In the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP), the Federal Government sets out, for the first time, the responsibility of German companies along supply and value chains. The Action Plan aims to help strengthen human rights and shape globalisation in a socially responsible manner.

In the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP), the human rights due diligence obligations of companies for global supply and value chains are set down in a fixed framework. The Federal Government would like to help companies implement human rights due diligence.

The Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Gesetz über die unternehmerischen Sorgfaltspflichten in Lieferketten) was published in the Federal Law Gazette on 22 July 2021 after completion of the parliamentary procedure. This is the first time the responsibility of German enterprises to respect human rights in global supply chains has been put on a legal footing.

A globalised economy requires a European strategy in the form of an action plan to effectively protect human rights in the supply chains of EU companies. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs promoted the issue during Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2020; a concrete legislative proposal from the EU Commission has followed in February 2022.