INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR THE IMPACT OF BUSINESSES ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD LIMA, AUGUST 6 7, 2013 MINUTES REPORT

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR THE IMPACT OF BUSINESSES ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD LIMA, AUGUST 6 7, 2013 MINUTES REPORT

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION 04 ORGANISING COMMITTEE 05 GOALS 06 PARTICIPANTS 06 METHODOLOGY 08 DISCUSSION THEMES 08 DECLARATION ON THE COMMITMENTS FOR CHILDREN S RIGHTS 09 ASSESSMENT OF THE DISCUSSION, CONCERNS, FINDINGS 10 COMMENTS 12 CONCLUSIONS 13 03

4 INTRODUCTION. The International Seminar, The Impact of Businesses on the Rights of the Child was held in Lima, Peru on August 6 and 7, The event summoned representatives from the business sector, civil society, the government, and the international cooperation to examine and debate the role of businesses regarding the protection, defence, and promotion of children s and adolescents rights. Seeking an effective dialog with the private sector, the event took place in the Atton Hotel in San Isidro, located a few blocks from the business and financial centre of the country. In fact, the business centre an architectural and social icon of Lima is located at a short distance from the convention centre where the seminar was being held. Save the Children and UNICEF took the initiative to organise this event in order to encourage an agreement of efforts among all key stakeholders in favour of children s rights. Both organizations found the necessary support and collaboration from important bodies which promote actions of corporate social responsibility, such as Empresarios por la Educación [Entrepreneurs for Education] and Perú 2021 civil associations from the corporate sector. This way, the four organisations decided to take this initiative together and advance this seminar, giving it an international scope so its call and effects reach mainly the Latin American region. The organisers of the international seminar summarised the reasons for this initiative of exchange and discussion between companies, the civil society, the academia, the government and the international cooperation in the following terms: It is widely known that companies have a social responsibility to protect and further human rights, particularly those of children and adolescents. Businesses should guarantee their practices do not contribute to damaging children s rights. This is why it is important to establish the real and potential effects their activities have on children, thus taking the necessary steps for their protection. This responsibility includes the activities of the company along its whole value chain. According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the impact of the private sector on children s rights has increased in the last decades. This is due to the globalisation of economy and trading operations, as well as to elements related to descentralization, outsourcing, and privatization of government roles. The governments and companies should consider that childhood is a unique period where opportunities for the development of people are generated. Any harm caused during this stage could be permanent and irreversible. They should also consider that children have very little political influence, they are usually excluded from decision-making and it is very difficult for them to access legal mechanisms of protection, especially in less-regulated markets where the economic activity concentrates a great deal of its outsourcing. 04

5 In March, 2012, with the objective of providing practical guidance to companies regarding the impacts of their operations on children s rights, the Global Compact, Save the Children and UNICEF launched ten new principles: the Rights of the Child and Business Principles. Likewise, this year the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has developed the General Comment Nº 16, with the aim of providing clarity, guidance and recommendations to the State members on the steps they should implement in order to fulfill their obligation of respecting and guaranteeing the rights of the child in their business activities. It is known that the feasibility and success of business are closely linked to the management of their social, economic, and environmental impacts. Respecting and promoting children s rights is a part of their responsibility, and this encourages a greater satisfaction among interested parties: workers, providers, clients. In the modern world, the coordination between the civil society, the private sector, and the public sector is a key component to development. ORGANISING COMMITTEE. At a country level, the organising committee of the international seminar was formed by: Save the Children (Lennart Reinius, Country Director) UNICEF (Paul Martin, Representative) Empresarios por la Educación (José Miguel Morales, President) Perú 2021 (Inés Temple, President) At a regional level: Andrea Portaro (Regional Programme SCI) Teresa Carpio (Regional Theme Advisor SCS) Marcelo Ber (UNICEF Corporate SR Specialist at regional level) The seminar also had the invaluable support of Jorge Cardona, member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; Marta Mauras, former member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Carlos López, from the International Commission of Jurists, for the development of the contents. This way, as of its very beginnings, the event had an organising committee clearly integrated by representatives from the international cooperation working for the rights of children and adolescents, as well as from representatives from the private sector who lead and disseminate ideas and initiatives of social responsibility among companies. 05

