- 1. EVENT REPORT INDIA CEO FORUM ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
13th February 2012 New Delhi, Indiay The India CEO Forum on
Business and Human Rights is a two- year initiative that will exist
to advance human rights in a business context among Indian industry
at home and abroad, and so establish India as a global leader in
this critical andg valuable area of responsible business. Such
leadership will, I believe, increase our competitive edge globally
and strengthen the relationship between corporations and the most
vulnerable and marginalized here in India. The objective is to
create Indian enterprises and markets that are based firmly on
respect and true dignity for all a bold but necessary vision if we
are to fullyg y f y f f y realize our countrys potential. Mr. N. R.
Narayana Murthy Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Chair of the
India CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights
2. The difference between what we do and what we are capable of
doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.would
suffice to solve most of the world s problems. Mahatma Gandhi
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places,
l h l d ll h h bclose to home, so close and so small that they
cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of
the individual person: the neighborhood he lives in; the school or
college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works..
Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning
anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to
home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.
Eleanor Roosevelt What moves us is not the realization that the
world falls short of beingWhat moves us is not the realization that
the world falls short of being completely just which few of us
expect - but that there are clearly remediable injustices around us
which we want to eliminate. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen . 3.
CONTENTS Letter from Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy 1 iExecutive Summary
2 Event Quotes 4 Participant Ideas and Thoughts 8p g CEO Forum Work
Plan Overview 10 Core Advisory Group and Conveners 12 CEO Briefing
13 4. LETTER FROM MR. N. R. NARAYANA MURTHY Dear Colleague, Thank
you very much for joining me at the first meeting of the India CEO
Forum on Business and Human Rights held in Delhi on February 13
2012 The event report is attached for your perusal IHuman Rights,
held in Delhi on February 13, 2012. The event report is attached
for your perusal. I look forward to your active participation and
support to take the agenda forward. As mentioned in the report, the
CEOs of Coca-Cola India., General Electric India, Hindustan
Unilever Limited, Infosys Limited., Jindal Stainless Limited,
Mahindra and Mahindra, ONGC, Petronet-LNG and SAIL have already
committed to the Forum as members of the Core Advisory Group. I now
seek your commitment to the Forum as a member. I would appreciate
if you may kindly confirm hyour acceptance by 30th May 2012. The
participating CEOs will commit to a two year plan including the
following : 1. Committing to progress action in relation to human
rights inside their business. In order to do this, CEOs will
allocate two director-level individuals from different functions in
their company to participate in a working-level group meetings to
be held in June and November this year.p p g g p g y There will
also be on going processes to support all companies to : Build
internal policy commitments to respect human rights Ensure that key
individuals participate and certify in a business and human rights
training Assess their human rights performance against established
international and national frameworks/indicators 2 Participating in
a policy dialogue on Friday14th December 2012 to commemorate2.
Participating in a policy dialogue on Friday14 December 2012 to
commemorate International Human Rights Day. This will involve
reviewing the progress/learning from the above mentioned activity,
share learning with CEOs not in the Forum, and engage with policy
and thought leaders from across India. The GCN office will be happy
to provide you any further information that you want to have or
clarify any questions. Please confirm by 30th May 2012 with a copy
to [email protected] I look forward to receiving your
acceptance. Best regards. N. R. Narayana Murthy Founder and
Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Limited Chair, India CEO Forum on
Business and Human Rights 1 5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The half day event
on February 13th 2012 brought together CEOs and senior leaders from
40The half-day event on February 13th 2012, brought together CEOs
and senior leaders from 40 corporations including Public Sector
Undertakings, Private Indian business and MNCs operating in India.
