Business, Women’s and Children’s Rights
Side Event Report
A Side Event Presented by the ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights
in association with the Jordan Chamber of Industry
on the sidelines of the 11th International Biennial Conference of
National Human Rights Institutions
Amman, Jordan
8 November 2012
SIDE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Opening remarks
· The choice of ‘Business, Women’s and Children’s Rights’ as the subject for this event was a natural choice considering the Working Group’s mandate and the theme of the 11th International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions.
· To address the issue of children’s rights, the Jordanian Chamber of Industry has conducted important activities to reduce child labour through its participation, in coordination with the International Labour Organization (ILO), in “The Promotion of Decent Work and Elimination of Child Labour Project”. A National Framework for the Elimination of Child Labour has been developed and a Child-Labour Free Jordan program implemented. The Jordanian Chamber of Industry is a member of the National Executive and Technical Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour and works with labour inspectors to ensure that employers provide the appropriate environment for decent work.
· The Jordanian Chamber of Industry also works with the Jordanian Ministry of Labour, the General Federation of Labour Unions, and ad hoc organizations in promoting and solidifying the concept of gender equality in the workplace - particularly pay equity and the development of policies and legislation that regulate work and its requirements, and in organizing workshops to raise awareness about the international conventions on women’s and children’s rights; the need to provide decent work to all groups in society; and the creation of healthy work environments to boost productivity.
Introductory Remarks
· NHRIs have long been active in the realm of Business and Human Rights (BHR). Following the creation of the ICC Working Group on BHR in 2009 as the first thematic working group of the ICC, NHRIs have made commitments to refining their Paris Principles mandates and strengthening their capacity in BHR with the adoption of the 2010 Edinburgh Declaration. UN Resolutions recognize the central role NHRIs play across all three pillars of the UN Framework for BHR. Most recently, the ICC Working Group on BHR made two submissions to the Committee of the Rights of the Children in the drafting of its General Comment on Child Rights and Business.
· Barriers to women’s advancement in the workforce often derive from or translate into discriminatory practices and inequities in pay and other benefits Education and training are the foundation for successful employment and advancement. The State has the primary obligation to ensure that women and children have access to the basic education needed to become productive members of the workforce.
· Beyond the general concern for well-being and physical safety for all workers, women and the estimated 218 million boys and girls who work as child labourers may be more vulnerable to certain types of health and safety risks. Freedom from discrimination, harassment, and violence are of particular concern.
Interactive Session 1 - Promoting women’s and children’s rights in business and human rights through education, training and community initiatives
· The ILO Decent Work Agenda is about labour not becoming a commodity; non-discrimination; and that all workers may work in dignity and pursue their development through work. ILO declarations and core labour conventions are at the core of today’s discussion.
· A whole industry is developing around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with increasing cross-over, duplication, and blurring of roles and responsibilities. NHRIs can help redefine some of these areas, and the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy provides a basis for NHRIs to build their program of activity around. Some of the ways in which NHRIs can contribute are:
· Identifying and analyzing every level of the supply chain, for instance down to the level of cotton growing in fields in the textile industry, will inform and help reduce vulnerabilities.
· Helping to clarify roles and responsibilities. It is not the role of the private sector for instance to take over the provision of vital public services, such as education, especially when these services are being delivered to the poor and vulnerable. Support to governments and local authorities in improving quality and access to public services needs to exist. NHRIs can help clarify roles while building in sustainability from the start of such initiatives.
· Building coherence among parallel CSR initiatives.
· Getting involved in verification, auditing and monitoring is still an area in its infancy and has many problems including transparency and credibility. In relation to roles and responsibilities, labor inspections should be emphasized more to ensure sustainability in the long run. Too many of the so called independent institutions which look at monitoring can create a situation whereby governments may start withdrawing from responsibilities.
· Helping to improve labour standards and addressing the reality of how promoting labour rights results in increased costs of production.
· CSR initiatives need to be grounded in a country’s development agenda to be worthwhile. NHRIs can learn from others’ experience including the ILO.
Interactive Dialogue
An interactive dialogue followed on women’s and children’s rights in business and human rights through education, training and community initiatives.
Interactive Session 2 - Promoting the health and safety of women and children in relation to business activity
· Empowering women and increasing their participation in the economy is a major goal of economic development in all developing countries. Despite recent improvements, women still face invisible economic challenges in many areas due to the existing laws and the prevailing customs, traditions and values. Women should be provided with more opportunities to have access to funds and capitals so that they can start and develop their own businesses. The legal and regulatory systems should be examined and reformed so that women can take full advantage of available financial services. The failure of employers to comply with related laws and the absence of a strict monitoring mechanism is the main cause behind the health problems that this group of workers faces.
