(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)
Bakhcheva, Iryna
The topic of business and human rights received a new impetus after the adoption of the United
Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights in 2011. This topic is extremely relevant
for developing countries such as Ukraine. Over the past 30 years, Ukraine has witnessed dramatic
changes in the socio-economic system and a business development boom. Business development,
however, was not always contributing to improving the human rights situation. In particular, there
is a problem with observance of labour rights in Ukraine with high unregistered employment, inequality
in the labour market and labour legislation that does not correspond to the realities of the
market.
This policy brief outlines the existing legal framework in the field of labour rights and existing
loopholes in the system of labour rights protection. The brief offers policy recommendations to
the government on how to improve the situation and bring business on board in the promotion of
labour and human rights protection. In particular, the article contains recommendations for the development
of a national action plan in light of the adoption of the UN General Principles on Business
and Human Rights by Ukraine in 2019.