The event was chaired by Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder and
Chairman Emeritus of Infosys and Chair of the India CEO Forum on
Business and Human Rights. The objectives of the meeting were
stated as followed by Brigadier Rajiv Williams, Corporate Head CSR
Jindal Stainless Limited and Convener Human Rights Committee GCN
India - ToHead CSR, Jindal Stainless Limited and Convener, Human
Rights Committee, GCN India - To have a frank and safe dialogue
regarding Human Rights Risks, Responsibilities and Opportunities
facing Indian business leaders, and to build commitment to a
two-year India CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights. Brigadier
Williams also mentioned that at the centre of the CEO Forum
conception are key developments including the United Nations Global
Compact principles and the United Nations Protect, Respect, Remedy
Framework and Guiding Principles, and at a national level the
National voluntary Guideline on Social,Guiding Principles, and at a
national level, the National voluntary Guideline on Social,
Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business from the
Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The event benefited from inputs from
the following international and national experts and business
leaders: Mr. Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman, ONGC and President, GCN;
Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Infosys;
Mr Arun Maira, Membery y, , y ; , Planning Commission, Government
of India; Mr. Salil Tripathi, Director of Policy, Institute for
Human Rights and Business; Ms. Chitralekha Massey, Deputy Director
Human Rights, UN Mission in Iraq; Mr. Atul Singh, President and
CEO, Coca-Cola India & SWA, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive
Co- Chairman Infosys Limited. The main discussions were moderated
by Mr. Mark Hodge, Executive Director, Global Business Initiative
on Human Rights. The following topics were discussed at the event.
The ebb in trust of all institutions by society at large and the
need for business to re build the relationship with communities
based on mutual listening not through legal contracts and P.R
efforts where companies have resources and others do not. The
importance of action by all institutions when addressing the
problem of negative impacts of industry on business. In particular,
government must be part of the dialogue and included in the forum.
Developing a basic understanding of human rights where the key
underlying term is human dignity, where human rights have a rich
history in India, where 3 key international instruments define
human rights in civil, political, economic, cultural and social
spheres, where norms are only enacted with international consensus,
where governments have the primary duties and companies now have an
internationally recognized corporate responsibility to respect
human rights. 2 6. Business should care about human rights for many
reasons because it is the right thing to do; for legal, reputation,
operational, litigation risk reasons and because multiple
stakeholders are asking for them to do so. All industries impact
human rights not just extractives and apparel. For example,
internet companies in relation to privacy; hotels and hospitality
companies that involve use of natural resources and migrant labour;
pharmaceutical companies in relation to access to medicine and
product testing; private security firms involved in conflict
affected areas, and many more. In line with the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, businesses have started to
build policies and management systems to address human rights
issues. At the centre of this companies should know and show how
they impact human rights in their own operations and in the context
of their business relationships. Following a presentation from Mrs.
Shubha Sekhar, Global Workplace Rights, The Coca-Cola Company and
Representative, HRSC, The participants agreed a vision and forward
plan for l hi h I di CEO F B i d H Ri h M i i i l dlaunching the
India CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights. Many participants
