Background

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In the face of trade uncertainties and evolving regulatory expectations, and rising demands for corporate accountability, Asian governments have taken important strides in pursuing policy measures such as National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights. Over the past five years, eight countries in the region have adopted a NAP, while several others in advanced stages of design. These processes, often shaped through multistakeholder consultations with civil society, private sector, communities, and judicial actors. Furthermore, the exercise of design, consultation and adoption often serves as a catalyst for focal ministries to reach across mandates to consider the full scope and scale of corporate impacts on their populations. Similar approaches can be observed across the Global South, with countries such as Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria mirroring successes from Asia, and designing and implementing NAPs through equally inclusive processes.

However, progress from NAP development to effective implementation, and ultimately towards mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence remains uneven. Gaps in stakeholder participation, integration of contextual issues (such as environmental rights, or gender equity), monitoring, and accountability practices can undermine NAP effectiveness. While primarily voluntary, NAPs play a foundational role in outlining the scale of ambition for responsible and sustainable business conduct, The momentum generated through NAP is moving towards binding frameworks. Governments such as South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are now exploring measures that could transition into mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD).  Similarly, in Africa, Nigeria and Ghana have signaled interest in embedding mHRDD within their national commitments. This session will provide a platform for peer-learning among governments to reflect upon the strengths and limitations of NAP development and implementation, while unpacking the inspiration, business case, and aspirations driving the shift from voluntary commitments to mandatory measures. The delegates will also discuss how governments can build on the networks, partnerships, and governance structures established during NAP design to strengthen implementation. A key feature will be the facilitation of South-South Cooperation, enabling exchange between Asia-Pacific and African governments on lessons learned, challenges, and strategies for accelerating the transition from policy design to implementation and enforcement. It will explore ways to bridge political commitments with bureaucratic coordination, rights-holder engagement, and institutional follow-through.

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Key Objectives

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• Chart Progress Beyond Design: Highlight Asian government’s progress on NAP development and implementation, identifying transferrable lessons and proven effective approaches and strategies

• Understand the Drivers for mHRDD: Examine the  political, social and economic and policy incentives as well as stakeholder pressures motivating governments to explore mandatory measures

• Foster Collaborative Learning for Institutionalization: Share practical tools and strategies for binding voluntary NAP commitments with binding regulatory approaches that are contextually relevant and politically feasible. 

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Guiding Questions

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• Effective Practices: What approaches in NAP design and implementation have proven most effective in building momentum towards mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHRDD)?

• Making the Business Case: How are governments framing the business and policy incentives for moving from voluntary to mandatory approaches, including alignment across ministries and sectors?

• Institutionalization & Coordination: What strategies can help embed NAP commitments across government portfolios (labour, trade, justice, environment) and ensure sustained inter-ministerial coordination?

• Inclusive Implementation: What mechanisms ensure that NAP implementation meaningfully involves rights-holders (e.g. women, Indigenous Peoples, migrant workers, SMEs) and links to accountability systems such as NHRIs and parliamentary oversight?

• Regional & Global Leverage: How can governments strengthen South–South cooperation and use trade, investment, and procurement policies to create incentives for businesses to adopt HRDD practices?

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Format

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Closed-door roundtable with government delegates from Asia-Pacific and Africa, designed to foster candid, peer-to-peer exchanges. Participation will be limited to government representatives and selected facilitators to ensure a trusted environment for sharing experiences, challenges, and practical solutions.