 |
A twenty year logjam preventing action against abuses by multinational companies in Third World countries, was broken today (Friday 15 january), when the European Parliament voted to support a new European code of conduct for ethical business.
Proposed by British Labour Euro MP, Richard Howitt, the proposals include:-
Voluntary codes of conduct adopted by companies to include independent monitoring and verification
A new legal base for a statutory European framework governing companies' operations worldwide
The setting up of an independent European monitoring and verification body with public hearings in the European Parliament to highlight good and bad conduct
A mechanism to cut off European funding where companies operating on European contracts breach fundamental rights
New international investment agreements to include duties as well as rights for European enterprises
"Where the United Nations disbanded its
monitoring centre for transnationals, and the International Labour
Organisation has dealt with only seven cases of abuse in twenty
years, today the European Parliament is taking decisive action
to ensure our European companies achieve higher standards for
workers, the environment and human rights," Richard Howitt
MEP told the Strasbourg-based Parliament.
The European Parliament;
- having regard to its resolution of 9 February
1994 on the introduction of a social clause in the trading system,
- having regard to its resolution of 12 December
1996 on the human rights situation in the world and the EU's human
rights policy,
- having regard to its resolution of 15 January
1998 on relocation and foreign direct investment in third countries,
- having regard to its resolutions A3-0597/93;
B4-0062 and 0103/95; B4-1415/95 as well as B4-0496, 0500, 0522
and 0551/96 on Indigenous peoples,
- having regard to its resolution of 11 March
1998 on an OECD Multilateral Agreement on Investment,
- having regard to its resolution of 2 July
1998 on fair trade (A4-0198/98),
having regard to its resolution of 17 December 1998 on human rights in the world in 1997 and 1998 and European Union human rights policy - having regard to the two most authoritative internationally agreed standards for corporate conduct adopted by the ILO: the 1977 "Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy" and the 1976 OECD:
"Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises",
and to codes of conduct agreed under the aegis of international
organisations such as the FAO, WHO and World Bank and efforts
under the auspices of UNCTAD with regard to the activities of
enterprises in developing countries,
- having regard to the ILO Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 18 June 1998, and its
agreement of universal core labour standards: Abolition of forced
labour (Conventions 29 and 105), Freedom of association and the
right to collective bargaining (Conventions 87 and 98), Abolition
of child labour (Convention 138), and Non-Discrimination in Employment
(Conventions 100 and 111),
- having regard to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and in particular its article where
every individual and every organ of society is called upon to
play its part in securing universal observance of human rights,
the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
the 1966 Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
1979 Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, the 1994 Draft United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
- having regard to the decision of the European
social partners to contribute to the implementation of actions
aimed at eradicating all forms of child labour exploitation and
to promote the rights of these children throughout the world,
- having regard to Article 220 of the Treaty
of Rome regarding reciprocal recognition of court judgments, to
the 1968 EEC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of
Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, usually known as the
Brussels Convention, and to the Joint Action adopted by the Council
on the basis of Article K3 of the Treaty concerning action to
combat trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of
children, of 24 February 1997,
- having regard to the 1997 OECD Convention
on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
Business Transactions,
- having regard to the European Council decisions
to offer enhanced General System of Preferences (GSP) with respect
to compliance with core labour standards, and to the EU Code of
Conduct on Arms Exports,
- having regard to numerous initiatives on
the part of individual enterprises, their associations, trade
unions and non-governmental organisations, together with international
voluntary standards such as Social Accountability 8000,
-- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules
of Procedure,
- having regard to the Hearing on "EU
standards for European Enterprises operating in developing countries"
of 2 September 1998 in the Committee on Development and Cooperation
and to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation
(A4-0000/00) and the opinion of the Committee on External Economic
Relations,
A. Whereas the EU as the largest development
aid donor, and European enterprises, as the largest direct investors
in developing countries, can play a decisive role in global sustainable
social and economic development;
B. Deeply concerned about numerous cases where
intense competition for investment and markets and lack of application
of international standards and national laws, have led to cases
of corporate abuse, particularly in countries where human rights
are not upheld;
C. Stressing that no company should profit
from any competitive advantage resulting from disregarding basic
labour laws and social and environmental standards; and recognising
increasing evidence that corporate social responsibility is linked
to good financial performance;
D. Bearing in mind there is increasing consensus
amongst business and industry, trade unions, NGOs and governments
both from developing countries and from the industrialised world,
to improve business practices through voluntary codes of conduct;
E. Whereas in this connection a process of
review is under way in the OECD at the present time, in consultation
with representatives of companies, labour and other components
of civil society, to strengthen the guiding principles set out
by the Organisation for multinational companies;
F. Stressing that voluntary and binding approaches
to corporate regulation are not mutually exclusive, and adopting
an evolutionary approach to the question of standard-setting for
European enterprises;
Voluntary codes of conduct
1. Welcomes and encourages voluntary initiatives
by business and industry, trade unions and coalitions of NGOs
to promote codes of conduct, with effective and independent monitoring
and verification, and stakeholder participation in the development,
implementation and monitoring of Codes of Conduct; emphasises,
however, that codes of conduct cannot replace or set aside national
or international rules or the jurisdiction of governments; considers
that codes of conduct must not be used as instruments for putting
multinational enterprises beyond the scope of governmental and
judicial scrutiny;
2. Reiterates its calls on the Council to
develop a joint position on voluntary codes of conduct, on the
lines of the code of conduct for arms exporters, taking due account
of the fact that "self-policing" is not always the answer;
3. Stresses that the content of a code, the
process by which it is determined and implemented, must involve
those in developing countries who are covered by it;
4. Believes that special attention must be
paid to implementing codes in respect of workers in the informal
sector, sub-contractors and in free trade zones, notably concerning
recognition of the right to form independent trade unions; and
against corporate collusion in violations of human rights;
5. Believes that a code should recognise the
responsibilities of companies operating in conflict situations
by ensuring that a Code covers the Amnesty International Human
Rights Principles for Companies, Human Rights Watch recommendations
to companies, and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials;
6. Believes that under the voluntary codes
of conduct European companies should comply with EU environmental,
animal welfare and health standards;
7. Stresses that Indigenous peoples and their communities should benefit
>from such codes of conduct recognizing their important role for sustainable
development;
8. Welcomes the fact that in the present context
of globalisation of trade flows and communications as well as
of increased vigilance of NGO's and consumer associations, it
seems to be increasingly in the own interest of multinational
undertakings to adopt and implement voluntary codes of conduct,
if they want to avoid negative publicity compaigns, sometimes
leading to boycotts, public relation costs and consumer complaints;
9. Considers that enterprises should contribute
economically and socially to the development process in the affected
areas, in compliance with the guidelines laid down by the public
authorities concerned;
10. Recommends that an 'evolutionary approach'
be weighted towards a continuous and gradual improvement of standards;
takes the view that this must reflect the enterprises' own obligations
to make improvements;
European enforcement mechanism
.11. Reiterates its request to the Commission
and the Council to make proposals, as a matter of urgency, to
develop the right legal basis for establishing a European multilateral
framework governing companies operations worldwide and organize
for this purpose consultations with companies' representatives,
social partners and those groups of society who would be covered
by the code;
12. Recommends, that a model Code of Conduct for European Businesses should comprise existing Minimum Applicable international standards: the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning MNEs and Social Policy and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; in the field of labour rights: the I.L.O. core Conventions; in the field of human rights: the UN Declaration and different Covenants on Human Rights
in the field of minority and indigenous peoples rights: I.L.O. Convention no. 169, Chapter 26 of Agenda 21, 1994 Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
in the field of environmental standards:
U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, the Rio Declaration and
the European Commission proposal for the development of a code
of conduct for European logging companies (COM(89) - 0410) and
the relevant UN Conventions in the fields of protection of the
environment, animal welfare and public health; in the field of
security services: Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions
and Protocol II, and the U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials; in the field of corruption: the O.E.C.D. anti-bribery
convention and the European Commission communication on legislative
measures against corruption (COM(97) 0192/fin.); but should also
include consideration of new international standards which are
currently developed;
13. Reaffirms its support for the creation
of a 'Social Label'
14. Calls on the Commission to study the possibility
of setting up a European Monitoring Platform (EMP), ( already
proposed by some trade associations) in close collaboration with
the social partners, NGO's from North and South and representatives
of Indigenous and local communities;
15. Believes that an independent monitoring
and verification body could only prove useful if it is highly
skilled, if it has appropriate procedures and, above all, if it
is widely accepted as being objective and impartial;
16. Recommends that business and industry
provide dissemination of information of their voluntary initiatives
and conduct to the monitoring mechanism so that their compliance
with a European Code of conduct, international standards and private
voluntary codes of practice (if adopted) could be properly assessed;
17. Recommends that the monitoring mechanism promote dialogue on standards met by European enterprises, the identification of best practice, together with being open to receive complaints about corporate conduct from community and/or workers' representatives and the private sector in the host country, NGOs or consumer organisations, from individual victims or
>from any other source;
European Parliamentary action
18. Proposes that during the new legislative
period, special rapporteurs are appointed for a period of one
year and annual hearings are held in the European Parliament,
inviting the social partners and NGOs from the South and the North
until the time a European Monitoring Platform is established by
the Commission;
19. Recommends that public hearings be organised
regularly in the European Parliament in order to discuss specific
cases, of both good and bad conduct, and that all persons concerned
(including enterprises) be invited to attend them;
Role of European development cooperation
20. Recognizes that a responsibility for applying
internationally agreed standards rests with the governments of
the developing countries themselves; therefore welcomes recent
EU initiatives to strenghten and extend the coverage of political
dialogue with developing countries and to make "good governance"
an essential element of EU cooperation policy;
21. Considers that resources must be set aside
to support the governments of developing countries, so as to help
ensure that international standards are incorporated in those
countries' laws, and that technical and financial assistance must
be granted to monitoring groups in the host countries;
22. Calls on the Commission to enforce the
requirement that all private companies carrying out operations
in third countries on behalf of the Union and financed out of
the Commission's budget or European Development Fund, act in accordance
with the Treaty of European Union in respect of fundamental rights,
failing which such companies would not be entitled to continue
to receive European Union funding in particular from its instruments
for assistance with investment in third countries; calls on the
Commission to prepare a report on the extent to which private
companies to which it awards contracts have been made aware of
these obligations; further recognises that private companies acting
as agents of the Commission in the field of development cooperation
are already obliged to adhere to OECD standards concerning best
aid practice and human rights and sustainable development principles
enshrined in the LomÚ Convention;
23. Calls on the Commission to ensure that
the development strategy to strengthen the private sector environment
in developing countries, should specifically integrate the role
of European-based MNEs, and to progress an investment agreement
with the ACP to promote economic growth and poverty reduction;
Other actions at the European level
24. Calls on the Commission to improve consultation
and monitoring of European companies' operations in third countries
through the mechanisms of the Social Dialogue within Europe, and
the operation of democracy and human rights clauses in trade agreements
with third countries outside Europe;
25. Recommends that at least the ILO Declaration
of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, of 18 June 1998,
be an explicit part of any future agreement the EU negotiates
with third countries, as a matter of urgency;
26. Calls on the Commission to ensure that
consideration is given, with an appropriate legal base, to incorporating
core labour, environmental and human rights international standards
when reviewing European company law including the new E.U. Directive
on a European-incorporated company;
27. Calls on the Commission to bring forward
proposals for a system of incentives for companies complying with
international standards developed in close consultation and cooperation
with consumer groups and human rights and environmental NGOs -
such as in procurement, fiscal incentives, access to E.U. financial
assistance and publication in the Official Journal;
Actions within international institutions
28. Recommends that the European Union seeks
to work en bloc to strengthen existing ILO and OECD instruments,
in particular in the review now underway in the O.E.C.D., and
within the United Nations, to ensure more powerful and effective
monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and that EU efforts notably
go into reviving the UN Commission on TNCs for it to be entrusted
with concrete tasks in the context of the monitoring and implementation
of Codes, along with the OECD Committee for International Investment
and Multinational Enterprises and the ILO's Department for Multinational
Enterprises;
29. Calls on the Commission and on the Member
States to take coordinated action within the OECD, the ILO and
other international fora to promote the establishment of a truly
independent and impartial monitoring mechanism which is internationally
accepted;
30. Strongly recommends that in connection
with negotiations on investment agreements which could be concluded
in either the O.E.C.D. or the W.T.O., the European Union not only
contributes to establishing the legitimate rights of multinational
enterprises, but also their duties - with due regard to the present
minimal international regulations - in the field of environment,
labour and human rights; recommends that a monitoring mechanism
affording every guarantee of impartiality and independence should
be incorporated in such an agreement;
|