the capacity of their staff to carry out human rights due diligence and implement their human rights policy which is critical in ensuring corporate responsibility to respect human rights. The NWGBHR – a coordinating body that will be created by the government to effectively implement the NAPBHR (for details, see 4.7 a) – shall be available to provide the requisite expertise where necessary.

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vii. Businesses operating in Liberia shall ensure that they conduct HRDD from the onset, which shall identify possible human rights violations arising from their operations. HRDD shall address negative human rights impacts which may be linked directly or remotely to business operations, products, or services.

3.5. Transparency and Accountability

a) Under the State Duty to Protect

iii. Regulatory bodies and agencies shall ensure periodic conduct of Human Rights Due Diligence and Human Rights Impact Assessment in all business operations to discover whether business institutions are in line with the NAPBHR.

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b) Under Corporate Responsibility to Respect human rights (regarding transparency and accountability) iii. Businesses operating in Liberia shall be made to conduct Human Rights Due Diligence from the onset, which shall identify possible human rights violations arising from their operations. The HRDD shall address negative human rights impacts that may be linked directly or remotely to business operations, products, or services.