BEYOND TECHNICAL COMPLIANCE: ADVANCING LABOUR RIGHTS THROUGH EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF NAPs ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA

As part of the official programme, the FES AU Cooperation Office organised a side session titled “Beyond Technical Compliance: Advancing Labour Rights through Effective Implementation of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in Africa.” The session convened a panel to discuss the labour rights dimensions and gender analysis of National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights in Africa. The discussion was informed by a comparative research paper commissioned by the FES AU Cooperation Office, “National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in Africa: A Labour Rights Perspective”. The study examined five African NAPs, focusing on their inception, conceptualisation, development and implementation processes. It also assessed how trade unions and labour rights have been integrated into these processes, the extent to which meaningful stakeholder engagement has taken place, and whether such engagement has translated into tangible impacts.

AFRICA’S GROWING MOMENTUM ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS:

The panel discussion recognised that Africa is making progress on the Business and Human Rights agenda, although this progress remains gradual. More than six African countries have now developed NAPs on Business and Human Rights, with Malawi being the latest country, following Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Several other countries, including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Tanzania, are also at different stages of developing their NAPs. These national developments are increasingly being complemented by efforts at the continental level. The African Union is currently advancing the development of the African Union Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The draft has been under development for several years, and the African Union PAPS Department has recently conducted consultations with African Member States and experts to review and further develop the document. The FES AU Cooperation Office has had the opportunity to contribute to this process, including by advocating for the explicit recognition of trade unions as relevant stakeholders in the Business and Human Rights discourse and ensuring that their mandates and perspectives are appropriately reflected. 

At the same time, the panel highlighted an important concern: the impact of NAPs on the lives and working conditions of people on the ground remains limited and, in many cases, difficult to identify. While the development of NAPs is an important step, their processes are increasingly becoming technical exercises, with insufficient political discussion and debate among the stakeholders who are most directly affected. As a result, the voices of trade unions, women and other marginalised groups are often inadequately represented or reflected in the development and implementation of NAPs.The panel emphasised that a NAP on Business and Human Rights should not be treated simply as a technical policy document or a compliance exercise. Its value ultimately depends on whether it can contribute to real improvements in workers' rights, corporate accountability, access to remedy and the protection of affected communities. 

PUTTING LABOUR RIGHTS AND TRADE UNIONS AT THE CENTRE:

A central message emerging from the discussion was the need to ensure that labour rights and trade unions are integrated from the very beginning of the NAP process.Trade unions are not simply one stakeholder group among many. They have a distinct role in representing workers, documenting labour rights concerns and engaging with employers, governments and other relevant actors. Their participation can therefore contribute significantly to ensuring that NAPs reflect the realities faced by workers across different sectors and value chains.The panel stressed that African NAP processes should move beyond reactive or superficial stakeholder consultations. Instead, trade unions and other affected groups should have meaningful opportunities to shape the conceptualisation, development, implementation and monitoring of NAPs.This also requires trade unions themselves to play an active role by demanding participation and creating spaces for engagement, while strengthening their capacity to organise, articulate national labour rights priorities and contribute to policy discussions on Business and Human Rights.

RECOGNISING THE GENDERED DIMENSIONS OF BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS:

The discussion also underscored the importance of applying a gender-responsive approach to NAPs.Women should not be treated as a single, homogeneous stakeholder group. Women experience the impacts of business activities differently depending on their occupation, sector, economic position and social circumstances. Labour rights concerns affecting women workers may therefore differ significantly from those affecting other groups. A meaningful gender analysis of NAPs should consequently examine the specific and differentiated impacts of business activities on women, including issues relating to employment, working conditions, discrimination, occupational health and safety, care responsibilities, informal work and access to remedy. The panel therefore called for gender considerations to be integrated throughout the NAP on Business and Human Rights process rather than being added as an isolated or supplementary component.

MOVING FROM PARTICIPATION TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION:

The discussions at the 5th African BHR Forum reinforced the need for a more deliberate approach to the development and implementation of NAPs in Africa. Business and Human Rights is an area that requires the engagement of all relevant stakeholders from the outset and at every stage of the process. Governments, businesses, trade unions, civil society organisations, women’s organisations, affected communities and other stakeholders all have important roles to play. For NAPs to generate meaningful change, stakeholder participation must go beyond consultation. It should contribute to decision-making, implementation, monitoring and accountability. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to increase the number of African countries with NAPs on Business and Human Rights, but to ensure that these plans are credible, inclusive, adequately resourced and capable of producing measurable outcomes.

AMPLIFYING THE VOICE OF AFRICAN TRADE UNIONS:

The FES AU Cooperation Office also supported the participation of a trade union representative in the closing panel of the 5th African BHR Forum. Lense Getachew from the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) represented the Trade Union perspective, highlighting the importance of recognising the labour rights and gender dimensions of NAPs on Business and Human Rights in Africa. She also emphasised the importance of trade unions actively demanding space within national and continental BHR processes, while promoting peer learning and exchange among trade unions across Africa. The participation of trade union representatives in continental BHR platforms is an important step towards ensuring that the voices of workers are not only heard, but are reflected in the policies and strategies being developed to govern responsible business conduct.