Denmark

Statement by Minister for Business and Growth and Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation: [page 7]

The Danish Government is committed to ensuring that growth goes hand in hand with responsible conduct. The UN Guiding Principles’ step-by-step approach highlights the importance of continuous improvement of corporate respect for human rights allowing all companies to be on board regardless of their size or geographical location of their operations.

Introduction [page 9]

In 2012, the Danish Government started to take dedicated measures to implement the UNGPs on each of the pillars in the Protect, Respect and Remedy-framework based on recommendations from the Council for CSR. Some of these initiatives are part of the second National Action Plan for CSR; Responsible Growth 2012–2015, which the Government presented in March 2012. The CSR Action Plan focuses on business and human rights and was inspired by the recent international development in the field of CSR including the revision of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises from May 2011, the ratification of the UNGPs in June 2011 and the renewed EU Strategy 2011–14 for Corporate Social Responsibility.(…)

Denmark has a long political tradition of supporting and addressing human rights. Changing governments have concentrated on special focus areas such as freedom of expression; freedom of religion; racism; indigenous peoples; children’s rights; the rights of persons with disabilities; human rights defenders; torture, and most recently, corporate social responsibility (CSR).

 2. State Duty to Protect Human Rights

2.1 UNGPs and the State Duty to Protect [page 10]

The state can protect human rights by (not exhaustive):

– Enforcing laws (including law with extraterritorial implications) that enable rather than constrain businesses to respect human rights.

– Providing guidance and encourage businesses to respect human rights.

– Promoting the respect for human rights through its business relations, in bilateral and multilateral institutions and through development cooperation 

2.3 Actions taken [page 11]

Protection of human rights through state regulation and policy:

In Denmark all new legislation is systematically evaluated in terms of human rights consequences by the Ministry of Justice.  Denmark actively takes part in the Universal Period Review process of the United Nations as well as review by the UN Treaty Body Monitoring mechanisms with regard to obligations arising under the United Nations core human rights conventions, and by relevant ILO and Council of Europe bodies. These processes provide a platform for systematic consideration of the compliance of Danish law, policies and administration with international human rights law. Denmark duly takes account of findings and recommendations issued by such bodies.

Denmark is fully committed to human rights obligations – both nationally and internationally – and has signed and ratified many legal instruments, which belong to various organs, especially the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of Europe. For a complete list of the International Human Rights Treaties that Denmark has signed and ratified see: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/ratification-denmark.html.

Together with more than 40 countries Denmark adheres to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are the only multilaterally agreed and comprehensive code of responsible business conduct that governments have committed to promoting. The Guidelines are supported by a unique implementation mechanism of National Contact Points (NCPs), agencies established by adhering governments to promote and implement the Guidelines. Denmark is one of the only countries in the world, which has established the OECD National Contact Point by Danish law. The purpose is to ensure that the Danish NCP has a maximum of legitimacy and authority (for more information see section 4.3).

As stated in the strategy for Danish development cooperation: “The Right to a Better Life”, Denmark applies a rights-based approach to development. The human rights based approach entails that the goal of development cooperation should seek to realise human rights as well as poverty alleviation. Furthermore, political dialogue with partners and concrete development interventions should be guided by human rights standards and principles, focusing in particular on rights-holders and duty–bearers and their capacities to claim and fulfill obligations related to human rights. The “protect, respect and remedy framework” also provides the basis for Danida’s institutional private sector programmes aimed at enhancing the capacity and institutional environment for private sector development. One prime example of this approach is the new “Program for Responsible Business in Myanmar”, using both the state duty to protect and the company duty to protect as the key parameters in its programme design.

Denmark works to ensure that companies involved in Danish development cooperation respect human rights and act responsibly within the areas of worker’s rights, human rights, environment and anti-corruption within the framework of ILO conventions, UN Global Compact, the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and work towards implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Companies involved in Danida Business Partnerships – an instrument that facilitates and provides economic support to develop commercial partnerships between Danish companies and partners from developing countries – are now required to integrate CSR strategically in their business operations and to demonstrate due diligence, including human rights, in order to mitigate adverse impact. The Danida Business Finance instrument engages both local buyers and Danish companies in the promotion of human rights and CSR activities through due diligence analysisand requirements to comply with fundamental principles of ILO when providing interest-free loans to public infrastructure projects in developing countries.

To further support the protection of human rights, the Danish Government has ensured that individuals have access to a non-juridical remediation mechanism in cases where Danish companies have had adverse impact on human rights (GP 27) (See the specific section on the implementation of access to non-judicial remedy, section 4.4)’

Appendix 1. Overview of the implementation of the state duty to protect

Status in Denmark (initiatives implemented before the UN ratification of the Guiding Principles) [page 24]

• The National Action Plan for CSR from 2008 is the Government’s first official policy for promoting CSR among Danish companies. The national action plan encourages Danish businesses to continue to work actively with social responsibility, thus contributing to, for example, improving conditions in the countries in which they do business in and/or have established themselves in.

Initiatives taken or planned as a dedicated measure to implement the UNGPs (after the UN ratification of the Guiding Principles)

• In 2011 the Danish government published it second national action plan for CSR “Responsible Growth” 2012–2015. The national action plan contains several initiatives which translate the UNGPs into practice, among other:
• A reporting requirement on human rights and climate;
• A non-judicial grievance mechanism.