Paragraph 11 of resolution A/HRC/RES/ 17/4 “Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report on how the United Nations system as a whole, including programmes and funds and specialized agencies, can contribute to the advancement of the business and human rights agenda and the dissemination and implementation of the Guiding Principles, addressing in particular how capacity-building of all relevant actors to this end can best be addressed within the United Nations system, to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-first session.” The document below is NomoGaia’s contribution to the discussion.

Dear Members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,

NomoGaia is grateful for the opportunity to submit input to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the implementation of the UN’s business and human rights agenda. NomoGaia is a non-profit organization based in the United States that is dedicated to the development of human rights due diligence tools for global industries. We have worked with companies, governments, investors and civil society organizations, providing on-theground case studies of human rights due diligence and written analysis of emerging topics.

For over four years NomoGaia’s field research has been oriented toward corporate human rights due diligence, which has positioned us to see firsthand the weaknesses in many existing state protections for human rights in a business context.

In response to the UNHCHR’s call for input pursuant to engaging “the United Nations System as a whole” in operationalizing resolution A/HRC/RES/17/4, NomoGaia suggests that the United Nations should focus on helping states to adopt domestic regulations that align with the due diligence components of the Guiding Principles.

The “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework incorporates the State’s duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, through appropriate policies, regulation, and adjudication…

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