6 GOALS. The following were the goals set by the organisers of this international seminar: Achieving a commitment from the key stakeholders on children s rights in order to implement General Comment Nº 16, the Rights of the Child and Business Principles. Promoting the discussion and reflection among the government, the private sector, the academia and the civil society about the impacts of private activities on children s and adolescents rights. Expose successful experiences, validating methodologies that will ease the work with the private sector. PARTICIPANTS. A total of 174 participants were present at the international seminar, representing the government, the civil society, the private sector and the international cooperation. BUSINESS SECTOR No less than 68 participants belonged to the business or private sector, representing 40% of the total. This significant proportion shows the appeal that this initiative had in the sector where the core message was directed, which precisely links the business activities with the rights of children and adolescents. Among the representatives from the private sector, there were important corporate leaders, senior executives from various levels, business pundits, managers and officials from the departments of social responsibility from the top companies in the country. The significant participation of representatives from the business sector in this seminar can be explained by the special support from two of the private organisations co-organising this event: Empresarios por la Educación and Perú GOVERNMENT The government was represented by 19 participants, corresponding to the 11% of all participants of the event. Among them were officials from different institutions of the national government and some local municipal governments. In general, the participation of the government was not what had been expected, although it brought significant and strategic representatives, who were both participants and speakers. 06

7 It is important to emphasize the distinguished presence of officials from the Ombudsman s Office, which was greeted and welcomed by the audience. The participation of the Mayor of Lima, Mrs Susana Villarán, in the closing ceremony enhanced the importance of the private sector and the government in their commitment for the rights of the child, and stated that this participation should occur at all levels local, regional, and national. CIVIL SOCIETY The organisations from the civil society were represented by 44 participants, mainly executives and officials from development NGOs and from NGOs defending children s and adolescents rights, both from Peru and abroad. The participation of the civil society represented a 25% of the total. Among the NGOs participating in the event, it is worth noting that some of them already had working experience, at least at a minimum level, with the private sector, whilst others didn t, although they showed interest in knowing and perhaps beginning to start working in that field, which is something new to the civil society. Among the civil society organisations participating, we would like to highlight the presence of organisations with an important record and experience related to the subject, which undoubtedly enhanced the contents of the seminar once shared among everyone. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION A total of 42 participants came from the international cooperation agencies, 19 of which corresponding to Save the Children, and 23 to UNICEF both organizations being the promoters of the event. This participation corresponds to a 24% of all participants. It is worth noting that these participants came from different offices of both organisations, mainly from the Latin American region, showing their articulation and commitment with the discussion subject regarding children s and adolescents rights. Some of these attendees performed tasks of organisation, coordination, and management, necessary to carry out this initiative. OTHER RELEVANT PARTICIPANTS The basic classification of participants in sector such as civil society, business, government, and international cooperation is insufficient to show all relevant participants, which need a different sorting. This is the case, for instance, of the representatives from the academia, who attended the event through the four basic sectors mentioned above, and who contributed to the success of the event with their lectures, opinions, and interventions. 07

8 Dr Elsa del Castillo s lecture was particularly welcomed, she is the Director of Postgraduate Studies at the Universidad del Pacífico. The same occurred with Dr Carlos López, a well-known jurist and legal advisor from the International Commission of Jurists. It is also worth mentioning the participation of technical experts of international level, such as Dr Amanda Romero, from the Business & Human Rights Resource Center; Dr Guilherme Canela, Communications Advisor for the UNESCO, and Dr Paul Remy, Technical Secretary of ISO National Committee. Lastly, it is important to highlight the presence of representatives from children organisations, especially via the National Network of Children and Adolescents, which groups several children and adolescent movements working for their rights in Peru. METHODOLOGY. The international seminar was developed by a combination of two dynamics. In the first one, all participants would attend central motivational lectures, which later were commented by a panel of experts. There was room for questions at the end. In the second one, participants would be grouped in roundtables, each approaching specialised subjects. There was room for an exchange of opinions between speakers and the public at the end. In this manner, a total of four plenary meetings and four specialised roundtables were held. DISCUSSION THEMES. The general themes posed in the many plenary meetings were the following: Children s rights and the introduction of the General Comment Nº 16. The Rights of the Child and Business Principles within the framework of the ISO Experiences of corporate social responsibility and children s rights. CSR and education, due diligence and the academia. The general themes posed in the specialised discussion tables were the following: Exploitation industries and their role in the respect and promotion of children s rights. The private sector and its role to prevent sexual exploitation of children. The media and their role in the respect and promotion of children s rights. Business policies and marketing in favour of child nutrition. 08

