A DECADE OF ADVANCING
BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
As UNDP marks ten years of work on business and human rights, this site brings together stories reflecting how the agenda took root – and the foundations that made progress possible. New stories will be released through 2026.
EXPLORE THE STORIES BELOW
Ten years ago, there was no guarantee the business and human rights agenda would take hold in Asia.
At that point, the region faced a critical gap – rapid economic growth was outpacing the development of systems to protect workers, communities and the environment.
Today, that landscape is beginning to shift. Through sustained investment and collaboration between governments, businesses, civil society, and international partners, the region has expanded spaces for dialogue and helped clarify what responsible business looks like in practice.
To mark the 10th year of UNDP's work on business and human rights, we will be sharing some of the stories behind that transformation – not as a finished achievement, but as foundations for the challenges ahead. Each story reveals how progress happens: through persistence, partnership, and the conviction that business success and human rights can advance together.
2016
An idea takes shape – exploring whether a regional approach could help advance business and human rights in Asia.
2017
First regional platforms convened – creating space for governments, business, and civil society to engage on shared challenges. These early exchanges laid the groundwork for what would later become the region’s largest – the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum.
2018
Building a regional base – the first regional project, launched with support from the Government of Sweden, provided the foundation for sustained regional work and opened the door for other partners to support and scale the agenda, including the European Union in 2020 and the Government of Japan in 2022.
2019
From dialogue to policy – Thailand adopts the region’s first National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights with UNDP support, catalysing peer exchange and a wave of NAP development across Asia.
2020
Adapting under pressure – regional cooperation continues amid COVID-19, with a growing focus on supply chains, workers, and access to remedy.
2021-2022
Scaling learning – regional academies, guidance, and tools expand practical implementation of the UN Guiding Principles, with increased focus on supporting businesses to carry out human rights due diligence.
2023-2024
Broadening the agenda – deeper work on gender, youth, media, environment, and technology strengthens accountability ecosystems and reflects the evolving realities of business impacts.
2025/2026
From initiative to ecosystem – a connected regional portfolio spanning 17 countries in Asia, influencing policy, practice, and global conversations.
ABOUT B+HR ASIA
Key Milestones
UNDP’s business and human rights work was first anchored in Asia, where sustained investment in policy, platforms, and partnerships laid the foundations for a global portfolio spanning over 50 countries.
LOOKING AHEAD
Upcoming Stories
National Action Plans did not emerge as technical exercises, but as political and participatory processes shaped by dialogue and local realities. This story explores how governments across Asia learned from one another through the development of NAPs, using them as platforms for experimentation, peer exchange, and adaptation. Over time, these processes have helped anchor business and human rights in national policy while increasingly serving as stepping stones toward more binding approaches.
Young people across Asia already shape markets through what they buy, create, and build, yet rarely see themselves as actors in the business and human rights space. This story explores how behavioural science revealed the forces shaping youth decisions – and how that insight became a gateway into broader engagement with business and human rights, from supply chains and labour practices to responsible business models and advocacy.
Business impacts are rarely gender-neutral, yet for years this reality sat at the edges of many business and human rights discussions. This story looks at how gender perspectives were increasingly brought into business and human rights work in Asia, revealing risks that standard approaches often overlooked. By centring lived experience, this work helped inform more grounded approaches to due diligence and accountability, without assuming a single or uniform pathway across the region.
Accountability depends on visibility. Journalists and media networks across Asia play a critical role in uncovering harm, connecting isolated cases, and translating complex business and human rights issues into public concern. This story examines how networks of journalists strengthened reporting through collaboration, peer learning, and cross-border investigation, and how journalists trained on business and human rights carried this knowledge into different beats – supporting others and expanding the reach and depth of scrutiny over time.