articulated the need for the CEO Forum to be more than a talking
shop and that members should all be accountable to each other for
taking concrete actions and cannot simply sign up and not progress
their commitment and action in relation to human rights. The
concrete actions of the CEO Forum, between May 1st 2012 and May 1st
2014 would includeinclude: Participating companies accelerating
their human rights journey through establishing a policy commitment
to respect human rights; ensuring key functions participate in
relevant training; developing case studies demonstrating knowing
and showing regarding human rights impacts (especially on major
human rights challenges like land, water, migrant workers supply
chain and non discrimination) and assessing/reporting on progress
usingworkers, supply chain, and non-discrimination) and
assessing/reporting on progress using existing frameworks and
guidance. In depth policy dialogue through CEOs meeting with
national and international policy leaders and stakeholders on
International Human Rights Day 2012 and 2013 to share practices and
establish the role of other actors in particular the government in
addressing systemic challenges. Collaboration with leading national
and international organizations to ensure CEO ForumCollaboration
with leading national and international organizations to ensure CEO
Forum access to world-class expertise and good business practices
globally. By way of next steps, the CEO Forum Core Advisory Group
and Human Rights Sub Committee, GCN India under the leadership of
the Chair, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder and Chairman
Emeritus, Infosys finalize the work plan, a detailed operational
plan and seek commitment from 30 CEOs to join the Forum. A call for
commitment to CEOs may be sent bycommitment from 30 CEOs to join
the Forum. A call for commitment to CEOs may be sent by 30th May
2012. The event ended with a vote of thanks from Mr. Pooran C.
Pandey, Executive Director, Global Compact Network India. 3 7. I
have realized that leadership is not just a word but it is the
result of a series of actions we take. We should identify areas
where we can act regarding the impact of our own companies on human
rights. We should identify what the power of collective action can
achieve on some of the major areas we all face in our value chain
that such as genuine engagement with local communities; hiring and
training practices to offer opportunities to all; new business
models that help to realize the right to health, education, and
housing; technical innovation to avoid infringing the right to
water; considered and patient ways to partner with communities when
their land is acquired; capacity building for our SMEs and even
with the informal economy and of course more than this. We must
also recognize that business needs government leadership in these
areas. Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder and Chairman Emeritus,
Infosys . and Chair of the India CEO Forum on Business and Human
Rights. When we look at our 2020 vision globally, on the people
platform we have very specific commitments and targets. We have
three relevant written statements, policies and guide lines - one
called the human rights statement, one which covers work place
rights, policies and practices and th thi d hi h i th li idi i i l
S t C C lthe third which is the supplier guiding principles. So, at
Coca Cola, we say that not only is human rights important for us
within the company but also within our bottling partners, bottling
companies, distributor systems and our suppliers. So if you want to
supply to our network globally you have to follow our guiding
principles and these have been built on the human rights statement.
We also have audits, are piloting 5 human rights due diligence
checks and we have found lot of areas where there is roomdue
diligence checks, and we have found lot of areas where there is
room for improvement. So I think the idea is to get on to the
journey, build a due diligence framework, then a grievance and
remedy framework and over the time work with this system to ensure
that there is compliance and respect for human rights. Mr. Atul
Singh, President and CEO, Coca-Cola India & SWAMr. Atul Singh,
President and CEO, Coca Cola India & SWA The connect between
Human Rights and Business practice in India needs to be understood
and much effort will have to be invested into dispelling regular
notions, clearly articulating risk issues that should find space in
corporate risk registers and preparing a roster of red flags. In
addition we have to demonstrate through case studies how these
practices will helpg p p us in opening up new business
opportunities. Mr. Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman, ONGC and President,
GCN 4 8. The greatest vehicle for the movement to grow capitalisms
is the limited liability corporation, an invention created by man
that did not exists 300 years ago. We created this to have economic
progressy g p g happen, to support risk in which there is limited
liability for investors. Another movement that has gathered much
more strength recently, is this movement about citizens rights.
Yes, since the time of Magna Carta it was growing but in the last
20 years this has exploded. The consciousness that all human beings
have equal rights and a variety of rights has been expressed in the
Universal Declaration of Humanf g p f Rights and elsewhere. So, we
have these ideas that came through these two movements but how
shall we, as leaders, put them both into effect. Corporations have
rights of course, legal rights, but they are able to defend their
rights against others. But others dont have lawyers and money to
defend their own rights. This is the challenge society is facing.
Mr. Arun Maira, Member Planning Commission, Government of India. An
experience that I have shared across many countries (Uganda,
Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Nepal, in Iraq), is working very closely
with security forces. I come from an army background, where my
father and my brother are from the Army. In spite of having a good
relationship, a good start and being accepted as an insider with
them, very often I am accosted with questions where an officer will
ask: What is this about human rights? What is this nonsense? Do you
guys have any idea of the reality on the ground? Are you saying it
is our duty to fulfill everyones rights? How can you walk in here
and say you have to do, a, b, and c? Your report is rubbish and
your expectation is unrealistic. This is very interesting and I
think it is very often the case that either people do not
understand what human right is all about, or do not have a clear
understanding how the bli ti t t t d t h i ht k Thi ld bobligation
to protect and promote human rights works. This could be a very
long discussion and I am sure hopefully we can take up on some
other forum, and another stage. But for me if human rights must be
summarized into one term than for me that is human dignity. When
expressed in this way, human rights are more easily adopted by
security forces and others new to the agenda. I am sure it is the
same for business leaders toois the same for business leaders too.
