GENEVA: The UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on 13 August 2003 unanimously approved a set of Norms setting out the responsibilities of transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises in relation to the respect and protection of human rights.
The Sub-Commission, meeting here in its 55th session, unanimously adopted a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.8) approving the Norms and decided to transmit them to the Commission on Human Rights for its consideration and adoption.
The Sub-Commission is the main subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights and is composed of 26 experts who are elected by the Commission but who act in their personal capacity.
The Norms set out a range of obligations on the part of TNCs and other business enterprises in relation to the respect and protection of human rights as well as measures on how they should implement these norms.
By including "other business enterprises", the Norms are thus not just confined to multinational companies. The "other business enterprises" includes any business entity regardless of the international or domestic nature of its activities.
The resolution adopted by the Sub-Commission approving the Norms recommends that, after receiving comments from governments, UN bodies, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others, the Commission on Human Rights consider establishing an open-ended working group to review the Norms.
The Sub-Commission also requested the current working group on TNCs, which brought out the draft Norms, to receive information from governments, NGOs, business enterprises and other sources concerning the possible negative impact of the activities of TNCs and other business enterprises on human rights, and particularly affecting the implementation of the Norms.
The Working Group on Indigenous Populations has also been requested to gather the views of indigenous peoples and organizations to supplement the Commentary on the Norms (put out by the working group and serves as a reference for implementation of the Norms) and/or to draft a new set of principles which would include further references to indigenous concerns and rights with regard to TNCs and other business enterprises.
Obligations of businesses
The "Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights" (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/12/Rev.1) recognize that even though states have the primary responsibility to promote and ensure respect of and protect human rights, TNCs and other business enterprises, "as organs of society", are also responsible for promoting and securing the human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Norms note that TNCs and other business enterprises have the capacity to foster economic well-being, development, technological improvement and wealth, as well as "the capacity to cause harmful impacts on the human rights and lives of individuals through their core business practices and operations, including employment practices, environmental policies, relationships with suppliers and consumers, interactions with Governments and other activities."
Within their respective spheres of activity and influence, TNCs and other business enterprises have the obligation to promote, secure the fulfilment of, respect, ensure respect of and protect human rights recognized in international as well as national law, including the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.
Apart from ensuring the right to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory treatment, the Norms state that TNCs and other business enterprises "shall not engage in nor benefit from war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture, forced disappearance, forced or compulsory labour, hostage-taking, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions" as well as other violations of humanitarian law and international crimes.
The Norms also set out a range of obligations on the TNCs and other business enterprises in respect of the rights of workers.
TNCs and other business enterprises shall not use forced or compulsory labour, and shall respect the rights of children to be protected from economic exploitation, as forbidden by the relevant international instruments and national legislation as well as international human rights and humanitarian law.
TNCs shall also provide a safe and healthy working environment as well as provide workers with remuneration that ensures an adequate standard of living for them and their families. Such remuneration shall take due account of their needs for adequate living conditions with a view towards progressive improvement.
Freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining should also be ensured for the protection of workers' employment interests and for other collective bargaining purposes.
In respect to national sovereignty and human rights, the Norms call on the TNCs and other business enterprises to "respect economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights and contribute to their realization, in particular the rights to development, adequate food and drinking water, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, adequate housing, privacy, education, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and freedom of opinion and expression, and shall refrain from actions which obstruct or impede the realization of those rights."
The issue of corporate bribery is also addressed by the Norms in that the TNCs shall not offer, promise, give, accept, condone, knowingly benefit from, or demand a bribe or other improper advantage, nor shall they be solicited or expected to give a bribe or other improper advantage.
On TNCs' obligations with regard to consumer protection, the Norms state that they "shall act in accordance with fair business, marketing and advertising practices and shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and quality of the goods and services they provide, including observance of the precautionary principle. Nor shall they produce, distribute, market, or advertise harmful or potentially harmful products for use by consumers."
