Businesses Face Growing Pressure to Turn Human Rights Pledges Into Action

The research examines National Action Plan (NAP) processes on business and human rights in Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

Business and human rights, labour standards, ESG requirements, responsible business conduct and supply-chain expectations are becoming increasingly connected, leaving companies with a much broader responsibility to understand how their operations affect workers, suppliers and communities. New research from the International Labour Organization (ILO) suggests that Employer and Business Membership Organizations (EBMOs) can play a stronger role in helping companies navigate these demands while ensuring that practical business realities are reflected when governments develop policies on responsible business conduct.

The research examines National Action Plan (NAP) processes on business and human rights in Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines and Viet Nam. It found that private-sector participation has frequently been fragmented or concentrated around the drafting stage, which can limit business influence because important decisions about priorities, evidence and policy direction may already have taken shape before companies and their representative organizations become closely involved.

Early business involvement can shape better policies

Experiences across the five countries show why participation needs to begin before a National Action Plan reaches the drafting table. Malaysia involved businesses in its national baseline assessment, allowing operational knowledge from companies to contribute to the evidence used in developing its NAP, while Viet Nam and Mongolia have included business organizations within governance structures linked to their respective action plans.

For EBMOs, early involvement creates an opportunity to build relationships with governments, collect evidence through existing member networks and surveys, and bring together the experiences of businesses operating across different sectors and at different scales. This can be particularly valuable for smaller companies whose concerns may receive less attention despite facing significant challenges in responding to new human rights and supply-chain requirements.

SMEs need practical support to manage emerging expectations

Companies are increasingly being asked to move beyond public commitments and demonstrate how responsible business principles are incorporated into everyday operations. Stakeholders across the five countries identified strong demand for practical tools that can help businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, identify human rights risks, conduct human rights due diligence, work more effectively with suppliers and understand regulatory or market developments affecting their supply chains.

EBMOs can bridge this knowledge gap by turning their participation in policy discussions into practical services for members, giving companies clearer guidance on what evolving expectations mean for sourcing, employment practices, supplier relationships and risk management.

EBMOs can connect policymaking with business reality

The ILO's new publication, National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: A Guide for Employer and Business Membership Organizations, translates lessons from the five-country research into practical guidance. Its message places greater emphasis on earlier engagement and meaningful implementation rather than treating responsible business conduct mainly as an awareness issue.

As human rights, labour, ESG, trade and supply-chain requirements increasingly overlap, EBMOs have an opportunity to bring credible business evidence into policymaking while helping members convert broad responsible-business principles into workable practices. Their ability to represent different industries and company sizes, including SMEs, could make them an increasingly important link between changing policy expectations and what businesses can realistically implement.