National Action Plans
National Action Plans (NAPs) are an important process to aid States in their implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles. To this end the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has called on States to develop NAPs in both its 2014 Declaration and in Recommendation (2016)3.
- The National Action Plans published by Council of Europe Member States appear below, with a brief summary of their key features.
- The plans can be filtered by State by selecting from the list to the right. Clear the filter to view the full list again.
Belgium
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (FR) Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development Drafting Process The development began in early 2013, with the final plan published in 2017. The drafting...
Czech Republic
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Office of the Government Drafting Process Timeframe: The drafting process commenced in 2016 and concrete measures for the three pillars were established over a period of approximately 12 months. The...
Denmark
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Danish Business Authority, Ministry of Business Drafting Process Research and interministeral discussions leading to the development of the action plan were conducted over a period of around 12...
Finland
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority The Ministry of Employment and the Economy Drafting Process The drafting process was launched in November 2012, and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy established an interministerial working...
France
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (formerly Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development) Drafting Process The national action plan was drafted over a period of three and half...
Georgia
View the Chapter within the National Action Plan on Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority The Human Rights Secretariat under the Prime Minister’s Office Drafting Process The Georgian Human Rights NAP 2018-20 contains a specific chapter on Business and Human Rights, and so is...
Germany
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Federal Foreign Office Drafting Process Timeframe: The drafting process commenced in 2014 and over the course of two years priority issues were identified and discussed through a series of...
Ireland
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Drafting Process The National Action Plan was developed over a period of three years, beginning with a government decision in June 2014. To ensure a “whole of...
Italy
View the (Revised) National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Inter-Ministerial Committee for Human Rights (CIDU) Drafting Process The Italian National Action Plan was adopted in 2016, with a...
Lithuania
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Social Security and Labour; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Content Main Priorities / Focus areas in the Action Plan The plan is split into the...
Luxembourg
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Drafting Process The drafting took place within the framework of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights and on the basis of an in-depth dialogue...
Netherlands
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drafting Process Research and interministerial discussions leading to the development of the action plan were conducted over a period of around 6 months. Within this...
Norway
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drafting Process The Action Plan builds on, and is a direct follow up to, a series of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) White Papers, in particular the 2014-15 report...
Poland
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drafting Process The National Action plan was prepared over the course of a year from 2016 to 2017. The development process involved multiple Government departments and...
Portugal [In development]
The National Action Plan for Responsible Business Conduct and Human Rights is currently in the final stages of development and pending political approval. Development Main Coordinating Authority Directorate-General for the Economic Activities (DGAE) and the Ministry of Economy (ME) Drafting...
Slovenia
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drafting Process The process commenced in 2013 with a national multi-stakeholder Forum on Business and Human rights, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and...
Spain
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation Drafting Process The development process commenced in December 2012, from when the Spanish Government began to hold different...
Sweden
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drafting Process The action plan was developed by Government Ministries in consultation with various stakeholders. A draft was also published for public comment. The...
Switzerland
View the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Two main authorities jointly developed the National Action Plan: The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Training and Research (DEFR): including the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)...
Ukraine [In development]
The Ukrainian National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights is currently in development. Development Main Coordinating Authority The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice Drafting Process The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice announced it was beginning a process to develop a National Action Plan on...
United Kingdom
View the (Updated) National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Development Main Coordinating Authority Foreign & Commonwealth Office Drafting Process The United Kingdom published its first NAP in 2013, following a series of stakeholder consultations in advance of the drafting process, and...
For in-depth explorations, comparisons, and evaluations of the contents of National Action Plans from both Council of Europe members and around the world, we encourage you to visit the Global Naps site from the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
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