The three main pillars of USCIB’s global business network – the International Organization of Employers, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD – have joined together in welcoming the final report of Professor John Ruggie, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s special representative on business and human rights. On May 30, after six years of study and consultation, Professor Ruggie released his final report, entitled “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework.”
In their joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the IOE, ICC and BIAC thanked Professor Ruggie for “his dedication and tireless effort over the past six years to develop open communication and consensus among all stakeholders, which has been a significant part of his contribution to the way in which these issues are addressed.”
They continued “Our organizations have actively engaged with [Professor Ruggie] throughout his mandate by participating directly in numerous consultations, submitting joint comments or statements on various reports produced by the mandate, and engaging in ongoing communication with [him] and his team during the entire mandate.”
The groups endorsed the report’s “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework, which clearly distinguishes the roles of national governments and third parties, including business enterprises, in upholding human rights.
The joint statement said: “Business is committed to meeting its responsibility to respect human rights and we fully expect that states and other stakeholders will do the same within their respective duties and responsibilities. Our organizations also remain committed to working with the UN Human Rights Council and other stakeholders during the implementation phase to advance the framework and the Guiding Principles in a way that creates a sense of ownership of the issues among our members, which we see as a key success factor in dissemination and adoption of the Principles.
Staff contact: Adam Greene
