Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia
A Facilitator’s Training Manual

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia
A Facilitator’s Training Manual

March 2016
Osaka, Japan

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia
A Facilitator’s Training Manual
Published by the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center
8F, CE Nishihonmachi Bldg.
1-7-7 Nishihonmachi, Nishi-ku
Osaka 550-0005 Japan

Copyright © Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, 2016
All rights reserved.
Printed and bound by UenoType Insatsu
Osaka, Japan

Table of Contents
Acknowledgment................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
About This Manual........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Business and Human Rights: Concepts and Terms.............................................................................................................................. 13
Training Modules• Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion – Human Rights
Issues and Business.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26• Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion – National
Development Policies and Business....................................................................................................................................................... 37• Implementing the United Nations Initiatives - UN “Protect,
Respect and Remedy” Framework, UN Global Compact................................................................................ 50• Enforcing Labor Standards .................................................................................................................................................................................. 67• Using International Corporate Standards and Frameworks........................................................................ 88• Principles of Human Rights-based Approach to Access to Justice................................................... 96• Corporate Mechanisms and Access to Justice.................................................................................................................. 104• Administrative and Judicial Mechanisms and the UN Framework............................................ 118• Resorting to Mechanisms of International Institutions................................................................................... 129
Human Rights Documents• Universal Declaration of Human Rights........................................................................................................................................146• Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing
the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework.......................................................151
Other Suggested References...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 157

Acknowledgment
The development of this training manual received support from many institutions andindividuals in terms of information, materials, facilities (meeting venue and equipment),
and comments/suggestions. HURIGHTS OSAKA acknowledges the following people for
their support: (grouped according to institution)
1. Ms Resureccion Lao, Ms Ma. Rosario Garcia, Ms Niva Gonzales, Ms Lucy Lazo –Asian Consortium for Human Rights-based Access to Justice (HRBA2J-Asia);
2. Dean Sedfrey Candelaria and Atty Ray Paolo J. Santiago – School of Law, Ateneo deManila University;
3. Mr Dylan Scuddel and Professor Yasunobu Sato – Center for Documentation of
Refugees and Migrants, Tokyo University;
4. Ms Bembet Muego-Madrid – Fastenopfer;
5. Ms Heidi Fernandez - Regional Office for South East Asia and Pacific, ICCO
(Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation);
6. Mr Max Tunon, Ms Mamic Ivanka, Mr Houtan Homayounpour and Ms Josée Laporte– International Labour Organization;
7. Ms Vicky Bowman and Ms Junko Kikuchi - Multistakeholder Advisory Group(MSAG), Thilawa Special Economic Zone Project;
8. Ms Jessica Spanton and Mr Bo Bo Aung – EarthRights International;
9. Chairperson Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon, Commissioners Karen Lucia S. Gomez
Dumpit, Leah C. Tanodra-Armamento and Roberto Eugenio T. Cadiz, and Ms Marizen
Santos – Philippine Commission on Human Rights;
10. Ms Felice Yeban – Philippine Normal University;
11. Mr Livio Sarandrea, Mr Sanny Ramos Jegillos, Mr Phil Matsheza, Mr Nicholas Booth- Bangkok Regional Hub, United Nations Development Programme.
The representatives of the Northeast Asian member-institutions of HRBA2J-Asia arealso acknowledged for the participation in the project: Mr Pillkyu Hwang (also HRBA2JAsia Chairperson), Mr Kinam Kim, Ms Zhong Huang, Ms Erdenechimeg Dashdorg, Ms
Urantsooj Gomdosuren and Professor Yasunobu Sato.
Mr Fidel Rillo is acknowledged for doing the lay-out of this training manual, while Mr
Jefferson R. Plantilla is acknowledged for coordinating the training manual project andediting the training manual.

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Introduction
Sometime in 2010, during a meeting of the Board of Councilors of the Asia-Pacific
Human Rights Information Center (HURIGHTS OSAKA), Mr. Kenzo Tomonaga (a memberof the Board of Councilors) suggested the development of a training manual on businessand human rights. Mr. Tomonaga, who was then the Director of the Buraku Liberationand Human Rights Research Institute (BHLRRI) proposed a training manual that could be
used in the Asia-Pacific region. BHLRRI had its own project on assessing the subscriptionof Japanese companies to the United Nations principles on business and human rights.
That initial proposal in HURIGHTS OSAKA linked up with a similar discussion among
the representatives of the Northeast Asian member-institutions of the Asian Consortiumfor Human Rights-based Access to Justice (HRBA2J-Asia) during its meeting in Bangkok,
Thailand in December 2012. But instead of proceeding to the development of a training
manual on business and human rights, they agreed on a research project on the situation in
the Northeast Asian subregion that would become the basis of the training manual. The collaborative research project was completed in 2014 by the HRBA2J-Asia member-institutionsin China, Japan, Korea (South) and Mongolia* with the printing of a book compiling all the
research reports. In November 2014, the book entitled Bridging Human Rights Principles
and Business Realities in Northeast Asia was launched during a workshop on business andhuman rights in Makati city, Philippines.**
The development of a training manual on business and human rights started just after
the completion of the research project in 2014.

