National action plan on business and human rights to be launched by 2023

PUTRAJAYA: The government is on track in the development of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) and is expected to launch it by 2023, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the development of the action plan, the first of its kind in Malaysia, was led by the Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister's Department (BHEUU) and supported by both the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Wan Junaidi said the NAPBHR will use the United Nation Guiding Principles (UNGPs) which is built on three pillars namely "protect, respect and remedy" as a guiding document.

"It covers the state's duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and victims access to judicial and non-judicial remedies," he said in a statement in conjunction with the National Conference on Business and Human Rights today.

Wan Junaidi said the development of NAPBHR would focus on three thematic areas - labour, environment and governance - chosen after extensive engagements with stakeholders including various departments and agencies, industry players, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs).

"We cannot ignore the importance of having a comprehensive public consultation with all the relevant stakeholders during the development process where everyone's views and opinions are taken into consideration," he said.

-- BERNAMA