Transforming the UN Guiding Principles into Business Practice
Last chance to register! SAI & ICCO to Convene Two-Day Training Event in the Netherlands
In June 2011, the UNHCR (UN High Commission) adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, developed – with wide stakeholder consultation – by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. These groundbreaking principles seek to ensure that businesses respect human rights. The challenge now is in their implementation.
Finalized July 2012, SAI, with support from ICCO (the Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation), developed a handbook and training program based on the framework - "The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; A Six-Step Approach to Supply Chain Implementation." The training program is offered as an in-classroom supplement to the Handbook & Toolkit. The focus is on helping businesses develop and implement management systems to operationalize the Guiding Principles in their supply chain.
A major innovation of the Handbook is the creation of the Buyer-Supplier Mutual Code of Conduct, and the introduction of a social management system at both the buyer and supplier levels in order to integrate and track human rights implementation. The handbook also includes a step-by-step guide with sample documents, and advice on how companies can scale the system to their own size and level of risk.
The first training will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, September 17-18, 2012. Future trainings are expected to take place in Brazil and India.
Participants will receive a copy of the Handbook and Toolkit prior to the event. The training event will further elaborate on the Handbook with tools and exercises and will address questions concerning interpretation, scope and the practical integration of business' responsibility to respect human rights in their supply chains.
After completing the training, attendees will have a good understanding of the implications and opportunities of the Principles for business. Moreover they will be able to translate these Principles into their daily practice through the 6-step approach of the training and the practical formats, tools, cases and exercises that have been made available. The 6-step approach will help companies implement a supply chain management system that integrates respect for human rights:
- Committing to a human rights policy
- Assessing human rights impacts
- Integrating human rights into policies, procedures and responsibilities
- Tracking human rights implementation
- Communicating human rights impacts
- Remediating negative human rights impacts
