New guide highlights synergies between anti-corruption and human rights agendas
Business at OECD and IOE publish one of the first guides to help companies leverage corruption and human rights agendas.
The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and Business at OECD (BIAC) have just published Connecting the anti-corruption and human rights agendas: Guide for business and employers’ organizations.
Corrupt practices and human rights abuses share many of the same root causes, frequently occur in areas with weak governance, and pose similar reputational, financial, operational, and legal risks to companies.
Responses to corruption and human rights issues, however, often involve different actors, laws, regulatory considerations, business standards and practices. As a result, separate—and often siloed—government and company approaches emerge, limiting the potential for a shared response to these significant societal challenges.
The new IOE and Business at OECD guide aims to break down these silos and provide companies with non-prescriptive suggestions on potential synergies between human right and anti-corruption agendas while recognising that there is no one-size-fits all.
Specifically, the guide proposes ideas for how companies can leverage existing synergies, implement a more coordinated approach to risk assessments, where appropriate, and foster experience and information sharing between those working on anti-corruption and those working on human rights by presenting a number of questions for self-assessment.
It also provides an overview of the vast array of instruments and resources that exists in the fields of anti-corruption and human rights. The guide outlines examples of companies that have already embedded a more coordinated approach to human rights and anti-corruption in their operations.
Business at OECD and IOE’s joint publication complements recent work in this area, including the United Nations working group on business and human rights’ report to the Human Rights Council published in July 2020.
Business at OECD and IOE will update the document regularly to reflect ongoing policy developments and lessons learned by companies managing corruption and human rights risks.
