Setting up the dialogues

The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is the government body responsible for organising and coordinating the NAP sector dialogues in collaboration with the Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights (IMA).

In preparation for the dialogues, BMAS organised a series of preliminary events designed to engage all stakeholders in the process.

• One of these events was held in November 2017 in Berlin under the heading Möglichkeiten und Grenzen von NAP-Branchendialogen (NAP sector dialogues – opportunities and constraints). The purpose of the event was to discuss the future shape of the NAP sector dialogues with a wide range of stakeholders from politics, business, civil society, trade unions and academia.
• Four NAP forums were held between November 2018 and May 2019 to discuss the respective sector-wide challenges to be overcome when implementing human rights due diligence obligations. The forums provided an opportunity for stakeholders representing politics, business, civil society, trade unions and academia to share their thoughts on the associated challenges and possible solutions.
  • 1st NAP forum on raw materials procurement / purchasing on commodity exchanges on 15 November 2018
  • 2nd NAP forum on company and sector-wide grievance mechanisms on 23 January 2019
  • 3rd NAP forum on antitrust law in relation to sector-wide cooperation on 28 March 2019
  • 4th NAP forum on adapting procurement contracts and processes on 23 May 2019
• BMAS commissioned a study entitled Die Achtung von Menschenrechten entlang globaler Wertschöpfungsketten (Respect for Human Rights along Global Value Chains). The study investigates human rights risks in the value chains of individual sectors of the German economy. Based on specific criteria, the risks are narrowed down to cover eleven key sectors. This study provided the basis for discussions between BMAS and social partners, enterprises and other relevant stakeholders in each sector in order to determine the level of interest in and best approach to establishing a sector dialogue.