* HRBA2J-Asia member-institutions in Northeast Asia:
a. Public Interest and Development Law Institute, Wuhan University (China);
b. Korean Public Interest Lawyers Group (South Korea);c. MINBYUN - Lawyers for a Democratic Society (South Korea);d. Center for Human Rights and Development (Mongolia);e. Asia Pacific Human Rights Information Center (Japan);f. NPO Human Security Forum (Japan).
** This was the workshop entitled “Profitable Partnerships: A Workshop on Business and Human Rights in SelectCountries in Asia,” organized by RAFI-SHIFT- New York and the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights-Asia (ESCRAsia), in cooperation with the Makati Business Club (MBC), the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines(CHRP), the Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation (APPFI) and the Asian Consortium on Human Rights-based
Access to Justice (HRBA2J-Asia). See HURIGHTS OSAKA, “Workshop on Business and Human Rights,” FOCUS AsiaPacific, December 2014, issue 78, www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section3/2014/12/workshop-on-business-and-human-rights.html.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual7

Need for Another Training Manual
There is a view that with so many training manuals already existing adding another one
may not be useful. Taking this view seriously, the existence of this training manual should
be properly justified.
The justification lies in the current efforts on promoting to all stakeholders the needfor human rights to become part of business. The United Nations has continuing initiatives
to help guide governments, business enterprises, labor unions, non-governmental institutions and even communities take action in this field. There are similar efforts at the intergovernmental level in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia.
There are numerous international programs for business enterprises on how to integrate
human rights principles into corporate policies and systems, and how to implement such
adaptation. There are indications that the Asian business communities at the national andregional levels have taken notice of the new international framework on business and human rights.
Parallel to this are the existing initiatives on monitoring business operations and on
holding business enterprises accountable for the human rights abuses that have been committed. These are mainly undertaken by non-governmental organizations and labor unions.
National human rights institutions in the region have also been receiving complaints related
to human rights abuses by business enterprises. Some of them have instituted programs toaddress this issue, including taking action on the complaints.
But there remains a significant question: how many of the communities adversely affected by business operations have been informed about the new international framework
on business and human rights that may provide opportunities for them to address theirown problems?
Human rights abuses of business enterprises continue to occur in different parts of the
Asian region. The necessity of addressing them using the new international framework on
business and human rights is obvious. It is thus necessary that such actions reach the levelof the workplace and the communities, in addition to initiatives directed at governments
and business enterprises.
In sum, there is still room for a training manual that addresses the affected workers andcommunities’ right to adequate remedy to human rights abuses of business enterprises.
Contextualized Training ManualThis training manual pays close attention to the Northeast Asian business enterprises andthe impact of their operations within and outside Northeast Asia. Similar to the research
publication, this training manual concentrates on Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Mongolian
experiences relating to business and human rights.
Access to JusticeThis training manual concentrates on the third pillar of the United Nations’ Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect andRemedy” Framework. The third pillar speaks of the “need for rights and obligations to bematched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached.”****** Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework,
Full text of the document available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf,
page 1.

