Government Policy Coherence

In May 2019 the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights issued a call for inputs to inform its 2019 report to the UN General Assembly on “policy coherence in government action to protect against business-related human rights abuses”.

There are numerous motivations, incentives, and disincentives that can complicate or reinforce government approaches to protecting human rights in the context of business activity. These incentives and disincentives relate to the behaviour of government departments themselves (including local and regional government) as well as government actions that can affect the behaviour of business.

As an update to IHRB's 2014 "State of Play" report on the political economy of States, this submission on IHRB's work in a variety of sectors and fields - from responsible recruitment, modern slavery, sport and collective action, standards harmonisation, trade regimes, and the built environment - to provide practical examples and recommendations for the Working Group to include in its next report to the UN General Assembly.