Second Joint Scientific and Applied Project
“DRIVING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS ACROSS THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN UKRAINE”
The Project is implemented from October 2019 to March 2020 by the Centre for Advanced Studies and Cooperation on Human Rights in Economics of the IELR of the NAS of Ukraine in cooperation with the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (United Kingdom), the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner on Human Rights (Ombudsman) and the NGO “Association of Scientists – Internally Displaced Persons”.
In the course of the Project’s preparation, the Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Institute for Economic and Legal Research of the NAS of Ukraine and the Secretariat of the Ombudsman of Ukraine. The document provides for coordination of efforts in the field of development and implementation of scientifically-based mechanisms for ensuring and protecting the economic and social rights and freedoms of an individual and a citizen.
Project objective: to promote implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on human rights in business in Ukraine via integrating the professional and civic efforts into the systemic national activities on reaching the SDGs
Target audience: representatives of the state legislative, executive and judiciary and local government bodies, economic entities, social partners, academic and higher educational establishments, practitioners in the fields of law and economics, NGOs.
Project activities:
The following Project activities, taking place in several stages, are implemented consistently:
- The Centre’s experts has carried out a scientific and analytical review to identify the common and most obvious correlations between the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals in the Ukrainian context (October-November 2019);
- Two meetings of the Project Working Group are held in co-operation with partner organizations (October 2019, January 2020);
- The High-level Expert Consultations are held under the auspices of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner on Human Rights with the participation of representatives of the central executive bodies, courts, social partners, business, scientists of the IELR of the NAS of Ukraine and professors of Kyiv and Kharkiv universities, civil society organisations (December 3, 2019).
During the Consultations, the issues identified by the Project are discussed and exchange of diverse expertise and professional knowledge on a range of interrelated issues are held to define effective policy, legal and practical approaches to integrating the “human rights in business” concept into the system-wide national reform activities by means of including it in the Sustainable Development Strategy of Ukraine for the next programming period to 2030, the National Human Rights Strategy, relevant sectoral strategies and action plans for their implementation, the Ukraine’s National Report on implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, etc.
The Consultations presented the joint initiative to create a permanent Inter-sectoral Platform of Experts (IPE) on promoting respect for human rights in business in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, raising the general level of public awareness and professional competence regarding the international norms and standards for protection of human rights, preventing the negative impact of companies on people’s life.
The IPE will operate on the basis of the Secretariat of the Ombudsman on Human Rights with the scientific, expert and methodological support of the Centre for Advanced Studies and Cooperation on Human Rights in Economics of the IELR of the NAS of Ukraine.
- Based on results of the expert discussions, the Concept of the Roadmap of activities of the IPE on promotion of human rights in business in the context of national policy and legislation is elaborated and submitted to the Secretariat of the Ombudsman on Human Rights (January 2020).
- The materials of the scientific-expert research developed during the Project are summarized and a collection of scientific and practical papers “Promoting respect for human rights in the business sphere in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Ukraine” is prepared for publication.
The published collection is for dissemination among the IPE participants, other stakeholders and library holdings.
The Project is implemented under the financial support of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (United Kingdom).