The Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament organised a hearing on the issue of Business and Human Rights on April 16th 2009.
The UN Special Representative on this issue, John Ruggie, was the keynote speaker of the event where he presented the framework “Protect, Respect and Remedy” to the members of the European Parliament. Under the state duty to protect, he highlighted the need for states to ensure that their policies are coherent both with their international human rights obligations and across all their relevant departments and he underlined the important role the EU had in this respect. "Europe must do more than say nice words to ensure that business respects human rights", he said. He also emphasised the need for corporations to fully integrate human rights due diligence process throughout their structures. Finally, he underlined the fact that many businesses would welcome stronger guidance from their governments on human rights, especially when operating in uncertain environments such as conflict zones.
- Photo: Elaine Rudolphi
The hearing also featured professor Jan Wouters from the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (Catholic University, Leuven) who presented a study commissioned by the European Parliament including concrete recommendations for action for the EU on this field. He called for the EU to reconsider its focus on voluntary CSR and institute a new legal framework of accountability for corporations, including mandatory reporting and the possibility of prosecuting companies for human rights violations in international criminal courts. He also suggested that external human rights policies should focus on companies as well as on states and that the focus should be on outcomes and accountability, not simply dialogue.
John Morrison from the Business Leader for Human Rights Initiative (BLIHR) spoke on behalf of the private sector, again highlighting the support of business for state action on business and human rights, in particular to provide legal certainty for companies. He described the Ruggie framework as “a real opportunity for European leadership” and urged the EU to draw from it in considering its next steps. This message was echoed by ECCJ’s coordinator, Ruth Casals, participating in the hearing on behalf of the NGO community. She presented the need for the EU to take concerted action to improve the regulatory framework governing how EU companies operate overseas.
ECCJ together with the network Fatal Transactions, and the organisations Cafod, Global Witness, the European office of the Jesuits, and IPIS prepared a special submission for the hearing outlining the key demands and recommendations to the EU. Download this document below.
John Evans, Secretary General of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) also spoke at the event, expressing the need for practical solutions to the “institutional dysfunction” of governments in relation to the issue of Business and Human Rights.
A video of the session is available here
More information can also be found in the page of the European Parliament
The meeting documents can be found here