9 DECLARATION ON THE COMMITMENTS FOR CHILDREN S RIGHTS. The high point of the international seminar was the announcement and public reading of a solemn declaration, expressing the serious and lasting commitment of the organisers and participants regarding children s rights. The Declaration bore a heading with the motto, Our best investment is to realise children s rights, corresponding fully to the seminar. And it ends with an emphatic slogan, If children win, we all win. The Declaration is based explicitly on: The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establishes the basic framework on children s and adolescents rights. The Global Compact, which recognises the business obligation to respect human rights. The Rights of the Child and Business Principles, elaborated by the Global Compact, Save the Children, and UNICEF. General Comment Nº 16, approved by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in charge of monitoring the fulfillment of the Convention. Additionally, the Declaration takes into consideration the current context of society and the transformations imposed by the globalisation of the economy thus considering the significant and widespread impacts that businesses have on children and adolescents currently, and which do not seem to stop increasing globally. The commitment of the participants and the intention of incorporating more stakeholders to defend children s rights is expressed when the Declaration recongises that the protection and promotion of children s rights is a responsibility of all sectors the Peruvian government, Empresarios por la Educación, Peru 2021, other business guilds, UNICEF and Save the Children. Consequently, the subscribing parties agreed to assume the following commitments: To respect and promote children s rights. To learn and understand how to prevent, mitigate, and account for any sort of negative impact businesses may have on children s and adolescents rights in the workplace, the market, the community, and the environment. To fulfill the national legislation regarding the identification and addressing of child labour. 09

10 To respect children s right to privacy and non-violation of their identity. To inform and educate widely children, parents, and caregivers on business responsibility to respect the rights of children wherever they operate, among other things, through child-friendly and age-friendly communications. To listen, respect and implement children s opinions. To disseminate policies and guidelines on good practices developed by businesses. ASSESSMENT OF THE DISCUSSION, CONCERNS, FINDINGS. The debate generated after the lectures in the plenary meetings and in the specialised roundtables was, undoubtedly, productive. For the great majority, this event was a unique experience, as expressed by many participants and lecturers at different times. Such uniqueness came mainly from the occasion of gathering representatives from businesses, the civil society, the government, and the international cooperation for the first time in Peru within a common dialogue favouring children s and adolescents rights. Previously, there had only been one specific activity on nutrition issues, focused on early childhood. The event was useful for many stakeholders to make contact for the first time. Beyond that, it was also useful for many to know first-hand what other stakeholders were doing for children s rights. This way, the event allowed many to widen their horizons and possibilities for new proposals and experiences. The exchange of experiences in the Latin American region was particularly productive, since it showed that companies and the civil society had already been working together in many countries of the region, including the government at various levels. The experiences were presented in the central lectures and at the thematic roundtables. These experiences showed the wide variety of interventions between businesses and the civil society on issues of children s rights,: education, nutrition, health, early childhood intervention, protection against violence and trafficking, as well as experiences between owners of the media, the government, and the civil society. Likewise, it was very important to know that there is a very active and very aware sector of within the field of business which is committed with the dissemination of the spirit, advantages, and needs of corporate social responsibility among companies. And it was very encouraging to know that this sector accepts and is committed to the active incorporation of this business social responsibility in favour of children s and adolescents rights. 10

11 The participants knew interesting experiences of social responsibility that many companies are currently carrying out in the field of children s rights. Many of these experiences were unknown, little known or simply badly spread in some cases they were even misinterpreted by the civil society and specifically by NGOs. On the one hand, for participants from the business sector, the seminar was also an opportunity to start a relationship with NGOS with which, up until then, had only been of an occasional, temporary or simply non-existent, and frequently filled with prejudice. Likewise, the representatives from the private sector were able to hear the point of view of the NGOs and the civil society with an open mind through their different lecturers, and also informally during the recesses. They were also able to know experiences of these organisations in the defence of children s and adolescent s rights. Consequently, this seminar allowed overcoming the obstacles of misunderstandings complicating the coordination between sectors, which should necessarily merge in favour of children s and adolescents rights. The possibility of meeting personally, as equals and straightforwardly, is always a precondition for any chance of collaboration. On the other hand, we should recognise that a single experience successful as it may be is utterly insufficient to establish a relationship of trust which would lead to greater commitments and agreements. But it can be and it fact it has become a great beginning. Every task of great significance starts by a first step which is frequently the hardest to take. And this step has been taken. We should also recognise that an element of concern present during the discussion in the seminar was related to the transparency of purposes and reasons. To what extent companies beyond those sectors present at the seminar honestly assume corporate responsibility? This question was posed by the civil society. For their part, the business sector asked, Why do they come to us? Do they consider us a simple source of funding a walking wallet? Facing these samples of mutual distrust, the important thing was to set both sector within the same dynamics, in order to speak freely. This seminar, as a first experience of its kind, has allowed going beyond a simple start of dialogues identifying the key elements for the different sectors and stakeholders to merge and cooperate. The core of this agreement lies in the unanimous acknowledgement by participants from both sectors of the central and fundamental importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as the mandatory regulating cornerstone, of the General Comment N 16 as its valid interpretation regarding the government, companies and children s rights, as well as the Rights of the Child and Business Principles, outlined by the Global Compact, UNICEF and Save the Children. The mutual acknowledgement by the civil society and the business sector on the positive aspects that each represent for children s rights, and everything they may learn from each other by interacting and exchanging experiences also contributed to this convergence. As one of the most prominent participants stated, NGOs and companies are learning from each other, and that is extraordinary. This is beneficial for the whole community. 11

