A Dedicated Fund to Enhance the Capacity of Stakeholders to Implement the UN Guiding Principles

24 January 2014

In 2012 the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General identified the lack of capacity among all relevant actors as one of the key obstacles to advancing the business and human rights agenda and the implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Noting the scale of the capacity-building challenge, the Secretary-General recommended that “the feasibility of establishing a global fund on business and human rights linked to the United Nations, with multi-stakeholder engagement, should be considered”. In its resolution 21/5, the Human Rights Council followed up on the Secretary-General's recommendation by requesting the Secretary-General to prepare a study to explore the feasibility of establishing a global fund to enhance the capacity of stakeholders to advance the implementation of the Guiding Principles. The Council requested that the study should explore relevant issues including how to secure multi-stakeholder engagement, governance models and funding options.

In December 2013, in order to prepare the study to explore the feasibility of a dedicated fund to enhance the capacity of stakeholders to implement the Guiding Principles, the OHCHR launched a process for all interested stakeholders to share their perspectives on the issue.

This IHRB submission is in response to the OHCHR's consultation questions.