United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The 31 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), approved on 16 June 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, are a set of standards of behaviour based on the three pillars of the Protect, Respect and Remedy framework. States are under obligation of protecting human rights against violations and abuses (first pillar), while businesses bear the responsibility to respect them (second pillar), acting with due diligence to avoid violations and to address any negative impacts that may arise from their activities. Both States and businesses are required, under the third pillar, to ensure access to effective remedies in the event of human rights violations. The Guiding Principles are a soft law instrument and, as such, do not impose legal obligations on businesses.
CIDU participates in the annual event organised by the United Nations in Geneva on BHR issues, the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, which aims to draw the attention of businesses, as well as States, towards the protection of human rights.
The First National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
In implementation of the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Italy was among the first countries in the world to adopt, in 2016, a National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights (BHR), through the 2016-2021 NAP BHR developed by CIDU.
The NAP is a voluntary implementation tool for the UNGPs and ensures the national commitment to adopt political and legislative measures aim at guaranteeing respect for human rights in all economic activities.
Following the adoption of the Plan, and in line with the multi-stakeholder approach that characterises CIDU’s activities, an online public consultation was carried out on the implementation impact of the Plan itself, with specific contributions from ActionAid Italia, AVSI, Confindustria, FAIR-Campagna Abiti Puliti, FOCSIV, Fondazione Global Compact Network Italia, Fondazione Pangea Onlus, Human Rights International Corner ETS (HRIC), IRISS-CNR, Mani Tese, OXFAM Italia, Save the Children Italia, and The Good Lobby Italia.
In 2018, CIDU coordinated the mid-term review of the 2016-2021 PAN BHR, through a process involving institutions, academia, business and civil society, which led to the publication of the revised Plan on 26 November 2018 following its presentation at the VII Forum on Business and Human Rights, held at the United Nations in Geneva. Italy was the first Country to carry out a mid-term review of the Plan.
The Second National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
Following on from the first NAP BHR for the five-year period 2016-2021, on 10 December 2021, CIDU published the second five-year plan (NAP BHR 2021-2026).
Confirming the multi-stakeholder approach that characterises its activities, CIDU launched a public consultation on the draft text of the PAN-BHR 2021-2026, which saw contributions from ActionAid, AVSI, AICS, Confindustria, FAIR-Abiti Puliti, FOCSIV, AGID IGF Italia, HRIC, CGIL-CISL-UIL, OIM, The “In difesa di” network and WeWorld Onlus.
From 2022, through the Working Group created to promote its implementation (Gruppo di Lavoro su Impresa e Diritti Umani, GLIDU), CIDU began the process of monitoring the 59 compliance measures introduced in the second PAN BHR and collecting information on the results gradually achieved.
The topic of BHR has now been addressed in a comprehensive and detailed manner in numerous intergovernmental systems, and the second National Action Plan is a document that tackles it in a comprehensive and innovative way, including indicators. Key topics introduced include: legality rating; corporate administrative liability pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 231/2001; irregular work and the agricultural sector; exploitation of migrants and human trafficking; international development cooperation; vulnerable groups; gender issues; the environment; the rights of children and adolescents; the principle of diversity management in the business context; responsible conduct and due diligence in the United Nations, OECD and EU systems; training; public procurement/corruption; and the internationalisation of businesses.
In 2025, as it made for the first Action Plan, CIDU coordinated the mid-term review process of the 2021-2026 BHR NAP.
National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights
I NAP BHR (revised)
I NAP BHR (primary version)
NAPs Mid-term Reviews