On May 19, the Kazakhstan office of the National Contact Point of the Economic Research Institute JSC (ERI) participated in the sixth meeting of the advisory group on the analysis of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The OECD Secretariat has prepared a working paper outlining options for possible targeted updates to the provisions of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (hereinafter, the OECD Guidelines) for discussion in the advisory group, and was made available only to members and associates of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct, i.e. adherents of the OECD Guidelines.

The objectives of the proposed updates to the provisions of the OECD Guidelines in Chapters I. Concepts and Principles, II. General Policies:

Removing uncertainty about the scope of the OECD Guidelines, strengthening references to due diligence, clarifying the impact of due diligence on value chains, creating additional leverage on business relationships, stakeholder engagement.

The objectives of the proposed updates to the provisions of the OECD Guidelines for Chapter III. Disclosures:

Due diligence / responsible business conduct reporting, compliance with G20 / OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, materiality, assurance and quality of disclosure, inclusion of sustainability context / reports on responsible business conduct.

Following the presentation, the Secretariat initiated a discussion with all participants of the workshop on the analysis of the OECD Guidelines, where delegates expressed their views on the intended updates and provided comments on the wording of the OECD Guidelines.

At the end of the event, participants expressed their gratitude for the effective discussions during the meeting.

For reference: 

The NCC - is a collegial advisory body that makes decisions on appeals concerning violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including issues of information disclosure, human rights, labor and industrial relations, combating bribery, bribery and extortion, environmental protection, consumer interests, science and technology, competition and taxation.

The functions of the NCC Secretariat in Kazakhstan are performed by the Economic Research Institute JSC.