March 2023
Dear Constituents,
Thank you for writing to me about business and human rights.
The Government is committed to promoting the protection and respect of human rights in business, both at home and abroad.
The UK was the first country to create a National Action Plan to implement the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by governments and businesses worldwide on this important and pressing agenda.
This plan sets out what is expected re. the conduct of UK businesses, including compliance with relevant laws and respect for human rights; treating the risk of causing human rights abuses as a legal compliance issue; adopting appropriate due diligence policies; and consulting those who could potentially be affected. Ministers expect all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs, including in regard to their supply chains.
The UK Government has engaged with the UN Working Group looking at proposals for a new international treaty on business and human rights. As things stand, the landmark UNGPs remain the most clear, global and legally sound framework for putting respect by businesses for human rights on governments’ respective national agendas. I know it is doing all it can to support their implementation worldwide.
The Government is also taking a number of steps, through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to ensure no British organisation, public or private, unwittingly or otherwise, is complicit, through their supply chains, in human rights violations. Section 54 of the Act established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses (with a turnover of £36m or more) to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department of Business and Trade also produce guidance to assist businesses in exercising such due diligence in countries where particular concerns around human rights exist. Indeed, although trade is vital for our economy and future prosperity, it need not come at the expense of our values or international obligations on human rights. I can assure you that the Government continues to assess and consider appropriate action in response to egregious human rights violations and abuses globally, and that this goes much wider than considering trade alone, drawing on the wider tools at the Government's disposal.
As President and host of COP26, the UK has led the way on securing agreement from 141 world leaders to work together to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030 under the Glasgow Leader's Declaration on Forests and Land Use. Signatory countries account for over 90 per cent of the world’s forests, including first-time commitments from Brazil and China. At home, the Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.
The UK's Presidency of the G7 in 2021 and the resulting commitments from G7 members to tackle forced labour in global supply chains clearly demonstrates our country's commitment to ending modern slavery. I have no doubt that Ministers will continue these efforts going forward.
Please be assured that I will continue to monitor developments in this area and where appropriate, will raise your concerns in conversation with relevant Ministers.
Thank you again for writing to me.
With best wishes.
Kind regards,
Jonathan Lord MP
Member of Parliament for Woking