Helping create and benchmark National Action Plans

ICAR and DIHR originally published the NAPs Toolkit in July 2014 with the aim of providing the first building blocks towards a common framework for developing and evaluating NAPs on business and human rights. Since its publication, various components of the Toolkit have been utilized by state actors, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions (NHRIs), and academia to inform their work on NAPs, including through the creation of official and shadow National Baseline Assessments and assessments of existing NAPs. 

This August 2017 report updates the ICAR-ECCJ November 2015 publication by incorporating assessments of the NAPs of Norway, Colombia, United Kingdom (2016 iteration), Italy, Switzerland, and United States.  

In December 2016, the United States government launched its first NAP on Responsible Business Conduct. In response, ICAR has conducted a structured assessment of the U.S. NAP, using the NAPs Checklist developed and published by ICAR and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) as part of the ICAR-DIHR NAPs Toolkit. The NAPs Checklist lays out a set of twenty-five criteria that address both the content of NAPs and the process for developing them.

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) proudly announce the launch of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: A Toolkit for the Development, Implementation, and Review of State Commitments to Business and Human Rights Frameworks. 

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) have conducted structured assessments of current National Action Plans (NAPs) on business and human rights. To date, only four countries - the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland - have released NAPs on business and human rights. At the same time, a number of other governments have begun the process of developing such NAPs or have publicly announced an intention to do so. As such, it is essential that the four existing NAPs be closely analyzed in terms of their content and processes in order to assess best practice and to suggest areas for improvement going forward.

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia) are pleased to publish an assessment of the Colombian National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights. 

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) are pleased to announce the launch of our new guidance, Human Rights Defenders in National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights. . 

Acknowledging that human rights defenders are a particular group of rights-holders adversely affected by corporate human rights abuse in many national settings, ICAR and ISHR recognize the value in giving them additional scrutiny in the creation of a business and human rights NAP. This report provides guidance on how human rights defenders can be consulted in the development of NAPs and how their rights can be addressed through national policies on business and human rights.

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) proudly announce the launch of Children's Rights in National Action Plans on Business & Human Rights.

Children are one third of the world’s population and play a significant and growing role in the global economy. Children interact with businesses every day, whether as workers in their factories and fields, consumers of their goods and services, members of communities in which they operate, or family members of their employees. At the same time, childhood is marked by progressive stages of development that leave children far more susceptible to negative business impact than adults.