ENNHRI published a statement based on its intervention at the Council of Europe’s (CoE) CDDH Plenary meeting on 21 June 2018 in Strasbourg. The Statement will form a part of the CDDH Plenary Meeting Report and will be used as an important benchmark when monitoring the implementation of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 on human rights and business.

Inter alia, the statement highlights the following business related human rights challenges:

• human trafficking and modern slavery,
• sexual violence and harassment especially in the workplace,
• labour rights abuses including breaches of minimum pay requirements and trade union rights, with specific issues arising in connection with agency workers and workers employed through ‘umbrella companies’,
• invasions of privacy and misuse of personal data,
• discrimination in employment and access to services,
• environmental degradation,
• corporate tax evasion and avoidance with implications for realisation of human rights.

ENNHRI Statement furthermore notes that only 17 of the 47 (35%) CoE States have adopted National Action Plans (NAPs) on business and human rights.

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