EU Roadmap to Business and Human Rights

On 11 May 2016, decision makers, politicians, business leaders, NGOs, trade unions, and researchers met in Amsterdam to discuss ways to advance the implementation of the Business and Human Rights agenda of the European Union. CNV Internationaal was a partner of the of this Conference.

Tomatoes in our supermarkets are grown by Moroccan workers who are underpaid and not trade unions may establish.

Romanian workers build bridges in the Netherlands. They are forced into extreme overtime and they are fired if they refuse.

European civil society and the Kingdom of the Netherlands jointly organised this pan-European, multi-stakeholder conference during the Dutch presidency of the EU in spring 2016 in order to discuss the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP).

These landmark UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) were adopted 5 years ago. They provide the EU with important tools to achieve business respect for human rights.

Despite the overall commitment to the UNGPs by the EU member states, there is much to do to improve their implementation

The European Union has the potential to be an international game-changer when it comes to business and human rights.

The Dutch presidency promotes a two-pronged approach, which is to implement the UNGPs at EU level as well as national level. This entails that the EU and all Member States should develop coherent action plans on business and human rights, including necessary legal and policy reforms.

Online plenary sessions well as Conclusions are available at the Conference website: