Northern Ireland business and human rights league table developed

Northern Ireland business and human rights league table developed

Alyson Kilpatrick

A Northern Ireland Business and Human Rights Index has been developed by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) in partnership with the Law School at Queen’s University Belfast.

NIHRC chief commissioner Alyson Kilpatrick said: “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.”

The research was supported by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).

Dr Marisa McVey of Queen’s University Belfast 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.”

The research report will be launched in February 2024.

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