Protection of Human Rights in the Functioning of Business Entities in the Republic of Slovenia

Business entities can directly or indirectly abuse human rights. Therefore, the bearers of obligations in the field of human rights protection are, beside the state, also business entities. The purpose of this paper is to study the extent of these business entities’ obligations. In order to clarify the tasks of the state and business entities, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were adopted, and they serve as a (unbinding) tool to the state and business entities in implementing their tasks in the field of human rights protection in business. In accordance with the requirements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights it is important that states establish all the necessary legal foundations that will ensure human rights protection against abuses by third parties and access to an effective remedy when a human rights abuse occurs, while business entities have to identify areas where abuses can occur, integrate mechanisms to prevent them from occurring and mechanisms which will help conduct the measures for an immediate prevention of abuses and remediation if an abuse occurs. The objective of the paper is to find out if there is an appropriate legal basis for human rights protection in the Republic of Slovenia and if the state and business entities in the Republic of Slovenia have started fulfilling their tasks in the field of human rights protection in business. Based on these findings the author assesses if the requirements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in the Republic of Slovenia have already been appropriately implemented and what the state and business entities will have to do in future