Meeting of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct
26.04.2023
On April 17, 2023, the next meeting of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct (hereinafter "RBC"), under the chairmanship of Christine Kaufman, was held online. Representatives of the NCP Secretariat took part in the meeting from the Kazakhstan side. Discussions focused on targeted updates to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (hereinafter the OECD Guidelines). Meeting is a follow-up to previous discussions on the above mentioned updates. Thus, one of the discussed comments was the addition of a new paragraph to Chapter VI, Environmental Protection, requiring businesses to comply with animal welfare standards consistent with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code under World Organization for Animal Health. During the discussion, participants noted that good animal welfare requires disease prevention and proper veterinary care, shelter, management and nutrition, a stimulating and safe environment, humane handling and slaughter. In this regard, businesses should adhere to the guidelines for the transport of live animals that have been developed by internationa.organizations. Also during the meeting, some changes were made by the Secretariat for the following chapters: • Foreword to paragraph 1; • Chapter 2 "General Policy" comments: 14,24,26,28; • Chapter 3 "Disclosure of Information" paragraphs:1,4,9 paragraphs: 31,32,36; • Chapter 6 "Environmental Protection" of comment 68; • Chapter 8, "Consumer Interests," of comment 98; • Chapter 9 "Science and Technology" paragraph 7, comments 111,112. Participants emphasized that RBM had the potential to create a level playing field in global markets, and a dynamic and well-functioning business sector, and to enhance the contribution of business to sustainable development outcomes, including addressing climate change. In this regard, the Secretariat, considering the treatment of negative environmental impacts by businesses in the commentary to Chapter VI, "Environmental protection", describes the significant differences between environmental impacts, including in relation to climate change. These include, but are not limited to: • biodiversity loss; • degradation of terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems; • air, water and soil pollution; • improper handling of waste, including hazardous substances. Regarding the chapter on "Concepts and Principles", participants drew attention to the structure and operations of multinational enterprises and emphasized that the OECD Guidelines were addressed to all business actors in all sectors of the economy. It should be noted that functional equivalence is critical for the effective contribution of the entire NCP network to the implementation of the Guidelines, in particular regarding the full participation of all NCP in the initial assessment of cases. In this regard, the Secretariat commits all NCPs to assist the OECD Investment Committee and the Working Party on RBM in peer reviews and the identification of key performance criteria for NCPs in fulfilling their responsibilities. More importantly, in addressing appeals, businesses should pay attention to examining the effectiveness of the Guidelines, and should focus more on similar issues in other domestic and international judicial proceedings. At the meeting's conclusion, the Chairperson of the Working Group on RBM K. Kaufman noted that the final version of the OECD Guidelines will be available on the ONE platform on April 19-26 this year. For reference: NCP of Kazakhstan is a collegial advisory body that makes decisions on complaints about violations of the OECD Guidelines provisions.
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