As part of its Human Rights Month celebrations the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in partnership with the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), will host a national human rights and business conference titled Business, Development and Poverty.
Through this conference and the commission’s community dialogues, the partners hope to facilitate constructive engagement with business on human rights issues of national importance.
The conference takes place on March 18 and 19 at the Nedbank Sandton Auditorium.
Each partner has considerable experience in the human rights and business domain. The National Business Initiative (NBI) will also take part by organising a breakfast for business leaders.
SAHRC
The SAHRC aims to engage business on its role in the fulfillment of human rights obligations and has established a human rights and business focal point, the purpose of which is to streamline, strengthen, coordinate and drive the activities of the commission in relation to human rights and the corporate sector.
In addition to its monitoring mandate, the commission seeks further to engage in developing policy options and practical strategies to facilitate compliance, and continues with its key responsibilities of advocacy and public awareness.
The commission advocates the view that businesses are community stakeholders. Businesses should not only be responsible in their practices, but also responsive to the contextualised challenges that specific communities may face. But the debate needs to move beyond an understanding of corporate social responsibility as necessarily fulfilling businesses’ constitutional human rights obligations. This includes an examination of the role that business can play in advancing human rights.
This focus extends throughout the human rights value chain, starting within the workplace, progressing through the external business environment, manifesting itself in the supply chain, affecting communities, in relationships with the state and in considering the conduct of South African multinationals outside our borders.
AICC
The AICC is an NGO that promotes sustainable business practice in Africa. Established in 2001, it is committed to being a centre of excellence in facilitating the competitiveness of countries, companies and communities through responsible business activity. Its approach is cross-sectoral and partnership-based, reflecting its commitment to constructive engagement between development stakeholders.
The AICC is the focal point organisation for Human Rights and Business Project South Africa, a multi-stakeholder platform that advances human rights and business issues. Through capacity building and networking among South African civil society organisations, the project promotes the inclusion of human rights issues into daily corporate practice.
OHCHR
The United Nations OHCHR is headquartered in Geneva and is the lead UN agency on human rights. Its work on the issue of business and human rights includes active support and involvement in the UN Global Compact, under which business leaders promote and apply 10 fundamental principles relating to human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption measures.
UN OHCHR and the Global Compact have produced an online Human Rights and Business Learning Tool to raise awareness and assist companies in implementing human rights principles in their operations and practices.
The UN OHCHR also provides support to the special representative of the secretaryÂ-general on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The UN OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa is co-sponsoring this conference and works with local and regional partners on a broad range of human rights issues, training initiatives and awareness campaigns.
NBI
The NBI is participating is funding a CEO breakfast at the conference. It is a voluntary coalition of 140 member companies committed to shared growth and sustainable development in South Africa. Since 1995 the organisation has devoted itself to channelling collective business resources — both financial and human — into: skills development, education, enterprise development and, more recently, environmental concerns such as energy efficiency and climate change.
Underpinning this work is the belief that business is a critical partner to government in its efforts to realise the fundamental socio-economic rights of its citizens, as well as its unique constitutional right to a healthy environment.