Zambia

Status

The Zambian Government has not made an official commitment to developing a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. However, during the country’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review session in November 2017, Zambia supported a recommendation to develop a NAP.

To date, efforts to push for the development of a NAP have been led by the Zambia Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), the country’s national human rights institution.

National Baseline Assessment (NBA)

The ZHRC published a National Baseline Assessment on Business and Human Rights on 9 July 2016, with support from the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR).

The Baseline provides a comprehensive account of the status of protection of human rights with regard to business activities in Zambia. In particular, the Baseline examines the measures that the Zambian Government has taken to protect human rights from the adverse impacts of business activities through laws, policies, regulation and adjudication, as well as the provision of remedy mechanisms. The Baseline identifies strengths and
weaknesses in the Government’s approach regarding business and human rights, and makes recommendations to address gaps.

The core Baseline team consisted of five members of personnel from the ZHRC, led by the Head of Research, with support from two DIHR personnel. The Baseline was conducted between June 2015 and January 2016 .

In 2019-2020, the ZHRC undertook a NBA specifically looking at Pillar II, notably the implementation of the UNGPs by companies in the agriculture and mining sectors.