Background

Kenya is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which, In June 2011, unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and called on all Member States to develop National Action Plans (NAPs) to promote the implementation of the UNGPs within their respective national contexts.
The UN guiding principles on business and human rights (UNGPs) reiterate existing obligations of states and other actors and provide the first globally agreed standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity.
The Guiding Principles set the baseline responsibility of all enterprises as, respect for human rights wherever they operate. Beyond that, enterprises may voluntarily undertake additional human rights commitments.
The Guiding Principles apply to all States and to all business enterprises. transnational and others. regardless of their size. sector. location. ownership and structure. They are based on the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework which recognizes the complimentary but distinct roles of the States and businesses to protect and respect human rights.
They have been endorsed by other business reporting mechanisms including: The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR); The U.N. Global Compact; The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission.

Underlying Framework

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) calls on all Member States to develop National Action Plans (NAPs) to promote the implementation of the UNGPs within their respective national contexts,

Project Cycle

The Kenyan government encourages all stakeholders, particularly communities whose human rights have been impacted by businesses, to participate in the process of developing the National Action Plan.

Benefits of NAP

The National Action Plan will provide the overall strategy and concrete commitments by the Government for addressing adverse business-related human rights impacts in line with the UNGPs

Business and Human Rights

National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

The Government through the Office of the Attorney General & Department of Justice has developed a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, a comprehensive strategy for protecting against human rights abuses by businesses, whether private or owned by Government. The development of this National Action Plan involved an extensive stakeholder consultative process. The development process was led by the Office of the Attorney General & Department of Justice and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and was coordinated by an inter-agency National Steering Committee.
This Action Plan details policy priority areas that the Government will focus on in the next five years in a bid to ensure that all businesses including State Owned Enterprises respect human rights. The Action Plan consolidates the existing efforts in the protection and fulfilment of human rights by the State and non state actors, I call upon both levels of Government and businesses to put in place the necessary mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of this National Action Plan.
Click Here to Download the Action Plan

NAP Objectives

Oversight

The National Action Plan will gradually provide the overall strategy and concrete commitments by the Government for addressing
adverse business-related human rights impacts in line with the UNGPs.

NAP Objectives

Commitment

A commitment to take respect for human rights seriously enough to allocate management time and resources to developing and implementing an action plan involving stakeholders consultations.

NAP Objectives

Inclusion

Regardless of size or operational context.all companies can benefit from tools and guidance to help them with their implementation
efforts in incorporating human rights for business.

NAP Objectives

Capacity Building

Adopting a national action plan for business and human rights will facilitate any organisation or stakeholder to carry out its human rights due diligence towards meeting its responsibility to respect human rights.

Business and Human Rights

Pillars of UNGP on Business and Human Rights.

According to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (‘UN Guiding Principles’), companies should respect human rights, meaning they should avoid infringing on the human rights of others, and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved (UN Guiding Principle 11).

State Duty to Protect

The first pillar of the Guiding Principles is the state's duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises. through regulation. policymaking, investigation. and enforcement. This pillar reaffirms states· existing obligations under international human rights law, as put forth in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Corporate Responsibility to Respect

The corporate responsibility to respect human rights indicates that businesses must act with due diligence to avoid infringing on the rights of others and to address negative impacts with which they are involved. The second pillar offers a process for companies to both 'know and show· that they are meeting this responsibility. by which they become aware of. prevent. and address their adverse human rights impacts.

Access to Remedy

The third pillar addresses both the state's responsibility to provide access to remedy through judicial. administrative. and legislative means, and the corporate responsibility to prevent and remediate any infringement of rights that they contribute to. Having effective grievance mechanisms in place is crucial in upholding the state's duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect.

Latest News

17Jul2023

Training Workshops For Public Officials In County Governments And For Businesses (Private And State Owned) On Business And Human Rights

KNCHR with the technical support of DOJ and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and with financial support from the Japanese Embassy through UNDP's B+HR project on promoting responsible business, organized two-day training workshops in Nakuru, Kiambu and Mombasa counties to disseminate Kenya’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP-BHR) and sensitize stakeholders on business and human rights.

17Jul2023

Implementing the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights- The pathway to business respect for human rights

The approval in February 2021 by Cabinet of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, culminates a thorough process that began in 2015 following a recommendation made during Kenya’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva. Kenya became the first country in Africa to both initiate the development of this policy and to complete it. This was followed closely by Uganda. This places Kenya among a short list of countries that have developed a National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights and hence domesticating the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights.