Meeting of the advisory group to clarify the sequence of the procedure for examining a specific case of a violation of the OECD Guidelines

Any person or entity may file a complaint with the NCC regarding violations of the OECD Guidelines by multinational enterprises, including employees or a group of employees of a multinational enterprise, persons or a group of persons who are not employees, trade unions, non-governmenta.organizations. Read more

On August 22-23, the Kazakhstan office of the National Contact Center (NCC), represented by the Economic Research Institute JSC (ERI), participated in an online meeting of the advisory group to clarify the sequence of the case study procedure.

The event was chaired by Allan Jorgensen, Head of the OECD Center for Responsible Business, and focused on targeted updates to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (hereinafter, the OECD Guidelines).

Also taking part in the discussion were Winand Kvedvlig, Chairman of the OECD Business Council (BIAC), Blake Harwell, Coordinator of the Task Force on Multinational Enterprises (TUAC), Nicolas Hachez, Manager of the OECD Responsible Business NCC Coordination, representatives and delegates from other NCC.

During the discussion, Blake Harwell and Veronica Nilsson (TUAC) explained the amendment summaries:

• Fixed deadlines that will allow the NCC to perform date-specific actions.
• Ensuring that the NCC can be determined, especially when further case studies are not possible and/or the dialogue between the parties does not lead to an agreement.
• Ending confidentiality disputes, as confidentiality should be limited to nonpublic information.
• Introducing arbitration or good faith dialogue, that is, making it possible for the parties to refer unresolved issues to arbitration.
• Obtaining evidence that the parties to a particular case support the recommendations and outcomes.

During the meeting there was also an opportunity for delegates to exchange views on amendments to items such as: coordination, initial evaluation, good offices (a type of mediation in international practice), indicative timelines, transparency, and confidentiality.

All updates are based on existing OECD Guidelines practice and NCC analysis, according to Catherine Dovey, NCC's head of responsible business conduct. Key sources include case studies, NCC guidelines, peer reviews, the annual report, Secretariat reports on NCC, the 2019 Council Report, and the 20-Year NCC Report.

Delegates concluded by expressing gratitude for the discussion of the consistency of the case study procedure.

Allan Jorgensen, chairman of the OECD Center for Responsible Business, noted that delegates expressed considerable interest in a follow-up meeting.

For reference:

The NCP - 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.