12 From another point of view, the seminar provided participants from the business sector with an opportunity to learn briefly but accurately about the international regulation regarding children s and adolescents rights. Many did not know it sufficiently or only in a partial, fragmented manner. They could not clearly link the relationship between this regulation and the corporate social responsibility they wanted to assume. Thus, the nature of the corporate social responsibility expected from them was clear. It was not about a social responsibility understood as charity or philanthropy (not that these are unimportant). What businesses have to understand is that their social responsibility should be considered as a moral duty of the utmost importance, which in turn is a normative duty issued from the respect to universal human rights. COMMENTS. The remarks posed below come from the previous acknowledgement of the excellence both of the organisation and of the quality of the contents provided by the participants. Nevertheless, it is important to include them as friendly suggestions to be considered for future meetings. Most of the speakers lectures were presented with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. Nevertheless, it is advisable to submit them also in writing and in advance, since it allows a better organisation of the themes, and a better concentration on the concepts than the usual comments after slide shows. Some recommendations to adjust future thematic programmes: To refine the subjects proposed, preventing too much generalisation or ambiguity. To set the subject of each lecturer more specifically. To request the lectures in writing. To measure realistically if the subject can be presented in the expected time or, if necessary, to define it even more. Likewise, the role of the panellists during the lectures should be revised. In this case, panellists are commentators of the main lectures of the event. Their role is to propose issues, to reach observations and objections relevant to the discussion, to promote the development of the lecture with precise and accurate interventions. They should somehow accept the participants concerns without being subdued by them. Regarding the sessions of questions from the audience (which are usually intended to happen only after each round of lectures), it is important to calculate the time needed to achieve a productive discussion. 12

13 CONCLUSIONS. By the end of the international seminar, the following points could be concluded: The international seminar represents an important milestone which sets the beginning of an effort of agreement between the business sector, the civil society, the government, and the international cooperation in favour of children s and adolescents rights in Peru. This international seminar, held in Peru, will also have positive consequences in other countries of the Latin American region representatives present at the seminar didn t hesitate to show their satisfaction for this new and positive issue. The objective of publicizing the international regulations endorsing the responsibility of the business sector regarding children s and adolescents rights was achieved fully. Particularly, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment Nº 16 and the Rights of the Child and Business Principles. Progress was made in the task of shaping the commitment to the international regulations, principles, and standards from all sectors and stakeholder participating in the event. Nevertheless, it is clear that it is not a task for a single seminar, but hard work in the medium and long terms in order to consolidate a commitment for lasting results. The objective of gathering prominent representatives and in significant numbers from the business sector, the government, the civil society, and the international cooperation, was achieved. They were able to know each other, both their points of view and the positive aspects each sector may provide while interacting mutually. Government participation did not fulfill the expectations, although it provided the enthusiastic participation of the Ombudsman s Office. Involvement from this sector can and should improve, especially considering the possibility that this event could be reproduced in the coming years. Special attention should be put to the unique relevance of the government, which plays a key role regarding the business sector and the civil society. The seminar allowed the display of numerous successful experiences of corporate social responsibility and of collaboration between companies, the government, and the civil society in the defence and promotion of children s and adolescents rights. Likewise, it allowed removing the mutual ignorance, prejudices, misunderstandings, and biased or fragmented viewpoints that prevented or damaged a relationship between the business sector and the organisations of the civil society, such as NGOs. With the development of this seminar, an important step has been taken in order to achieve the agreement among key stakeholders of the civil society, the business sector, the government, and the international cooperation regarding the defence and promotion of children s and adolescents rights. 13

14 The seminar also placed the concept of corporate social responsibility within the framework of international regulations and standards, which establish the obligation of businesses to respect universal human rights, among them, children s rights. This way, it is possible to overcome the limited visions that reduce corporate social responsibility to a mere practice of voluntary philanthropy. There was real progress in the awareness of all sectors in general and in the business sector in particular on the negative consequences that business activities may have on children and adolescents. These negative consequences were subject to concerns and specific analysis during the seminar, and were addressed by the participants from the business sector, which showed willingness to face and overcome them. Although the positive spirit while accepting the adverse effects of certain business activities, in some cases it was not clear to what extent this acceptance of the issue could turn into an acceptance of responsibility. Such was the case, for example, of the media and marketing roundtable regarding children, where even though the problem and its seriousness had been acknowledged, there seemed to be very little that the involved parties could do to tackle the problem. Maybe these issues require a specific treatment in special events. Regarding CSR, the Right of the Child and Business Principles is being adopted as a reference point by the business sector in Peru so that companies may orient their activities within this framework. These Business Principles have been widely welcomed, but it is recommended to insist on them strategically, so they remain in the awareness of the wider business sector. 14