Peru’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights: dialogue as a cornerstone to promote and respect human rights
In June 2021 Peru announced the approval of its National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights, the outcome of a multi-stakeholder dialogue process that included state institutions, employers’ organizations and businesses, workers’ organizations, indigenous peoples, and other civil society actors.
In June 2021 Peru announced the approval of its National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights, the outcome of a multi-stakeholder dialogue process that included state institutions, employers’ organizations and businesses, workers’ organizations, indigenous peoples, and other civil society actors. Peru is the third country in Latin America to adopt such plan. ILO’s technical support, provided within the framework of the Responsible Business Conduct in Latin America and the Caribbean (RBCLAC) project has been instrumental in the development and adoption of the NAP.
The National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights
A NAP on Business and Human Rights is a public policy instrument to support State implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Where it concerns labour rights, the business and human rights agenda is founded on international labour standards and the ILO’s constitutional mandate as the UN standard-setting organization in the world of work. As labour rights are human rights, the ratification of international labour standards and their effective application in law and practice is key to ensuring business respect for human rights. NAPs on Business and Human Rights affirm the government’s commitment to uphold its existing obligations concerning ratified ILO conventions, address any challenges and recommendations on how to strengthen their application, and reference instruments such as the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Peru announced its commitment to develop a NAP on Business and Human Rights in 2018. After a diagnostic and baseline process, stakeholders identified 23 priority issues that the NAP should address. The NAP consists of a total of 97 actions with more than 150 indicators, distributed in 5 strategic areas and 13 objectives, involving 21 public entities of the government.
The Peruvian NAP on Business and Human Rights (2021-2025) confirms the government’s aim to foster a human-centered approach to development. It states that economic development “should translate in decent work, decent wages, adequate safety and health at work, a reduction of informality, respect to diversity, and the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination in industrial relations (…)” (NAP 2021-2025, pg. 10).
The NAP includes a number of strategic areas and objectives concerning labour rights, and the realization of decent work more broadly. One of these strategic areas concerns the promotion and application of international instruments on responsible business conduct, including the UNGPs, the ILO MNE Declaration and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Others strategic areas have specific objectives and targets that seek to address national challenges. A main one is the high incidence of informality. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), in 2018, 19% of the country’s GDP was generated by the informal economy, and the share of informal employment is estimated at approximately 70%. The prevalence of informal economic units and workers poses serious challenges for the country, in terms of working conditions, social protection, and limited or no oversight regarding respect for labour rights.
Another priority concerns the eradication of child labour. Even though child labour has decreased in Peru due to the implementation of the National Strategy on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour 2011-2021, progress still needs to be made to fully eradicate it. Moreover, there is a need to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of such efforts.
The NAP on Business and Human Rights also highlights the role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as enabling rights to ensure the protection of labour rights in business operations; the need for enterprises to strengthen due diligence processes particularly in their supply chains, and beyond first tier providers; and the duty of the government in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of business operations.
To achieve its goals, each strategic area of the NAP on Business and Human Rights includes a description of the actions to be taken, and each action outlines who is responsible for it, as well as its indicator, baseline and target.
Assessing challenges and engaging stakeholders to build consensus
To assess the challenges in terms of respect for human rights in business operations, the governments commissioned 23 baseline assessments on priority issues. ILO provided support to the development of the baseline assessments on gender equality, informal economy, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. These assessments not only provided an accurate overview of the progress made and remaining challenges on these priority issues, but they will also be used to monitor and evaluate the NAP on business and human rights when it ends in 2025.
In terms of process, the development and adoption of the NAP were the result of the intense collaboration between State institutions, the business sector, workers’ organizations, indigenous peoples, and a range of civil society organizations. Overall, one hundred thirty-two stakeholders participated in the process. The ILO, as a tripartite organization, played an active role in supporting the engagement of its constituents (Ministry of labour, employers’ and workers’ organizations) in the NAP process.
The development of the NAP was inclusive, interdisciplinary, and interactive, fostering open, inclusive, and constructive dialogues. The NAP has a strong equality-based approach, with concrete measures on gender equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities, as well as an intercultural and territorial approach, tailored to the national context.
Moreover, it sought the involvement of different actors who have been in conflict in the past and contributed to build a common understanding about what responsible business practices are. In the Peruvian context, the NAP emerges as an opportunity to further dialogue and reduce social conflict.
Moving towards implementation
The Government has the overall responsibility for the implementation of the NAP on business and human rights. The overall effectiveness of its implementation however depends on a strategic partnership between government, the business sector, the social partners, and other stakeholders. As stated in the NAP, each party must actively contribute to its implementation, and be accountable for giving effect to the commitments and actions that were jointly established.
To ensure that the NAP reaches those who it intends to benefit, the involvement of local governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations is critical. Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, the ILO, jointly with UNDP, supported the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in the decentralization of the Plan by conducting a series of awareness raising seminars in five regions of Peru: Ica, Cusco, Ucayali, Cajamarca, and Piura, bringing together governmental entities, the business sector, workers' organizations, and civil society. In total, more than 800 representatives from these stakeholder groups participated, and explored the relevance of the NAP on business and human rights to their function and local context.
Another important factor for the success of the NAP is the increased awareness and adoption of responsible business practices by micro, small and medium enterprises. The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) estimated that, in 2019 these accounted for 99.6% of enterprises in Peru, employing 59% of the economically active population. Against this backdrop, the ILO supported CONFIEP, the main employers’ organization of the country, in the development of a campaign and a platform with tools and resources for enterprises in general, and SMEs in particular, to learn about and incorporate respect for human rights in their operations.