Ms. Chitralekha Massey, Deputy Director Human Rights, UN Mission in
Iraq 5 9. It does go back very very far in terms of peoples
collective memories of what companies have done. In India we have
the East India Company and Union Carbide, and more recently land
issues involving mining companies or child labor in various sectors
. But we also need to look at other sectors and at other countries
where Indian companies are involved - such as sourcing diamonds in
the conflict zones of Africa; oil companies in Sudan, Colombia,
Nigeria; the treatment of workers in the timber industry in
Indonesia and Liberia; plantation, apparel and hospitality
companies in South East Asia, and i i l i f ti t h l i d h d th d
lincreasingly information technology companies and how do they deal
with both lawful intercept request on one hand and censorship
issues on the other. Mr. Salil Tripathi, Director of Policy,
Institute for Human Rights and Business We have to look at how we
can build trust in business as whole, how we can build trust in
government, as a whole, how we can build trust in all institutions
as a whole - this requires us to scale implementation and this
requires us to look at the policy and the legal frameworks that
impact peoples rights. So as a group, we have to make sure we
include within our own CEO forum all the key industry association
andinclude within our own CEO forum all the key industry
association and their representatives. We also have to make this
forum about participating in the creation of policies frameworks..
New regulation is going to be created, and will probably swing in
the direction of more stricter regulation at one time and other
times in the direction of less regulation, and this is a continuous
process. We have to figure out how we play a constructive part of
modifying the policies,p y p f fy g p , implementing them in our
own organizations, making sure that it gets implemented across our
value chains and by government. Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive
Co Chairman, Infosys Limited Human rights is increasingly seen as
the central framework to guide business towards social
sustainability both at the international level as we see in the
United Nations Global Compact principles and the United Nations
Protect, Respect and Remedy framework and Guiding Principles. At
the local level we now have the National Voluntary Guideline on
Social, Environment and Economic Responsibilities of Business which
include a human rights principle and human rights components
throughout. Brigadier Rajiv Williams, Corporate Head CSR , Jindal
Stainless Limited6 10. When you want to get into a new partnership
in business, you dont send in lawyers and ask the partner to send
their lawyer to form what the contract between us shall be but
unfortunately we tend to do that quite a bit, and that is what is
wrong when we go into a community or engage with a stakeholder
group - it is our lawyers and or the P.R. people who are talking it
is not me or us. We have got to go ourselves and listen and listen,
not tell and listen and then we shall discover what matters to
people, and with that if we are leaders we shall reshape ourselves
to deliver the value that is expected. Mr. Arun Maira, Member
Planning Commission, Government of India. Underlying many Business
and Human Rights incidents is the issue of states being unwilling
or unable to meet their human rights bli i h i l illi ( h h
dobligations to their people. Unwilling states (whether a predatory
state, a state at war) or a state that does not have resources to
do what is necessary are common features of globalization. And this
unwillingness and inability applies both at the home and host
State. This is important because if you look at civil society
internet clutter about Indian business and human rights, one
example conversation is b t th i iti f l d b I di C i i Ethi i
dabout the acquisition of land by Indian Companies in Ethiopia and
what it does to people in Ethiopia for their own food security
needs. This is a host state allowing and even encouraging Indian
firms to take actions that some feel is undermining human rights.
