Meeting of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct
03.04.2023
On March 27-29, 2023, the regular meeting of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) was held under the chairmanship of Christine Kaufmann. The meeting was attended by members of the Secretariat of the National Contact Point. The meeting was held in Paris, France, in a hybrid format. The first day of the meeting followed up on previous discussions on targeted updates to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the OECD Guidelines) with a discussion of key questions from delegates. The Secretariat also provided an overview of the input received during the public consultation and from stakeholders and an overview of the main changes to the draft text. Public consultation on this document ran from January 13 to February 10, 2023. There were a total of 216 proposals, of which 47% were from civil society, 15% from trade associations, and 15% from business enterprises. BIAC (Business in the OECD) emphasized its strong commitment to the RBC, given the close link between the trade and investment environment and the RBC. BIAC noted that the significant changes, expansions and complexities of the new text also necessitate a realistic transition period before they become fully effective. The transition period should help advance the revised text and allow companies to adapt their policies in line with the recommendations. BIAC's key recommendations for change include the following: • Provide further clarification on the purpose and nature of the OECD Guidelines; • Establish appropriate limits on business due diligence; • Avoid conflicts regarding inappropriate business involvement in political activities; • Maintain a critical attitude towards labor relations between multinational enterprises and employees; • Recognize the full range of effective environmental mitigation goals and strategies; • Repeal the late introduction of vague concepts in the chapter on taxes; • Firmly establish the voluntary nature of the National Contact Points procedure. For its part, TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD) noted the importance of the National Contact Points (hereinafter referred to as NCPs) and the necessary introduction of them as an effective mechanism to assist the courts, as well as increasing their influence on the process and final decisions. The second day started with a discussion on possible targeted updates to the OECD Guidelines and comments on them. The discussion of each chapter consisted of a brief introductory statement by the Secretariat, followed by a discussion of key issues. During the discussion, delegates from Canada noted that understanding and complying with relevant consultation and consent requirements was also an important part of ensuring meaningful participation, especially, for example, when engaging with indigenous people. Thus they proposed a number of comments to Chapters II, General Policy, and VI, Environmental Protection: • removing "harm to animal welfare" from the list of negative environmental impacts; • The inclusion of a new paragraph on risk-based due diligence by businesses that helps ensure compliance with government-supported standards for responsible agricultural supply chains, including issues related to the environment, health and safety, tenure and animal welfare. Moreover, UK delegates emphasized that, in practice, some human rights may be at greater risk of negative impacts than other rights in certain sectors. Business enterprises should therefore take additional steps to assess and address negative impacts on individuals who may be at heightened risk through marginalization or vulnerability, individually or as members of certain groups or populations, including indigenous peoples. The next block of the session discussed the role of human rights defenders and civil society in the context of business and human rights. During the discussion, delegates had the opportunity to review and discuss key changes to the current draft. On the final day of the meeting, the participants had the opportunity to revisit all the amendments to the OECD Guidelines and to discuss outstanding issues. In addition, the next steps were identified in line with the indicative roadmap for the targeted update of the OECD Guidelines. Thus, the final draft of the revisions to the OECD Guidelines discussed at these meetings will be available on April 7, 2023. At the meeting's conclusion, the Chairperson of the Working Group on RBC C. Kaufmann summarized the discussion and thanked all participants for a fruitful and lively discussion.
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