Human Rights Council, 47th session
Item 3 - Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises
Joint statement delivered by Denmark on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries
28 June 2021
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries: Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country Denmark.
We thank the Working Group for the stocktaking report on the first 10 years with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and reiterate our strong support for the Guiding Principles as the consensual, global framework to promote the effective prevention of business-related human rights harm, and remedy for the victims.
As is noted in the report, the endorsement in 2011 marked only the end of the beginning. While a lot has been achieved, the untapped potential for broader and deeper implementation of the guidelines is vast. The Nordic and Baltic countries are committed to continue pursuing the best smart mix of measures – national and international, mandatory and voluntary – to foster business respect for human rights.
The report notes that the UNGPs have been largely absent from efforts to achieve the SDGs. How could the UNGPs and the 2030 Agenda be better linked, in recognition of human rights being the foundation of both?
Thank you.