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Business and Human Rights: a resource website

 

  Guidelines prepared by NGOs (non-governmental organisations) & human rights advocates  

See also guidelines in "Environment / Human rights" section of this website.

NEW (recent additions to this section; top item is most recent addition)
First ever Human Rights Checklist for Business launched - As US firms and others line up for the post-war fruits of Iraq reconstruction contracts, Amnesty International launches today (7 April) the first ever human rights checklist for companies. The new booklet summarises existing international law, treaties and codes on human rights relevant to business, and will help those in the bidding for contracts in Iraq ensure they do not become guilty of human rights abuses during the critical rebuilding period. The six-page Amnesty International publication, The Human Rights Responsibilities of Companies, is a quick and easy guide to implementing human rights policies. (Amnesty International UK, 7 Apr. 2003)

Good Practice Guide on Domestic Violence and the Workplace Launched [UK] - Opportunity Now in partnership with Women’s Aid (the national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children) have produced The Good Practice Guide for Employers on ‘Domestic Violence and the Workplace’. (Business in the Community, 7 Mar. 2003)

Amnesty International - general:

First ever Human Rights Checklist for Business launched - As US firms and others line up for the post-war fruits of Iraq reconstruction contracts, Amnesty International launches today (7 April) the first ever human rights checklist for companies. The new booklet summarises existing international law, treaties and codes on human rights relevant to business, and will help those in the bidding for contracts in Iraq ensure they do not become guilty of human rights abuses during the critical rebuilding period. The six-page Amnesty International publication, The Human Rights Responsibilities of Companies, is a quick and easy guide to implementing human rights policies. (Amnesty International UK, 7 Apr. 2003)

Human Rights Guidelines for Companies (Amnesty International UK Business Group) 

Human Rights Guidelines for Pension Fund Trustees (Amnesty International UK Business Group)

Amnesty International & Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum [now International Business Leaders Forum] - general:

Advocacy/dialogue with government, in Human rights -- is it any of your business? [A management primer] (Amnesty International UK Business Group / Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2000)   

Incorporating human rights criteria into social impact assessments, in Human rights -- is it any of your business? [A management primer] (Amnesty International UK Business Group / Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2000)   

Recommended considerations when drawing up a human rights strategy, in Human rights -- is it any of your business? [A management primer] (Amnesty International UK Business Group / Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2000)   

Other NGOs - general:

Bangkok NGO Declaration on Human Rights (Mar. 1993)

Code of Conduct for the Tea Sector (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations [IUF], Oct. 1996)

Codes of conduct (Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppa)

Codes of Conduct for Transnational Corporations: An Overview (Clean Clothes Campaign)

A content comparison of various codes of conduct: Global corporate accountability (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) 

Declaration of Responsibilities and Human Duties [includes several articles referring to responsibilities of companies, eg. Art. 13: "The Duties and Responsibilities of Public and Private Sector Corporations"] (Valencia Third Millennium Foundation, 1998)

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI): The Base Code

Global Reporting Initiative: June 2000 GRI Guidelines

Global Sullivan Principles    

Guidelines and Arrangement of an Ombudsman for Human Rights and Norwegian Companies' Investments and Business Interests Abroad (AGINN: Task Force on the Internationalisation of Norwegian Trade and Industry)

Guidelines Concerning Human Rights and Environment for Norwegian Companies Abroad (AGINN: Task Force on the Internationalisation of Norwegian Trade and Industry; Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment) 

Manifesto: Principled Profits - Guidelines for responsible business behaviour: During the Spring of 2001, the Dutch government and parliament will discuss the public responsibility of Dutch companies. This manifesto addresses the issue of responsible business behaviour by Dutch companies outside the Netherlands. It reflects the views of non-governmental organisations promoting sustainable development and defending worker rights and human rights. (signed by approximately 80 Dutch non-governmental organisations, Feb. 2001)

Principles for the Conduct of Company Operations within the Oil and Gas Industry (Prepared and submitted for discussion by a working group of interested German NGOs / Brot für die Welt [Bread for the World])

Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Bench Marks for Measuring Business Performance (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility, Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility)     summary and how to order

Social Accountability 8000 (Social Accountability International) 

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions - labour:

ICFTU/ITS Basic Code of Labour Practice (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions / International Trade Secretariats)

Other NGOs - labour:

Charter on Industrial Hazards and Human Rights (Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on Human Rights and Industrial Hazards, Bhopal, India, Oct. 1992) 

Charter of the Safe Production of Toys (Hong Kong Coalition for the Safe Production of Toys, Jan. 1996)

Code of Labour Practices for the Apparel Industry including Sportswear (Clean Clothes Campaign, Oct. 1997)

Monitoring:

General Overall Principles of Independent Monitoring, in "Ensuring Monitoring is Not Coopted" (Elaine Bernard, Harvard Trade Union Program, 1997)

The Requirements of Effective Independent Monitoring (Verité, Dec. 2000)

Environment:

Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative, June 2000)

Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment (drafted by an international group of experts on human rights and environmental protection, May 1994)  [NOTE: The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment included this Draft Declaration as an annex to her final report] 

Country-specific:

China: U.S. Business Principles for Human Rights of Workers in China (Global Exchange)

China: China: Recommendations to a company doing business in China (Christopher Avery, Nov. 1997)  

Colombia: Colombia: Recommendations to a company doing business in Colombia (Christopher Avery, Nov. 1997) 

Cuba: "Principles for Private Sector Investment in Cuba" [principles include respect for internationally-recognised rights of workers] (National Policy Association's Cuba Working Group, in Cuba Today: Best Business Practices and Labor Rights, Spring 2001)

General materials:

First ever Human Rights Checklist for Business launched - As US firms and others line up for the post-war fruits of Iraq reconstruction contracts, Amnesty International launches today (7 April) the first ever human rights checklist for companies. The new booklet summarises existing international law, treaties and codes on human rights relevant to business, and will help those in the bidding for contracts in Iraq ensure they do not become guilty of human rights abuses during the critical rebuilding period. The six-page Amnesty International publication, The Human Rights Responsibilities of Companies, is a quick and easy guide to implementing human rights policies. (Amnesty International UK, 7 Apr. 2003)

Good Practice Guide on Domestic Violence and the Workplace Launched [UK] - Opportunity Now in partnership with Women’s Aid (the national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children) have produced The Good Practice Guide for Employers on ‘Domestic Violence and the Workplace’. (Business in the Community, 7 Mar. 2003)

International standards for corporate responsibility [refers to UN Global Compact, ILO conventions, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ISO 14000 Series, AccountAbility 1000, Global Reporting Initiative, Global Sullivan Principles, Social Accountability 8000] (Malcolm McIntosh, Ruth Thomas, Deborah Leipziger, and Gill Coleman, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 30 Jan. 2003)

Pressure Groups Target the Private Banks Behind Corporate Misdeeds - As the World Economic Forum meets to discuss how to restore trust in corporations, Friends of the Earth (FoE) and other leading environmental, human rights, development and labor groups will launch the Collevecchio Declaration on Financial Institutions and Sustainability as a challenge to big banks and investors (Friends of the Earth, 21 Jan. 2003)

Defining Global Business Principles: Towards a new role for investors in promoting international corporate responsibility [refers to human rights, labour issues, environmental issues; includes sections entitled "Globalisation and coporate responsibility", "Global ethical principles", "The Global Business Principles Project"]  (Dr. Craig Mackenzie, Head of Investor Responsibility, Insight Investment, Nov. 2002)