Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development, with reference to the Government's commitment to implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, what steps the Government is taking to support a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights.

The UK Government has consistently supported the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important and pressing agenda. Implementation of the UNGPs will support access to justice and remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses, wherever these occur, and encourage businesses to voluntarily adopt 'due diligence' approaches to respecting human rights.

We have engaged with the UN Working Group looking at proposals for a new international treaty on business and human rights since 2015, through to the sixth session last October. The UK will continue to engage with the proposal at the upcoming seventh session, which will take place 25-29 October 2021.

The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/522805/Good_Business_Implementing_the_UN_Guiding_Principles_on_Business_and_Human_Rights_updated_May_2016.pdf). A progress report on the implementation of the National Action Plan was published in May 2020. We continue to develop our approach in line with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.