No courage to commit

As development and human rights organisations we participated intensively in the German government’s consultation process for developing the National Action Plan (NAP) for implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: in the government’s steering committee, in the altogether twelve thematic hearings and in the three plenary conferences. In this context, we expected the government to move away from the failed model of purely voluntary self-commitment and legally require German companies to discharge their human rights responsibilities in their activities and business relationships abroad. The Action Plan, which has now been presented by the German government after a one-year process of internal coordination, falls far short of this expectation. Not even state-owned companies face binding requirements for human rights due diligence in their operations abroad. Nor are companies excluded from federal public contracts, subsidies or foreign trade promotion if they have disregarded their due diligence obligations. It is still nearly impossible for affected people from the global South to hold German companies responsible for participating in human rights violations. [...]