Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct

On September 28-30, the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (WPRBC) held its regular meeting, chaired by Christine Kaufmann.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KAZAKH INVEST National Company JSC and Economic Research Institute JSC.

The first day of the meeting was dedicated to a review of Chapters I-XI of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises under the “Relevance to Problems” category, as well as a discussion and exchange of delegates’ views on Chapters VII-XI based on first drafts prepared by the OECD Secretariat.

On the second day, the OECD Secretariat provided an overview of potential targeted updates to Chapters I-VI of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, after which delegates had the opportunity to discuss key issues. The “Institutional Compliance” categories of the Targeted Update, which relate to National Contact Points (NCP), were also discussed.

Following the discussion by WPRBC in June this year and comments from delegates, the OECD Secretariat provided a revised version of the proposed targeted updates to the Implementation Procedures related to functional equivalence, institutional arrangements, oversight of the NCP Network, and the NCP mandate.

On the third day, Christine Kaufmann, Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct, presented a roadmap for a targeted update of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including its implementation procedures. In her report, she emphasized the importance of strengthening international cooperation in global supply chains, including by promoting human rights and internationally recognized labor rights.

The session also included an opportunity for delegates to exchange views on amendments to items such as specific instances, timelines for specific cases, and peer review.

Following the discussion, it was agreed to provide comments on each point of the discussion, after which the OECD Secretariat will prepare an updated version of the documents for further approval and discussion.  

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The OECD is an international economi.organization of developed countries, established in 1948, which recognizes the principles of representative democracy and free market economy. The OECD goal is to pursue coordinated policies aimed at sustainable economic growth and improved living standards in member countries. 38 countries are members of the OECD. Kazakhstan has been cooperating with the OECD since 2008.