A range of activities undertaken as part of the RBCLAC project are planned to further support the implementation of the NAP on business and human rights and specific objectives. Looking ahead, one of the remaining challenges is the need to strengthen stakeholder dialogue, as well as to establish it more firmly as a key process particularly when it comes to the protection and respect of labour rights, and human rights more broadly, in business operations.
The National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights
A NAP on Business and Human Rights is a public policy instrument to support State implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Where it concerns labour rights, the business and human rights agenda is founded on international labour standards and the ILO’s constitutional mandate as the UN standard-setting organization in the world of work. As labour rights are human rights, the ratification of international labour standards and their effective application in law and practice is key to ensuring business respect for human rights. NAPs on Business and Human Rights affirm the government’s commitment to uphold its existing obligations concerning ratified ILO conventions, address any challenges and recommendations on how to strengthen their application, and reference instruments such as the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Peru announced its commitment to develop a NAP on Business and Human Rights in 2018. After a diagnostic and baseline process, stakeholders identified 23 priority issues that the NAP should address. The NAP consists of a total of 97 actions with more than 150 indicators, distributed in 5 strategic areas and 13 objectives, involving 21 public entities of the government.
The Peruvian NAP on Business and Human Rights (2021-2025) confirms the government’s aim to foster a human-centered approach to development. It states that economic development “should translate in decent work, decent wages, adequate safety and health at work, a reduction of informality, respect to diversity, and the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination in industrial relations (…)” (NAP 2021-2025, pg. 10).
The NAP includes a number of strategic areas and objectives concerning labour rights, and the realization of decent work more broadly. One of these strategic areas concerns the promotion and application of international instruments on responsible business conduct, including the UNGPs, the ILO MNE Declaration and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Others strategic areas have specific objectives and targets that seek to address national challenges. A main one is the high incidence of informality. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), in 2018, 19% of the country’s GDP was generated by the informal economy, and the share of informal employment is estimated at approximately 70%. The prevalence of informal economic units and workers poses serious challenges for the country, in terms of working conditions, social protection, and limited or no oversight regarding respect for labour rights.
Another priority concerns the eradication of child labour. Even though child labour has decreased in Peru due to the implementation of the National Strategy on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour 2011-2021, progress still needs to be made to fully eradicate it. Moreover, there is a need to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of such efforts.
The NAP on Business and Human Rights also highlights the role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as enabling rights to ensure the protection of labour rights in business operations; the need for enterprises to strengthen due diligence processes particularly in their supply chains, and beyond first tier providers; and the duty of the government in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of business operations.
To achieve its goals, each strategic area of the NAP on Business and Human Rights includes a description of the actions to be taken, and each action outlines who is responsible for it, as well as its indicator, baseline and target.
Assessing challenges and engaging stakeholders to build consensus
To assess the challenges in terms of respect for human rights in business operations, the governments commissioned 23 baseline assessments on priority issues. ILO provided support to the development of the baseline assessments on gender equality, informal economy, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. These assessments not only provided an accurate overview of the progress made and remaining challenges on these priority issues, but they will also be used to monitor and evaluate the NAP on business and human rights when it ends in 2025.
In terms of process, the development and adoption of the NAP were the result of the intense collaboration between State institutions, the business sector, workers’ organizations, indigenous peoples, and a range of civil society organizations. Overall, one hundred thirty-two stakeholders participated in the process. The ILO, as a tripartite organization, played an active role in supporting the engagement of its constituents (Ministry of labour, employers’ and workers’ organizations) in the NAP process.
The development of the NAP was inclusive, interdisciplinary, and interactive, fostering open, inclusive, and constructive dialogues. The NAP has a strong equality-based approach, with concrete measures on gender equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities, as well as an intercultural and territorial approach, tailored to the national context.
Moreover, it sought the involvement of different actors who have been in conflict in the past and contributed to build a common understanding about what responsible business practices are. In the Peruvian context, the NAP emerges as an opportunity to further dialogue and reduce social conflict.
Moving towards implementation
The Government has the overall responsibility for the implementation of the NAP on business and human rights. The overall effectiveness of its implementation however depends on a strategic partnership between government, the business sector, the social partners, and other stakeholders. As stated in the NAP, each party must actively contribute to its implementation, and be accountable for giving effect to the commitments and actions that were jointly established.
To ensure that the NAP reaches those who it intends to benefit, the involvement of local governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations is critical. Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, the ILO, jointly with UNDP, supported the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in the decentralization of the Plan by conducting a series of awareness raising seminars in five regions of Peru: Ica, Cusco, Ucayali, Cajamarca, and Piura, bringing together governmental entities, the business sector, workers' organizations, and civil society. In total, more than 800 representatives from these stakeholder groups participated, and explored the relevance of the NAP on business and human rights to their function and local context.
Another important factor for the success of the NAP is the increased awareness and adoption of responsible business practices by micro, small and medium enterprises. The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) estimated that, in 2019 these accounted for 99.6% of enterprises in Peru, employing 59% of the economically active population. Against this backdrop, the ILO supported CONFIEP, the main employers’ organization of the country, in the development of a campaign and a platform with tools and resources for enterprises in general, and SMEs in particular, to learn about and incorporate respect for human rights in their operations.
A range of activities undertaken as part of the RBCLAC project are planned to further support the implementation of the NAP on business and human rights and specific objectives. Looking ahead, one of the remaining challenges is the need to strengthen stakeholder dialogue, as well as to establish it more firmly as a key process particularly when it comes to the protection and respect of labour rights, and human rights more broadly, in business operations.