Mr. Salil Tripathi, Director of Policy, Institute for Human Rights
and BusinessInstitute for Human Rights and Business One of the
targets for members of the CEO Forum in the first year is to build
internal policy commitment to respect human rights and to
communicate that commitment publicly. As you all know from your
past experience, a policy commitment is not only a statement on
paper It requires the appropriate substance to be tailored to
thepaper. It requires the appropriate substance to be tailored to
the company culture and industry circumstances, legal departmental
review, communication to key internal functions, governance
oversight, allocation of responsibilities and implementation plans.
In other words, it must be embedded into the company and the way
they do regular business. Mrs. Shubha Sekhar, Global Workplace
Rights, The Coca-Cola Company and Representative, HRSC 7 11.
PARTICIPANT IDEAS AND ISSUES As a group of businesses people
together will you have the courage to tell someone else in business
not to do something or to start doing something? I find it really
troubling that business often says that is not our job that is the
job of government. The rules will be same for everybody, whether
you are very good person or not. What does the brand of the CEO
Forum mean, and should we allowp f , people to claim that they are
members and not act? Or are you going to say this is the purpose of
the forum, this is the benefit that companies can expect to get
from the forum, and there will not be any free riders? In terms of
tie-ups there are a number of national institutions and
organizations h h i i d b h i l di ithat, at the appropriate time
and may be once the internal dimensions are complete, would add
great value to this forum. There may be national Human Rights
institutions, there may be UN Organizations, there may be
international and national networks in NGOs, who I think when you
come to actual work plan areas, can bring very very substantial
partnership to the Forum. Maybe the group would like to do a sort
of a due diligence exercise with these organizations? How can
targeted and appropriate future partnerships be formed?can targeted
and appropriate future partnerships be formed? I really worry about
how we do the harmonization because harmonization could mean the
same thing done in the same way, everywhere in which case this is
harmony in terms of the global rules. But those rules may not be in
harmony with many local situations, so how are we going to go about
ensuring when we talk about the dignity of the people we are doing
so in respect to their needs and well- being from day to day? So,
what are the principals or rules that members of the CEO Forum sign
up for? One element I liked in the presentation was the CEO gets
CEO scheme, which in marketing we refer to as customer gets
customers. In a way, business CEOs are customers of our forum and
our effectiveness in spreading the message will depend upon how
many we can reach out to our colleagues. The question I have is
this how big we want this forum to be, if each one of us thinks
that we will get two and perhaps we will expect them to get two
what is the size we will have that is the natural worry which I
will be having in mind when considering effectiveness and
accountability. 8 12. As long as this remains a CEO forum two years
there is always a risks that it starts off as a CEO led initiative
and then slowly gets delegated down the line andoff as a CEO-led
initiative and then slowly gets delegated down the line and people
get nominated. We have seen other forums when the original vision
was for strong involvement of CEOs and the distinct leadership and
mindset they bring fall away. And so the vision and purpose
changes. How can we continue to excite the involvement of
individual CEO members and not just to see that two years later is
delegated to the CSR persons who is actually operating with no real
involvement with more than reporting to the CEO? . The risk that to
avoid is people signing on but that not reflecting real commitment
or action within their organization and therefore this whole know
and show - what is this evidence that you are delivering on this -
becomes ignored. I wonder involvement with, more than reporting to,
the CEO? if there is a need for us to also have a mechanism to
establish whether the member companies do comply with the minimum
standards that we have established for ourselves and so it is not
an easy membership. I wonder that whether there is a part of the
work plan that you have articulated which will help us understand
that what is coming in the way, what are the barriers, and how can
we make the things for the other people more compelling? I think in
todays world the down side risk of not complying are becoming more
and more significant with technology and other matters. But I dont
think the positive cases for doing this properly is well understood
or commonly appreciated. What could we do as a group, to not just
make people more aware I do think, that if you want to be a part of
this group than you must undertake to do the things in the work
plan (and ideally more), and you also must accept a certain
mechanism for trust and verify. Verification could be an internal
check. I of human rights but to make it a more compelling case for
people so they feel, frankly, that they dont have a choice? am not
saying that the verification would be an external one. But,
somebody in the company will have to say that yes we are indeed
doing all these things that we are claiming to do. So therefore,
ideally I hope that we will get a day when every corporation in the
country will fully subscribe but they should fulfill all these
obligations and they must have a mechanism to Know and Show. 9 13.
