First Ever Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Index

With support from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has partnered with the Law School at Queen’s University Belfast to conduct research on an assessment of corporate human rights implementation to develop the first ever Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Index.

NIHRC Chief Commissioner, Alyson Kilpatrick explains:

“This new Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Index will create a league table of businesses operating in Northern Ireland. It will strengthen our work with the private sector helping to promote and protect human rights within this sphere. It will also further support the work of public authorities responsible for procuring services, assisting with due diligence and the incorporation of human rights considerations into tendering exercises and contracts. Additionally, the project will allow the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to showcase good practice and learning experiences with our partnership across the network of European National Human Rights Institutions.”

Leading the research from Queen’s University Belfast, Dr Marisa McVey said:

“Queen’s Law School is delighted to have this new partnership with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, and we look forward to developing research in this area over the years ahead. Corporate responsibility for human rights is an incredibly important and timely topic. We hope this new research will motivate and engage businesses in Northern Ireland to further embed human rights at the heart of their future strategies. Moreover, this project will bolster current policies such as the PPN and inform future policy and legislative initiatives regarding business and human rights and modern slavery in Northern Ireland”.

This new research report shall be launched in February 2024. If any businesses would like more information, please email Michael.Boyd@nihrc.org

ENDS

All queries should be directed to media@nihrc.org

Note for the Editor:

• The Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Forum was established in 2015. It is a multi-stakeholder platform which allows Government, business, and civil society to engage on business and human rights.

• The work at the Forum is directed by its members with reference to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Forum is open to all businesses in Northern Ireland that wish to gain knowledge on the interaction between human rights issues and business activity and share good practice.

• The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission provides the Forum’s Secretariat and chaired the Forum for its first year. For more information on the work of the Forum please visit https://nihrc.org/our-work/other-sites/business-human-rights

• The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is part of the UN Business and Human Rights Forum, European Network of National Human Rights Institutions and Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions Business and Human Rights Working Groups.

• The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body first proposed in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) and established in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act (1998). It is answerable to Parliament at Westminster.