This publication has a twofold aim: to promote larger public awareness on this issue, to understand business opportunities in compiling programmes and challenging actions to enhance economic development while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms; to introduce a brief summary for experts on the recent national activities to address public, private, institutional and non-institutional instances working at the global and regional level in order to adopt common rules to strengthen human rights standards.

The publication is developed as follows: in Part One the first National Action Plan on business and human rights 2016-2021, adopted by Italy in December 2016 and voluntarily submitted to the United Nations, is introduced... In Part Two the most recent documents released in several intergovernmental systems (i.e. European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations) are examined to analyse specific aspects of the issue and to compare them with the Italian National Action Plan and its commitments.

This focus is aimed at giving the NAP an added value, due to its progressive application with reference to some global goals that Italy took into account in advance, calling for business support and its active and constant dialogue to this scope...