CEO FORUM WORK PLAN Activity One: Participating companies reviewing
and discussing their policies, practices, challenges and dilemmas
regarding respect for human rights in their operations and their
value chains. Output trends and good practices report Activity Two:
Input into policy developments such as the MCA Voluntary Guidelines
on Responsible Business and the UN Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights including how to mainstream them in Indian
industry. Apr 2012 Dec 2012 Output policy and practice
recommendations and commitments Apr 2013 Dec 2013Apr. 2012 Dec.
2012 Working-level Meeting* 1 Working-level Meeting 2 Apr. 2013
Dec. 2013 Working-level Meeting 3 Working-level Meeting 4
International Human Rights Day 2012 (10th December) CEO Policy
Dialogue International Human Rights Day 2013 (10th December) CEO
Policy DialogueCEO Policy Dialogue with national leaders from
government and civil society * Working-level meetings will be
supported by individual and collective action between CEO Policy
Dialogue with global leaders from government and civil society
Working level meetings will be supported by individual and
collective action between meetings. These meetings will be attended
by individuals nominated by CEOs. 310 14. CEO FORUM WORK PLAN,
2012/13 11 15. CORE ADVISORY GROUP AND GCN HUMAN RIGHTS
SUB-COMMITTEE The following business leaders are committed to be
part of the CEO Forum as part of the Core Advisory Group and join
in the call for a wider community of peers to join this important
initiative. Mr Atul Singh, President and CEO, Coca-Cola India &
SWA Mr John Flannery, President & CEO, GE India Mr Nitin
Paranjpe, CEO and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd Mr Kris
Gopalakrishnan, Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Limited Mrs.
Deepikaa Jindal, MD arttdinox, Jindal Stainless Limited Mr Anand
Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra and
Mahindra, g g , Mr S Vasudeva, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC
Dr A K Balyan, MD and CEO, Petronet-LNG Mr C S Verma, Chairman,
SAIL The CEO Forum will be served and supported by the GCN India
Office and the members of the GCN Human Rights Sub-Committee Brig.
Rajiv Williams Corporate Head CSR, Jindal Stainless Limited Mrs.
Beroz Gazdar, Vice President, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited Ashok
Bharti, Chair, NACDOR Mr J S Kochher, Joint Secretary, National
Human Rights Commission Dr Alka Mittal, DGM, Human Resources, ONGC
Mr Mahesh Patil, General Manager, Sesa Goa Ltdg Mr B K Thakur, DGM,
Steel Authority of India Dr Joy Deshmukh, Global Head, CSR, Tata
Consultancy Services Ms Shubha Sekhar, Global Workplace Rights, The
Coca-Cola Company Mr Mark Hodge, Executive Director, The Global
Business Initiative on Human Rights Strong acknowledgement and
special appreciation is given to India; Ms. Rubina Sen, Ms. Shabnam
Siddiqui, Ms Krittika Bhatt, Ms. Chitra Nair and Mr. Romeo Francis
of the GlobalShabnam Siddiqui, Ms Krittika Bhatt, Ms. Chitra Nair
and Mr. Romeo Francis of the Global Compact Network India; Pritika
Chand, CSR department, Jindal Stainless Limited Network
Fountainhead Solutions PVT. Limited and Event Solutions PVT.
