NAP Priority Areas
Scroll to NAP Priority Categories:
1.
Conduct a mapping exercise to chart national progress made against, and steps required to advance, the four elements of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, that is: (1) the eradication of modern slavery; (2) abolishment of child labour; (3) elimination of discrimination in business activity and the workplace, including the gender pay gap, and; (4) protection of the right to freedom of association.
3.
Conduct a mapping exercise, including a consultative process, to assess the national legislative, policy, and regulatory framework relevant to human rights in the digital economy, including freelance work and the gig economy, and gather recommendations on steps needed to ensure the application of the Protect, Respect, and Remedy framework to the digital economy.
4.
Review and update existing legislation to strengthen the protection of human rights within the context of business activity, incorporating gender equality as a foundational and cross-cutting theme, in line with Pakistan’s Constitutional and international obligations, and in support of the framework of the UNGPs.
5.
Issue and disseminate BHR guidelines for business enterprises in line with the NAP—its priority areas, proposed actions and State expectations of business enterprises—and with regards to non- financial reporting on corporate human rights policies, human rights due diligence, and remedial mechanisms.
6.
Strengthen regulations, with respect to overseas labour abuse, on the registration and oversight of recruitment agencies providing overseas employment opportunities, and work with other Governments to ensure safe and just labour migration.
8.
Incorporate mandatory principles of Business and Human Rights, including the NAP and the UNGPs, into technical and vocational training.
10.
Review and update the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules to incorporate human rights due diligence as a key criterion in the bidding and evaluation process, and give preference to businesses that demonstrate actions taken to meet their human rights obligations.
11.
Develop a model Code of Conduct, making explicit the relationship between business and human rights, for businesses that are State owned, controlled or which work with the State.
15.
Conduct a national study to determine the sectors in which significant gender disparity is prevalent, and utilise the findings of the study to assess and develop a policy regarding the mandatory reservation of quotas for women in different sectors.
17.
Create Women and Transgender Persons’ Business Incubation Centres, and strengthen and facilitate existing ones in all Provinces, and provide equal funding opportunities for women and transgender-led businesses.
18.
Develop Labour Policies, or ensure implementation of existing Policies, which introduce a requirement for businesses to create an Internal Equal Opportunity Committee that receives complaints and conducts inquiries regarding wage gaps and discriminatory hiring practices.
19.
Strengthen existing, and develop where required, civil remedies for discriminatory action based on gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, or any other factor.
20.
Increase access to low-interest or interest-free loans to women and vulnerable or marginalised groups.
21.
Provide capacity-building support in the value chain for women and vulnerable or marginalised groups, and build awareness about their rights under the law as well as available remedial mechanisms in case of violations of their human rights in business activity or the workplace.
22.
Streamline regulatory requirements and procedures for business enterprises, aiming to reduce barriers to entry in business activity faced by women and vulnerable or marginalised groups.
23.
Develop Provincial policies and mechanisms, or ensure implementation of existing ones, related to the non-discrimination and inclusion of women and vulnerable or marginalised groups in business activity, and the provision of safe, healthy, and dignified working spaces for women and vulnerable or marginalised groups in the workplace.
24.
Identify areas through a consultative process where additional funds need to be allocated to address gender inequality in business activity and the workplace.
26.
Conduct Provincial mapping exercises to comprehensively assess existing challenges and deficits, and provide recommendations to eliminate discriminatory practices against women and vulnerable or marginalised groups in business activity or in the workplace.
27.
Build, or further strengthen existing, partnerships with and facilitate businesses to increase disability inclusion in business activity and at the workplace.
29.
Establish Provincial Entrepreneurial Advisory Cells for and led by women and vulnerable or marginalised groups.
30.
Develop mechanisms to ensure vocational training of female prisoners to rehabilitate them and ensure their participation in the economy after completion of their prison sentences.
31.
Develop policy, including a proposed regulatory model, on the requirement of human rights due diligence for the approval of large-scale projects where the business activity poses a significant risk to the rights of a community at large, and incorporate into relevant existing Rules and Guidelines.
32.
Conduct feasibility study of human rights certification and provision of market incentives for businesses which demonstrate respect for human rights across their operations, including conducting human rights due diligence and publicising their efforts.
33.
Conduct feasibility study on the future enactment of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in Pakistan, studying the legislative, regulatory, and economic framework in this regard.
34.
Conduct a study on the potential impact of the future enactment of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation by major trading partners, such as the European Union, on Pakistan’s competitiveness in export markets, inflows of foreign direct investment, Pakistan’s role in global supply chains, and schemes such as GSP+.
35.
Develop and launch a Human Rights Due Diligence Partnership Project with the private sector, for the purpose of establishing a framework and standards for human rights due diligence reporting.
36.
Establish voluntary and common standards for conducting and reporting human rights due diligence in business activity, applicable to both the direct operations and across the value chains of public and private enterprises.
37.
Adopt a National Policy on Home Based Workers (HBW).
38.
Ratify ILO Convention No. 177 (Home Workers).
39.
Ratify ILO Convention No. 189 (Domestic Workers).
40.
Incorporate the terms of all ratified ILO conventions into the legal framework governing the rights of all workers in Pakistan, including those in the informal economy.
41.
Strengthen labour inspection mechanisms, including by ensuring the sufficient funding and capacity of the mechanisms, and conduct regular inspections of business enterprises, including in the informal economy, to safeguard adherence to minimum wage and other labour rights. Ensure inclusion of women as labour inspectors as well.
42.
Conduct a review process of labour laws, standards, and policies to gauge the differentiated impacts or deficits of these laws, standards and policies on women and vulnerable or marginalised workers, including in the informal economy, and identify and enact as required new or amended laws, standards, or policies.
43.
Register all labour, including in the informal economy, and establish, or strengthen existing, Labour Management Information Systems.
44.
Formalise all enterprises, including in the informal economy, and digitise business data.
45.
Formalise and strengthen wage payment mechanisms across all sectors, including the informal economy.
46.
Provide life insurance and ensure compulsory EOBI Registration.
47.
Ensure provision of appointment letter or employment contracts as a requirement in the informal economy.
48.
Pass Provincial legislation, or strengthen compliance with existing legislation, on Domestic Workers.
49.
Conduct awareness raising campaigns including mass media drives, capacity-building workshops, and industry-specific campaigns about the unique challenges faced by informal workers and steps needed to address them.
50.
Conduct an Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on the tourism industry (including a gender impact assessment), with a focus on adverse human rights impacts.
51.
Conduct a national study to determine progress made against the elimination of child labour in all its forms by 2025 in line with SDG 8.7, and provide recommendations and actions for rectification of gaps.
52.
Amend the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933 to raise the penalties payable, by both parents/guardians and employers, for the pledging and employment of children.
53.
Pass legislation, and amend existing legislation where applicable, and ensure implementation, on Employment of Children to (1) raise the age of a child, as defined by the legislation, to the compulsory school-going age of 16, per Article 25-A of the Constitution; (2) prohibit hazardous work under the age of 18; (3) raise the penalties payable for violations; and (4) include domestic work amongst schedule of hazardous occupations.
54.
Conduct nationwide awareness and advocacy campaigns on children’s fundamental right to education and the elimination of child labour.
55.
Ratify Protocol to ILO Convention No. 29 (Forced Labour).
56.
Amend the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act 1992 to provide more stringent punishments against those violating the law and to incorporate provisions on Government aid and rehabilitation programs for victims of forced or bonded labour.
57.
Amend Section 374 of the Pakistan Penal Code (in relation to unlawful compulsory labour) to increase the sentence from the current one-year sentence up to a maximum of life imprisonment for the most severe violations.
58.
Ensure the establishment, proper functioning, and introduce capacity-building programmes for District Vigilance Committees, established under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992.
59.
Amend the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 with an updated list of scheduled diseases, including COVID-19, against which compensation can be claimed.
60.
Update the Pakistan Penal Code to provide a comprehensive list of occupational hazards and the ambit of protection therein.
61.
Ratify ILO Convention No. 155 (Occupational Safety and Health) and ILO Convention No. 187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health).
63.
Conduct a national mapping exercise to identify existing reporting procedures for human rights violations occurring from business activity, and make recommendations for improved effectiveness.
65.
Establish Labour Courts in all districts, and review the existing framework of Labour Courts, including assessment of gender-responsiveness, and utilise the findings to increase and strengthen functioning of Courts to provide for the efficient handling of industrial disputes and the effective protection of labour rights.
66.
Establish Child Protection Courts in all districts, and review the framework of existing Child Protection Courts to include the authority to direct the training and rehabilitation of victims of child labour.
68.
Ensure the effective functioning of public grievance redressal mechanisms such as the Ombudsperson Offices and enhance their capacity to resolve complaints.
69.
Conduct compliance review to verify that effective and gender responsive organizational remedial mechanisms, including Inquiry Committees, are established in all public and private enterprises.