· In this context, some of the suggestions made for improving the health and working conditions of employees followed:
1. since most laws related to women’s health date back to the 1940’s and the beginning of the independence era, overhaul these to rectify any deficiencies;
2. a working mother works the same hours outside her home as a male worker but she has to put in extra exhausting hours of household chores at home, which has a negative impact on her health. Urgently review the programs that support men in household responsibilities;
3. female employees working in manufacturing and agricultural industries face several health problems due to inadequate transport systems. They do not have access to company-provided transportation so have to walk long distances to work or use inadequate transportation systems. They put themselves on harm’s way and become vulnerable to cold weather, sexual assault or health problems;
4. agricultural and traditional crafts industries attract very young female workers who work long hours for meager wages as a clandestine workforce. These female workers are vulnerable to health problems; hence, there is a need to strengthen inspection and pay more attention to female workers; and
5. companies should consider introducing specialized medical professionals, to go beyond paying lip service to health and safety standards for workers.
· Women and children are two vulnerable groups that are looked upon as cheap labour. They are primarily targeted for the textile, manufacturing or agricultural industries looking for part-time or non-skilled workers. To ensure that the private sector complies with international laws and regulations, human rights organizations need to get more involved in the business practices of companies.
· Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been created over many years with no drastic change on the ground. To influence change, NGOs as with NHRIs can collaborate on initiatives with the private sector. Human rights organizations can also put pressure on business and act fast with tough measures. Social media can also be effective in shining the spot light on problems and pressuring organizations to abide by standards and laws.
Interactive Dialogue
An interactive dialogue followed around the issues and challenges relating to the health and safety of women and children in and beyond workplaces.
Commentaries Session: Commentary arising from the discussions relating to panelists’ plans and priorities related to business, women’s and children’s rights, and to opportunities for collaboration with and/or support to NHRIs
· Two sets of standards give an important new foundation and authority to the work of NHRIs in the field of BHR: the UN Guiding Principles on BHR and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs).
· “Business and human rights (BHR)” is not the same as “corporate social responsibility (CSR)”, the latter which refers to voluntary actions or charitable actions corporations are engaged with. BHR speaks to actions that business must take to comply with minimum standards demanded by human rights frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles which were endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council last year.
· The UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises was established by UN Human Rights Council Resolution 17/4 in June 2011. Its members were appointed in September 2011 and took up their role as of 1 November 2011. The mandate focuses on the dissemination and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on BHR, including as relating to enhancing access to effective remedies for persons whose human rights have been affected by corporate activities. The mandate calls for an inclusive and consultative approach, regular dialogue with a wide group of stakeholders, country visits, and calls for the Working Group to identify good practices, promote capacity-building and make recommendations with regards to legislation, policy and practice. The Working Group reports both to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.
· The OHCHR’s work on BHR includes:
o to provide secretariat and substantive support to the UN Working Group
o extensive outreach on the UN Guiding Principles to all stakeholders through participation in meetings and events. Recent examples include a high-level event in South Africa aiming at discussing a Pan-African perspective on BHR in which the South African National Human Rights Commission also participated.
o engagement and outreach through OHCHR field presences. Currently OHCHR has staff in Papua New Guinea engaging with stakeholders on particular challenges in that country relating to BHR and how the Guiding Principles can be applied to address some of these challenges.
o publication of the Guiding Principles as a booklet
o publication of an OHCHR Interpretative Guide on the Corporate Responsibility to respect human rights.
o preparation of training materials on the UN Guiding Principles, which should become available by early 2013
o preparation of training materials on Professor John Ruggie’s Principles for Responsible Contracting. While the training materials will initially be aimed at OHCHR staff, the aim is to produce training modules on this subject that can be used by and for NHRIs.
o having drafted the report by the UN Secretary General on how the UN system as a whole can contribute to the advancement of the BHR agenda and the dissemination of the Guiding Principles (A/HRC/21/21) for presentation to the UN Human Rights Council. A side event convened by the core group of sponsoring governments took place on 12 September to discuss the implications of the report. Paragraph 67 of the report recognized NHRIs as a key constituency for the UN’s efforts towards capacity building.
· The sSpirit of the new ICC-OECD Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is for both organizations to collaborate closely in the promotion and protection of human rights. All the organizations engaged in this field need to work together and bring their synergies together. A major achievement of the UN Framework is that it defined what government and enterprises should be doing. Now the challenge is implementation.
· The OECD Guidelines are rRecommendations that governments address to enterprises. Corporations are subject to national laws but often when doing business abroad those laws are ineffective or weaek. The Guidelines set out the expectation that companies behave no differently abroad than they would within their own countries. The Guidelines’ rRecommendations are based on international standards that exist in various fields in business ethics. OECD National Ccontact Ppoints (NCPs) have been created under the Guidelines. As a – non- judicial redress mechanism under Pillar Three of the UN Framework, NCPs are responsible for promoting the Gguidelines and for hearing and resolving complaints. Non- judicial grievance mechanisms are required in order to resolve differences through compromise while showing continuous improvement.
Interactive Dialogue
An interactive dialogue followed in which delegates exchanged with the panelists broadly on business, women’s and children’s rights.
Comments, questions and ideas were invited, to inform what the ICC Working Group on BHR could do to carry this agenda forward nationally, regionally and globally, as part of a concrete process with real outcomes for the ICC and for NHRIs.
Closing Remarks
A need exists in moving forward for collaboration and capacity-building to advance human rights.
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