On environmental protection, the Norms call on the TNCs to carry out their activities in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards as well as human rights, public health and safety, bioethics and the precautionary principle, and "shall conduct their activities in a manner contributing to the wider goal of sustainable development."
As an initial step towards implementing these Norms, each TNC or other business enterprise shall adopt, disseminate and implement internal rules of operation in compliance with the Norms. They shall also apply and incorporate these Norms in their contracts or other arrangements and dealings with contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, licensees, distributors, or natural or other legal persons that enter into agreement with them.
The Norms state that the TNCs shall also be subject to periodic monitoring and verification by the UN or other international and national mechanisms regarding the application of the Norms, and the monitoring shall be transparent and independent and take into account input from stakeholders including NGOs.
States should establish and reinforce the necessary legal and administrative framework for ensuring that the Norms and other relevant national and international laws are implemented by the TNCs.
The TNCs and other business enterprises shall also provide prompt, effective and adequate reparations to those persons, entities and communities that have been adversely affected by failures to comply with these Norms through reparations, restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for any damage done or property taken.
Breakthrough
IPS adds from Washington:
Human rights groups are hailing the publication of the guidelines for businesses worldwide to follow to ensure their compliance with global human rights treaties and conventions.
The UN document could become the basis of an enforceable code of conduct that will protect individuals and communities from rights violations by private businesses.
To rights activists, the Norms represent a major potential breakthrough in the development and expansion of international human rights, which have generally been used to protect individuals and communities from abuses by the state.
"This is the first time that companies, not just states, are being put on notice that they will be expected to meet these basic standards," said David Danzig of the New York-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR), one of 15 groups that issued a formal statement after the document was released.
The Norms, a distillation of provisions in existing rights treaties and standards as they should be applied to businesses, are being published as many multinational corporations have come under pressure to abide by voluntary codes of conduct, such as those promoted by the UN Global Compact or groups like the US Fair Labour Association (FLA), which commits participating US clothing and footwear retailers to ensure their goods are produced by plants that respect basic labour rights.
But the new document goes further, by arguing that all companies should be required to abide by basic human rights principles codified in treaties and conventions. In that respect, they provide the basis for a binding international instrument on corporate responsibility.
"Eventually, we'd like to see binding standards for corporations," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the business and human rights programme at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW). "But this is a good first step."
The Norms, however, have also been criticized. For example, they fail to mention how responsibility for violations would be apportioned among transnationals, their affiliates, subcontractors and suppliers, Malik Ozden, speaking for the Europe-Third World Centre, told IPS in July.
Also, the document should specify the civil and penal responsibilities of transnationals' executives, whether they are managers, board members or administrators, added Ozden.
The notion that a UN body should be able to sanction non-complying companies in any way has drawn complaints from business associations, such as the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The Norms also go further than voluntary codes of conduct by arguing that all private businesses - and not just multinational corporations - should be required to respect the guidelines.
That innovation, according to Ganesan, should encourage multinational businesses, which have long complained that they suffer a comparative disadvantage from domestic competitors to which voluntary codes of conduct do not apply, to support and promote the effort.
"The norms help to level the playing field for companies that want to do the right thing for human rights," said Ganesan. "Now, every company's obligations are detailed and no company can say that it doesn't have responsibilities in the area of human rights."
A statement released by 15 major international NGOs in response to the draft Norms "welcome(d)" the document and urged their supporters to use it to "spur greater corporate social responsibility".
"No responsible corporation wants to be a party to abusive working conditions or other human rights violations," said the groups, which included LCHR, HRW, Amnesty International and Christian Aid.
"The UN human rights norms ... will help businesses know and comply with the relevant human rights laws, and will provide a clear road map to action that transcends the conflicting provisions of various private codes of conduct."
"In an increasingly interdependent world, where poverty, disease, violence, crime, war, regional conflicts, and human rights and environmental abuses persist, clear international standards will help ensure that business will be part of the solution to today's problems and not - knowingly or unknowingly - exacerbate them," said the 15 groups, which included coalitions representing hundreds of local and national affiliates. (SUNS5398)