Limited for coordinating all efforts to date regarding the India
CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights. *Lists appear in
alphabetical order based on company name. 312 16. CEO BRIEFING ON
BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS FIVE KEY MESSAGESFIVE KEY MESSAGES ONE
Expectations from policy makers, civil society and investors
regarding corporate impact on human rights are rapidly converging
On June 17th 2011, the United Nations took an unprecedented step to
endorse the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights
developed by the former UN Special Representative on Business and
Human Rights (Professor John Ruggie). The Indian Government has
been a strong supporter of the Business and Human Rights agenda
hosting Professor Ruggies Asiag pp g g g gg Consultation in
February 2009 and recently sponsoring a UN Resolution to progress
the international agenda. A new UN Working Group has now been
formed to focus on implementation of the Guiding Principles.
Internationally, the Guiding Principles have already been
incorporated into important responsible business efforts such as
the OECD Guidelines for Multi-national Enterprises, the European
Commission CSR strategy and IS0 26000 (the most universally
approved CSR standard alongside the Global Compact). Just before
the UN Guiding Principles were endorsed, 29 institutional investors
with US$ 2.7 trillion under management supported the principles and
are now developing an Investors guide for Business and Human
Rights. From the Indian perspective, we are also seeing serious
developments. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has recently
launched National Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Business, in
which Principle 5 (of 9) guides businesses to respect and promote
human rights and makes explicit reference to the work of Prof.
Ruggie and the UN Protect, Respect, Remedy Framework. TWO Many
major corporations now see the clear, long-term business case for
respecting human rights and knowing and showing how they do so This
is often an accumulation of a range of Business and human rights is
a core business issue with costs for getting it wrong, and benefits
for getting it right rights and knowing and showing how they do so.
This is often an accumulation of a range of factors including: 13
17. Reputational Risk Management - Mismanagement of human rights
issues can tarnish a reputation for many years and harm business
operations. Reputational damage can make it harder to attract
customers, secure the necessary investment for growth, attract and
retain the best and most committed employees or enter into business
partnershipsbest and most committed employees or enter into
business partnerships. Pressure from Government - National
governments can play a key role in encouraging businesses to act on
human rights. An increasing number of countries around the world
have launched national initiatives on corporate responsibility to
encourage excellence among their own industries and through this
encourage responsible outward and inward investment. Companies not
respecting human rights can have a negative effect upon both home
and hostCompanies not respecting human rights can have a negative
effect upon both home and host country reputation and can undermine
their ability to trade freely. Operational Risk Social Licence to
Operate - It is hard for any business to operate against the will
of a local population. While the permission of a national
government is needed to trade, local authority permission or
community approval is also necessary even if not a legal
requirement. A social licence to operate is not a written document,
but without it a companyq p , p y may face anything from
demonstrations outside its gates to a material loss in trade. Legal
and Financial Risk - Although human rights law and its relationship
to business is still evolving, it is increasingly used in both
criminal cases (against companies as well as individual employees)
and civil cases (such as compensation claims from workers or
customers). The risk of being found guilty of not respecting human
rights or being complicit in an abuse perpetrated by others is now
a reality in many parts of the world. Pressure from Investors -
Many institutional investors now actively screen for allegations of
human rights abuses by a company they are considering for
investment. This is also the case for the major public lending
institutions, stock exchanges and major private banks. Meeting
Expectations of Buyers or Customers - Few companies can prosper
whilst knowingly abusing human rights. Customers expect companies
to respect human rights and avoid involvement in any such abuses.
Increasingly, such stakeholders expect not just minimum compliance
but evidence of positive behaviour. Staff Retention and Motivation
- The best companies attract and keep the best employees, and good
employees contribute to success. A relationship built on respect
for human dignity is likely to be more sustainable and productive
for both employer and employee. Leadership - Ethical leadership is
a key element of sustainable success in business. A corporate
governance framework which takes account of human rights sets the
tone for business behaviour, contributes to the success of the
company and helps meet stakeholder expectations. 11 14 18. THREE
Human rights can be understood as an attempt by citizens and
leaders around the world to codify our notions of dignity, respect
and equality T Human rights are the basic rights of each human
being, independent of race, sex, religion, political opinion,
social status, or any other characteristic. Through international
human rights conventions, governments commit to respect, protect,
promote and fulfil the human rights of their citizens. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the foundational document
for y g y, p q y their citizens. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is the foundational document for understanding human rights
and is provided as an annex to this document. Businesses should
also be aware of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights the core conventions of the International Labour
Organization (ILO). In addition, a specific body of law applies in
situations of armed conflicts: international humanitarian law.