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This training manual devotes a number of training modules on mechanisms that facilitate access to remedy at various levels including the workplace and community, and national
and international levels.
The modules discuss the mechanisms by analyzing related cases involving Chinese,
Japanese, South Korean and Mongolian business enterprises.
Training Manual Users
The concept of business operations subscribing to international human rights standards isstill new to many members of the civil society organizations whose work relate in one way
or another to issues arising from company operations.
There is a strong need to support the work of the non-governmental organization workers in seeking adequate remedies to the problems suffered by workers and members of thecommunity where business enterprises operate. This training manual aims to address thisneed.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual9About This Training ManualThis training manual is a tool for understanding human rights in the context ofbusiness operations. It provides both content and process for analyzing concepts, principles,standards, mechanisms and practices relevant to the link between business and humanrights. It is designed to help facilitators hold training activities on the application of humanrights standards to business operations.
Manual Objectives
This training manual has the main objective of enabling trainees/participants to employ
the human rights-based approach to access to justice in dealing with business and humanrights issues.
The more specific objectives of this training manual are the following:
1. To discuss the United Nations framework on business and human rights in thecontext of Northeast Asia;
2. To analyze issues arising from business operations of Northeast Asian companies
based on the international framework on business and human rights; and3. To review existing grievance mechanisms (local, regional and international) on
business-related human rights issues, and to examine strategies on resolving issues
arising from business operations.
The Modules
This training manual has nine modules corresponding to the nine themes relevant to thebusiness and human rights issue; one module takes up one theme.
Each module has the following major parts:
a. Objectives, timeframe and materials;
b. Initial activity to introduce the module theme;c. Group activity to enable discussion and analysis of situations and issues;d. Input on specific concepts, issues and human rights;
e. Another group activity to further analyze situations and issues; andf. Summary of the major ideas and reflections on the activities held.
The themes are progressively linked – starting with a general assessment of the situation(local and national) concerning business and human rights, proceeding to the standards(domestic and international) including the principles of human rights-based approach toaccess to justice, and ending with the mechanisms that facilitate access to justice.
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Depending on the needs and situation of the trainees/participants, facilitators can focus
on a few modules and even use them in different sequence (e.g., corporate standards module
paired with corporate mechanisms module; situation/context analysis modules paired withmodules on grievance mechanism).
However, the modules are also designed to allow “stand alone” use. The facilitator canfocus on a specific theme/module.
Learning ProcessThis training manual employs the participatory adult learning approach. The facilitators
are expected to provide trainees/participants every possible opportunity to share their experiences, express opinions, raise questions and to engage in activities designed to increaseskills (regarding analysis, argumentation/debate, presentation of ideas/discussions, action
strategizing/planning, etc.) through individual or group/collaborative work.
Facilitators
This is a training manual for facilitators. It is designed to assist them in training people whowork on problems related to business and human rights.
There is no assumption that the facilitators have substantive knowledge on the businessand human rights issue. The modules provide significant amount of information (along withannexes and references) to help the facilitators gain substantial grasp of the module content.
They are expected to subscribe to participatory adult learning processes, and are assumed
to have the capability to improve on the participatory processes in the modules.
Resource Persons
This training manual needs resource persons who have knowledge and experience in discussing its contents. The modules require the discussion of international human rights standards,
principles related to the nexus between business and human rights, and also different formsof remedies appropriate to “human rights impacts” of business operations.
Trainees/ParticipantsThis training manual is primarily aimed at training members of the civil society organizations whose program relates to business and human rights issues. The expected trainees/
participants are those who work in labor unions, community organizations, and non-governmental organizations that provide service (directly or indirectly) to workers and/or membersof communities, as well as those who work at the national human rights institutions, humanrights centers, and academic institutions with social outreach orientation.
The modules ensure that the trainees/participants can share field experience and knowledge on the themes involved during the training activity.
The participatory process employed in the modules is a key measure to facilitate joint
learning among facilitators and trainees/participants.
Adaptable Manual Content
This facilitator’s training manual is adaptable in at least two senses:
a. The context of issues can be changed from that of Northeast Asia to that of anothersubregion in Asia. Corresponding information on experiences and practices can bechanged to those of a different subregional context without affecting the contents of

A Facilitator’s Training Manual11the training manual on concepts, principles and standards related to business andhuman rights;
b. The focus of the training manual can also be shifted from members of the civilsociety organizations and related institutions to officials and managers of businessenterprises. In this sense, other relevant experiences and practices can be used tosuit these types of trainees/participants.
Duration of Training
A training program using this training manual may last for one day or one week, dependingon whether to use a few of the modules or all of them.
The program can be on staggered basis, having once-a-week sessions instead of one
program over successive days in a week.
In other words, in view of the “stand-alone” nature of the modules, facilitators may
choose to develop a training schedule suitable to the trainees/participants instead of a weeklong training program using this training manual in full.

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Business and Human Rights:
Concepts and Terms
Several concepts and terms being used in this training manual are briefly explained below using definitions drawn from a variety of existing materials of international
institutions and organizations. The United Nations materials are preferred sources of definition, but those from other organizations are also included whenever deemed necessary.
Other concepts and terms that have not been mentioned in the modules of this training manual are also included as additional information that may be discussed in training
workshops.
The sources of definition are provided at the end of each batch of concepts and terms.
Facilitators (and/or their resource persons) are encouraged to review the source materials
for better understanding of the definitions.
The definitions of concepts and terms are meant to guide the use of this training manual.
On the whole, these definitions remain general concepts that have to defer to more specificdefinitions that might have been developed at the national level by local institutions andorganizations. It is necessary for facilitators and/or their resource persons to search for
specific and appropriate local definitions of concepts and terms that can be used alongside
the definitions listed below.
The concepts and terms are grouped according to themes.
1. General concepts and terms
Access to justice
The process of ensuring that all individuals have access to the legal services and to legal processes in order to defend and enforce their rights as well as to seek or obtain a legal
remedy.
Accession
The act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty
already negotiated and signed by other states. It has the same legal effect as ratification.
Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force.

