The EU’s engagement with the main Business and Human Rights instruments

This report aims at analysing and assessing the activities of the European Union in respect of the Business and Human Rights international governance regime. More particularly, it seeks to take the measure of the EU’s efforts to foster and track responses to five ‘internationally recognised standards’ which form the core of that regime, namely the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility and the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy. The EU has made a firm commitment to foster human rights-compliant business conduct, and has unequivocally endorsed these five instruments. It has also made them part of its overall Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, of which the issue of Business and Human Rights is an important component. It is therefore useful to study whether the EU’s endorsement translates into concrete support, and whether such support itself translates into increased awareness and compliance with these instruments by itself, its Member States, third countries, but also of course, by businesses.