National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)/ Ombudspersons

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) recognise the important role of NHRIs under each of its three pillars – protect, respect and remedy. For example, Commentary to UNGP 3 states that: “National human rights institutions that comply with the Paris Principles have an important role to play in helping States identify whether relevant laws are aligned with their human rights obligations and are being effectively enforced, and in providing guidance on human rights also to business enterprises and other non-State actors.”

The role of NHRIs has been highlighted by a range of international organisations. The UN General Assembly’s resolution in December 2023 underscores the importance of effective, independent, and pluralistic NHRIs, recognising their role in collaborating with governments to ensure full respect for human rights at the national level. This acknowledgment is not just a testament to the NHRIs’ authority but also a call to action for NHRIs to address the multifaceted challenges posed by business operations on human rights. The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights reported to the UN General Assembly in 2021 on the role of national human rights institutions in facilitating access to remedy for business-related human rights abuses. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognised the role of NHRIs in their General comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities. This has been echoed by the Council of Europe too.

A GANHRI Working Group on Business and Human Rights was established in 2009. The purpose of the GANHRI Working Group is to build capacity of, and strengthen advocacy by, NHRIs in the area of business and human rights. In 2023, the Working Group published a Comprehensive Review of how NHRIs work with business and human rights. In addition, there exist regional working groups of NHRIs in Europe and in the Americas. The European Network of NHRIs (ENNHRI)’s Working Group has engaged extensively with the recent business and human rights policy and regulatory developments around mandatory human rights due diligence, sustainability reporting, trade bans, and on the legally binding instrument on business and human rights. This has included through statements, submissions, guidance, capacity building, and briefings for policy makers. The Network of African NHRIs (NANHRI) and the Asia Pacific Forum of NHRIs, while not having constituted formal working groups, have also made business and human rights a thematic priority and supported members work on the topic.

Many NHRIs worldwide are playing a critical role in the development of National Actions plans on business and human rights. This includes undertaking national baseline assessment on business and human rights (e.g., Argentina, Colombia, Georgia, Germany, Kenya, the Netherlands, Tanzania, and Zambia), assessments of business respect for human rights (e.g., Colombia, Denmark), forming part of multi-stakeholder groups leading/ steering NAP development processes (e.g., Luxembourg), providing input on drafts (e.g., Pakistan), facilitating stakeholder engagement with the development process (e.g., Argentina), training state institutions leading the NAP processes (e.g., Argentina and Ghana), forming part of multi-stakeholder groups leading implementation (e.g., Colombia and Kenya), and evaluating NAP implementation (e.g., France).

Another important function carried out by NHRIs in the context of business and human rights is the provision of non-judicial grievance mechanisms. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in 2016 calling for improved accountability and access to remedy in the context of business and human rights abuse, while recognising the important role of NHRIs in achieving this objective. This was echoed in the UN General Assembly’s resolution in December 2023. Some NHRIs have a mandate to received complaints from victims of business-related human rights abuses. Some NHRIs such as the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia (Komnas HAM), Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, the South African Human Rights Commission or the Office of the Public Defender in Peru (Defensoría del Pueblo) have interpreted their mandates to investigate business-related human rights abuse allegations. In carrying out this function, NHRIs may assume the role of an impartial mediator to facilitate dialogue between the parties. With respect to remediation, some NHRIs, such as the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria, have the power to make legally binding resolutions at the conclusion of a dispute. Alternatively, NHRIs may file recommendations to governments and/or state bodies to address human rights violations and monitor to prevent any future instances. The Danish Institute of Human Rights (DIHR) has published a 2-part report on the role of national human rights institutions in facilitating access to effective remedy in the context of business and human rights. The First part of the report presents an analysis of the role and practice of NHRIs regarding access to remedy in BHR. The Second part of the report provides a comparative analysis of four NHRI case studies from the African region.

NHRIs may also work with, or provide guidance on human rights for businesses. Examples of NHRIs working with business include the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s Guide for managers and boards. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has created tools and an on-line hub for businesses, as has the New Zealand Human Rights Commission (NZHRC), as well as the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), which in 2024 published a tool analysing different methodologies for assessing business respect for human rights.

Here you can find examples from 14 national human rights institutions from Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe on their work with business and human rights.

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are crucial elements of the good governance and institutional accountability architecture that is necessary to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the aspirations of Agenda 2063. The existence of independent national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles is the indicator for Target 16a. Elaborating on the ways NHRIs can contribute to a human rights-based approach to the 2030 Agenda, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) adopted the Mérida Declaration in 2015. The Declaration emphasises that “NHRIs in all regions are already addressing issues of crucial importance to the [2030] Agenda in their regular work” and reaffirms the mutually reinforcing nature of SDGs and human rights. The Declaration also made specific references to gender, encouraging “NHRIs in particular to address all forms of exclusion, poverty and to prioritise and mainstream the human rights of women and girls and gender equality in their work.”

16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions