The purpose of this course is to introduce learners to the field of business and human rights and to consider how national human rights institutions can apply their mandate to business and human rights. This e-learning course is designed for personnel working in national human rights institutions. However, much of the learning material will also be relevant for civil society organisations, government agencies and other stakeholders seeking to familiarise themselves with the role of national human rights institutions in business and human rights.
The overall objective of this e-learning is to introduce learners to opportunities and challenges in the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), and to inspire learners to work for the protection and promotion of ESCR in different contexts and through various actions.
This course was developed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) on behalf of GANHRI as part of the EU-funded project: Capacity Building of National Human Rights Institutions. Among others, one objective of the project has been to build the capacities of NHRIs in regard to fulfilling their individual UN Paris Principles mandate thus to strengthen human rights education. The aim is to support NHRIs worldwide to carry out baseline studies of human rights education via formal education, and to cooperate with educational authorities to enhance human rights education in the formal education system.
Following the adoption, in 2012, of the Agenda for Change and the European Union (EU) Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy, the European Union committed to move towards a Rights Based Approach for development cooperation. This commitment is shared and strongly supported by civil society.
This tool-box describes what a Rights Based Approach to development is, by highlighting its core concepts and their rationale, clarifying common misunderstandings, introducing relevant legal references and other donors' commitments.