Background

 

Development co-operation is an important enabler of responsible business conduct (RBC) in accordance with international standards on business and human rights (BHR). In addition to maximising the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development, development co-operation can help address the root causes of irresponsible business practice and, in so doing, strengthen the capacities of States, businesses, and rights-holders for the effective implementation of international BHR standards. In their own operations and partnerships with businesses, development cooperation actors – including development finance institutions (DFIs) – play a pivotal role in strengthening access to justice and remedy, alongside the integration of human rights due diligence, to identify pathways for developing countries in advancing RBC, ensuring policy coherence, and accelerating the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidelines) 

 

At the 2023 High-Level Meeting, members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a unique international forum of many of the largest providers of aid, committed to strengthening the promotion and application of OECD standards on RBC in development co-operation as a matter of policy coherence for sustainable development. As key actors in the development field, multilateral and bilateral DFIs in particular can contribute positively to the BHR agenda. Even so, as noted in the report of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and studies by OHCHR on development finance, opportunities exist to direct much-needed attention to enhance the remedy ecosystem by, for example, embedding remedy in safeguard policies and using leverage vis-à-vis private sector partners, including financial intermediaries such as banks.   ​​​​

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​In exploring how development cooperation can contribute to the RBC/BHR agenda, this session brings together practitioners to examine the specific issue of access to remedy.

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Objectives

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• Share insights on how development co-operation can address the actual and potential adverse impacts of business activities, as well as enhance access to justice and to remedy of affected communities.  

• Discuss progress and challenges of development co-operation practice to integrate BHR and promote RBC, including by development finance actors.  

• Highlight how development co-operation and responsible business conduct can be mutually reinforcing, including through policy design and implementation to support RBC and UNGPs implementation in developing countries.  

• Seek feedback to inform ongoing reflections at the OECD – notably at the Development Assistance Committee and the Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct – on strengthening the promotion of RBC through development cooperation.  

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Questions

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• Where are the biggest opportunities for development co-operation to promote responsible business conduct in co-operation programs, business operations, and policy dialogue on RBC at home? Where do the biggest challenges lie?  

• How can communities working on business and human rights/responsible business conduct and communities working on development co-operation better connect to create synergies? 

 

Format

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The session will be held in a moderated panel discussion followed by a Q&A with the audience. The session will feature the following speakers:  

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Moderator:  

Pichamon Yeophantong, Member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights  

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Speakers: 

Froukje Boele, Head of Public Policy & Regional Programmes, Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 

Julius Thaler, Chief Counsel (Sovereign-backed Financing), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) 

Prabindra Shakya, Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy