Professor John Ruggie, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, today presented his second report entitled Business and human rights: mapping international standards of responsibility and accountability for corporate acts to the spring meeting of the ICC Commission on Business in Society.
The meeting, which took place at ICC International Headquarters in Paris, provided an opportunity for Professor Ruggie to present the main findings of his report to an international business audience.
Professor Ruggie’s presentation was received very positively by the ICC commission and was followed by a rich and constructive exchange of views with commission members.
Tabled at the fourth session of the UN Human Rights Council on 28 March 2007 in Geneva, Professor Ruggie’s report responds to various elements of his mandate as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on business and human rights, as established by the UN Commission on Human Rights. The mandate includes:
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identifying and clarifying standards of corporate responsibility and accountability with regard to human rights;
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elaborating on the role of states in effectively regulating and adjudicating business activities;
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researching and clarifying the implications of concepts such as ‘complicity’; and
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identifying some prevailing if not ‘best’ practices by states and companies.
The report makes reference to a set of recommendations on business and human rights in weak governance zones produced, at the request of the Special Representative, by the world’s largest representative business organizations -- the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development -- in consultation with their membership.
“ICC, IOE and BIAC have made a significant contribution to advancing the debate on the role of business and human rights in weak governance zones,” Mr Ruggie said.
The Commission on Business in Society is ICC’s permanent working body on corporate responsibility issues, including business and human rights. The commission’s mandate is to define the role of business in the context of globalization and changing societal expectations, and to develop world business views on key corporate responsibility issues. It is composed of over 90 senior executives in charge of corporate responsibility issues from companies across a broad range of sectors and from business associations in all regions of the world.
The commission also heard presentations by Staffan Söderberg, Vice-Chair of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Working Group on Social Responsibility on the development of an ISO guidance standard on social responsibility; and from Ron Lattin, Assistant Director of the Caux Round Table, on its work to promote principled business leadership on issues of corporate responsibility.