United Nations Global Compact U.S. Network Meeting: “Business and Human Rights”

 

    

I’m acutely aware, as I’m sure you are, that we are winding down on a long day of compelling analysis of the challenge and opportunity human rights presents to business – and that we all await the closing address by Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. So I pledge to be brief and stay within my allotted 15 minutes.

    

My assignment, which I welcomed, is to introduce the newly published second volume of “Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice.” In doing so, I offer a very brief prologue:

    

It is a short excerpt from “The Saga of Milton Moskowitz.”

    

Milton Moskowitz, a colleague back in the early 1970s, (please do not tell me where you – or your parents – were in the early seventies) Milt had what we New Yorkers call with admiration the “chutzpah” – that is, nerve energized by conviction – to publish a journal called Business and Society.

     

Milt recognized, as few did, that seminal events of that time – among them, the first Earth Day, the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, the success of the Ralph Nader Public Citizen movement; and the passage of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — would lead, inevitably, to a positive and powerful response by progressive business leaders. Today, we call that response corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship or sustainable development.

     

The only disagreement I had with Milt at the time was that he should have called his publication not Business and Society but rather, Business In Society, because business and society are not merely conjoined, but interwoven and interactive.

    

I suggest that, in its many dimensions, this symbiosis, business in society and its converse, is what we’ve been discussing today, and will be discussing, whenever we examine the human rights framework for business.

      

If you visit the Global Compact office in New York, you will see, in Ursula Wynhoven’s office, an Amnesty USA poster that proclaims, “Wherever business goes, human rights were there first.”

    

And that’s why “Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice” is so important. It is nothing less than a database of practical information – the "why”, the "what” and the "how” – of human rights and business.

    

It addresses the tough questions companies face: How much of this, and what part of this, is our problem? How much of it can we help solve? How great are the resources, and what kind of resources, should we apply? What does success look like?

    

You may already have scanned the book’s contents, so I’ll present only quick overview.

   

First, consider seven business reasons “why” business should be embedded in human rights. As presented by Kathryn Dovey and John Morrison in the “Opening Perspective,” they are as follows:

And Dovey and Morrison tell us so much more:

 

That there is “an expansion of the business case from being predominantly prevention of human rights abuses (and the associated business risks) to the creation of [business] opportunity.”

 

That “It is as much about ‘social license to operate’ and maintaining a sustainable long-term business model . . . as it is about the benefits of empowering communities to articulate their rights.” Such an important point, because it goes to the very delicate balance that business faces in addressing, on one hand, the legal, ethical and moral obligation to investors and, on the other hand, society’s fast-expanding expectations and demands.

 

And, perhaps most significant, that “a moral dimension cuts across all these issues and speaks to the personal motivation and performance of key individuals within the corporate structure.”

     

That’s the “why” of “Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice.”

 

The “what” and the “how” in the volume are equally compelling and instructive.

     

Here we find the valuable “tools” for moving forward. – such as the Web sites listed for six generic, detailed cross-sector studies that provide guidance for developing human rights commitments. And, by contrast, it’s noted that there are a number of sector-specific initiatives, principles and codes – such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – that can help businesses share relevant experiences.

     

But there is just not enough of such sharing. So Dovey and Morrison challenge us by concluding that “we need an exponential growth in the scope and quality of case histories from across all business sectors and all geographic locations. We hope that the accounts in this volume inspire you to share your own experience.”

    

Interestingly, there are already plans for a third volume of “Embedding,” the implication being that only a sustained commitment – not only to each program but also to sharing experience -- will make a difference. Because, as Martin Luther King cautioned, “All progress is precarious.”

    

Proposals for case studies should be sent to the Global Compact office.

     

The plea for more case histories is revisited in the excellent “Human Rights Framework” that we’ve been discussing today and which is reprinted in the “Embedding” volume. As a communications counselor, I was particularly struck by the fifth (of eight) steps in the Framework – Communications – which advises: “Integrate human rights into your internal and external communications where appropriate.”

     

That implies advocacy, perhaps even evangelism – not only sharing hymns with the choir, but delivering this gospel beyond, especially in the media, to prove that the evolving business model can, indeed, fulfill both traditional and emerging responsibilities.

 

Just how practical are the case studies in the new “Embedding” volume?

    

One answer is that each of the 20 cases addresses at least one of the “Human Rights Framework” elements. And the cases span a broad spectrum of business sectors – ranging from the extractive sector, retail/apparel and finance to chemical, automotive, and communications. Furthermore, the subject companies are headquartered in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Oceania.

     

And how is this for practical? The case studies address a wide range of issues including HIV/AIDS, nondiscrimination and diversity, malnutrition, human trafficking, indigenous communities, working conditions, resettlement of communities, and poverty.

      

You will also find helpful information on success factors and “boundaries,” and on strategies such as identifying potential human rights issues. In addition, benefiting from local intelligence; developing partnership relationships and third-party monitoring and evaluation; and, again, the importance of communication in enhancing transparency.

    

On that last point, communication, think of how human rights issues have enmeshed the corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics.

      

And you may have special interest in the several case histories on the relationship between core business practices and strategic philanthropy as illustrated by market development-cum-improved standard of living in developing countries.

     

I’m proud to say that our firm is one of the 20 case-history companies included in the new volume – in our case, due to the creative diligence of authors at New York University.

 

Even with all of this documentation, of course, there are still the “Doubting Thomases,” in both civil society and in business. To them we might cite the old Chinese proverb: “Those who say something is impossible should not stop those who are actually doing it.”

 

One final point – and it goes to the linkage of the Global Compact Principles with the U.N. Millennium Development Goals: Earlier this month, at its headquarters in New York, the U.N. held a two-day “Millennium Development Goals Debate” that examined whether, since we are now at the current MDG chronological midpoint, we can hope that the goals will be achieved.

    

As you might expect, both optimism and pessimism was expressed, depending on the MDG goal examined. But as we in business continue to address human rights, we might well bear in mind aspiring statements by two national leaders at the event.

    

The prime minister of Finland told us that MDG success will depend on progress in three key areas – security, development and human rights.

     

(Parenthetically, Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the U.N. Assembly 10 days ago, was even more explicit when he said, “The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security.”)

     

Back at the U.N. MDG event, the minister of foreign affairs of Mali articulated the goal of the MDGs and the U.N. – and, by inference, business In society – in these words: “Our goal should be to enable each inhabitant of this planet to live in dignity.”

     

Perhaps that sounds . . . impossible.

     

But then we have that old Chinese proverb, don’t we?

     

And “Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice” will surely help.

     

Thank you for your kind attention.