EC Sectoral Guides on the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

In November 2011, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enterprise announced that Shift and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) had been selected to carry out a new project to develop guidance for three industry sectors on implementing the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. The project takes forward a key objective of the European Commission's new Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility, published in October 2011, which is to support implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 

The project is being carried out by Shift and IHRB, and will result in three sector-specific guides, for the Employment and Recruitment Agencies, Information Communications Technology (ICT), and Oil and Gas sectors. The sectors were chosen by applying an agreed set of criteria to determine where detailed guidance on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights is most needed and can add greatest value. 

The guides are being developed in close coordination with selected industry sectors and other stakeholders, and with the input of a multistakeholder expert advisory committee and three sectoral advisory groups. Further details about the project, including composition of the sector advisory groups, and updates on its progress and consultations can be found at the project's portal, through which the project team also welcomes comments or questions.

In December 2012, the drafts of the three sector guidance documents were released for public consultation, including through multistakeholder roundtables in January 2013. The project team has been incorporating feedback and will finalize the three Guides for publication in May 2013.