"Informal background note: Human rights defenders & civic space - the business & human rights dimension." 12 May 2017

The UNGPs recognize the important and valuable role played by human rights defenders, the key role they can have in human rights due diligence and enable companies to understand concerns of affected stakeholders, and the risks they face as a result. Principle 18 urges businesses to consult human rights defenders as an important expert resource and highlights their role as watchdogs, advocates and facilitators. The risks faced by defenders are highlighted through Principle 26, the commentary to which requires states to ensure that the legitimate activities of human rights defenders are not obstructed... States have the primary duty of ensuring respect and protection of human rights defenders, including those working on business-related issues... When developing national action plans (NAP) for implementing the UNGPs, states are expected to both engage with human rights defenders and ensure that protection and support of their work is addressed in the NAPs... While the UNGPs recognize a role for human rights defenders in corporate human rights due diligence, there is yet less practical guidance oriented toward companies, although there is movement in the right direction. Emerging good practice examples by some companies can provide inspiration for others.