Social Sustainability
State Duty to Protect
Definition
The state duty to protect is the first pillar of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011): states must protect against human rights abuse within their territory or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises, through appropriate policies, legislation, regulation and adjudication. The duty is grounded in existing international human rights law — states are not generally responsible for private actors' abuses, but they breach their obligations when they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress them.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “State Duty to Protect” is defined and used.
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Overview
How it is used
The principle structures national action plans on business and human rights, due diligence legislation, treaty body recommendations, and the negotiations toward a binding treaty on business and human rights.
Why it matters
Every corporate accountability mechanism ultimately stands on or substitutes for the state duty to protect — the anchor of the UNGP architecture.