Webinar: Status and perspectives on mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in the Nordics

The webinar took place 25th March 2021.
Webinar recording co-hosted by: The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DanChurchAid, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Nordic Business Network for Human Rights.
This event seeked to convene key actors from the Nordic countries including representatives of states, civil society, business, trade unions, national human rights institutions and academia to:
Take stock of developments at national level in the Nordic countries
Discuss Nordic perspectives on EU legislative process in light of recent consultation.
About the webinar:
In several Nordic countries, stakeholder dialogues, coalitions, consultations and policy processes currently focus on the case for and design of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation. Join us for a Roundtable that takes stock of developments at the national level in Nordic countries and explore potential Nordic perspectives on the current EU legislative process.
On the occasion of the 8th UN Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights in 2019, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN in Geneva, DanChurchAid, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Nordic Business Network for Human Rights for the first time hosted a roundtable on Promoting effective human rights due diligence - Nordic perspectives on the ‘smart mix'.
Since the 2019 roundtable, the discussion on mandatory human rights due diligence (MHRDD) as a central part of a smart mix has continued to gain momentum across Europe. Businesses and States in the Nordic region have long been perceived as leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility and business and human rights.
However, apart from non-financial reporting requirements, no MHRDD legislation is currently in place in the region. In several Nordic countries, stakeholder dialogues, consultation and policy processes have however started to identify current gaps and opportunities for potential legal measures to further embed due diligence in business practices nationally and through a regional measure, as currently envisaged by the EU Commission.