Examples of internationally agreed human rights that companies can
impact can be understood in two categories as follows: Labour
Rights such as Freedom of association, Right to equal pay for equal
work, Right to organize and participate in collective bargaining,
Right to non-discrimination, Right to just and favorable
remuneration, Abolition of slavery and forced labour, Right to a
safe work environment, Right to rest and leisure, Right to work and
Right to family life . Non-labour Rights such as Right to life,
liberty and security of the person, Right of peaceful assembly;
Right to an adequate standard of living (including food, clothing,
and housing); Right to physical and mental health; Access to
medical services; Equal recognition and protection under the law;
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Right to education;
Right to hold opinions, freedom of information and expression;
Right to participate in cultural life; Freedom of movement and
Right to privacy . OUR Businesses are not solely responsible for
the human rights impacts of d l k FO economic activity government
and civil society are key actors too Government's have a duty to
Respect, Protect, Promote and Fulfil Human Rights. These terms are
used in connection with state obligations in accordance with the
human rights instruments they have committed to. As an overview,
promote is about ensuring awareness of the right; respect means to
not violate a right; protect means to ensure that others (e.g.
companies, individuals, etc.) do not violate a right; and fulfil
means to actually implement the right, for 15 19. example by
providing healthcare facilities to fulfil the right to health. From
this, it is clear that States have a Duty to Protect against human
rights violations by business and may engage in promotional
awareness raising activities also. There is now a recognized
corporate responsibility to respect human rights which applies to
business actors. Governments unanimously affirmed the existence of
this responsibility at the United Nations in 2008 and the UN Human
Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN SRSG Professor John
Ruggies Guiding Principles in 2011. The responsibility to respect
essentially means not to infringe upon the rights of others and to
address adverse impacts when they occur. Companies can take steps
to meet their responsibility to respect human rights byoccur.
Companies can take steps to meet their responsibility to respect
human rights by carrying out human rights due diligence.
Additionally, companies should have in place a statement or policy
articulating the companys commitment to respect human rights. VE
Businesses are simply expected to know and show through due FIV No
company sets out to abuse human rights. No CEO, director, manager,
employee, supplier or business partner wants to have a negative
effect on the lives of people their enterprise depends on and most
companies are probably correct to presume that they do respect
human p y p g diligence how they manage their human rights impacts
depends on and most companies are probably correct to presume that
they do respect human rights. The paradigm shift underlying efforts
by world-class business and embedded in the UN Guiding Principles
is to the importance of knowing and showing (not just claiming and
assuming) that the company respects human rights in its own
operations and value chain. Therefore, businesses should approach
the human rights impacts of their operations, products and services
in the same way they manage other areas of the business
systematically, on any y g y y, ongoing basis, engaging the correct
internal and external expertise, tracking effectiveness and
accounting for their actions to relevant parties. The United
Nations Guiding Principles endorse this policy, process and
procedural approach by business to respecting human rights and
articulate that. In order to meet their responsibility to respect
human rights, business enterprises should have in place policies
and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances,
including: a) A policy commitment to meet their responsibility to
respect human rights; b) A human rights due-diligence process to
identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their
impacts on human rights; c) Processes to enable the remediation of
any adverse human rights impacts they cause or to which they
contribute. 16 20. For more information please contact Mr. Pooran
C. Pandey, Executive Director, Global Compact Network, India.
[email protected]. The 13th February 2012 opening event has kindly
been sponsored by the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