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Amicus curiae
The amicus curiae is someone who, although they are not a party to the lawsuit, petitions
the court or is requested by the court to file a brief due to their strong interest in the subject
matter of the lawsuit (also referred to as “friend of the court” or “amicus”).
(Source: UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions, December 2010,
New York-Geneva, page xi)

Business relationships
Business relationships refer to those relationships a business enterprise has with business
partners, entities in its value chain and any other non-State or State entity directly linked toits business operations, products or services. They include indirect business relationships
in its value chain, beyond the first tier, and minority as well as majority shareholding positions in joint ventures.
Civil society
Civil society refers to all groups outside government such as community groups, nongovernmental organizations, labour unions, indigenous peoples’ organizations, charitableorganizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations and foundations. Civil
society expresses the interests of social groups and raises awareness of key issues in order
to influence policy and decision-making. In recent decades, such organizations have beensuccessful in shaping global policy through advocacy campaigns and mobilization of people
and resources.
(Source: UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions, December 2010,
New York-Geneva, pages xii-xiii)

Complicity
Complicity has both legal and non-legal meanings. As a legal matter, most national
legislations prohibit complicity in the commission of a crime, and a number allow for thecriminal liability of business enterprises in such cases. The weight of international criminal
law jurisprudence indicates that the relevant standard for aiding and abetting is “knowingly
providing practical assistance or encouragement that has a substantial effect on the commission of a crime”. Examples of non-legal “complicity” could be situations where a businessenterprise is seen to benefit from abuses committed by others, such as when it reduces costs
because of slave-like practices in its supply chain or fails to speak out in the face of abuse
related to its own operations, products or services, despite there being principled reasonsfor it to do so. Even though enterprises have not yet been found complicit by a court of law
for this kind of involvement in abuses, public opinion sets the bar lower and can inflictsignificant costs on them. The human rights due diligence process should uncover risks
of non-legal (or perceived) as well as legal complicity and generate appropriate responses.
Due diligenceDue diligence has been defined as “such a measure of prudence, activity, or assiduity,
as is properly to be expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent[person] under the particular circumstances; not measured by any absolute standard, but
depending on the relative facts of the special case”. In the context of the Guiding Principles,
human rights due diligence comprises an ongoing management process that a reasonable
and prudent enterprise needs to undertake, in the light of its circumstances (including sector,
operating context, size and similar factors) to meet its responsibility to respect human rights.
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Duty bearers
Duty bearers are those actors who have a particular obligation or responsibility to respect, promote and realize human rights and to abstain from human rights violations. The
term is most commonly used to refer to State actors, but non-State actors can also be considered duty bearers. An obvious example is private armed forces or rebel groups, which
under international law have a negative obligation to refrain from human rights violations.
Depending on the context, individuals (e.g. parents), local organizations, private companies,
aid donors and international institutions can also be duty-bearers.
(Source: Gender Equality, UN Coherence and You, Glossary: Definitions A-Z, page 1, www.unicef.org/gender/
training/content/resources/Glossary.pdf)

Gross human rights abuses
There is no uniform definition of gross human rights violations in international law,
but the following practices would generally be included: genocide, slavery and slavery-likepractices, summary or arbitrary executions, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary andprolonged detention, and systematic discrimination. Other kinds of human rights violations,
including of economic, social and cultural rights, can also count as gross violations if they
are grave and systematic, for example violations taking place on a large scale or targeted atparticular population groups.
Human rights
Human rights are the fundamental rights and freedoms which, it is generally agreed, everybody has from the moment of birth, simply because they are human beings. They are notprivileges which need to be won and they apply equally to everybody, regardless of age, sex,
race, ethnicity, wealth or social standing. Because they are rights, they cannot be taken awayfrom anyone by the government (although they can be limited and sometimes suspended
during states of emergency). These rights are based on a number of human rights principles.
Human rights become enforceable as they become codified as conventions, covenants ortreaties, or as they become recognized as customary international law.
Human rights-based approach (HRBA)
Access to justice is a fundamental right, and a human rights-based approach to accessto justice provides a necessary framework for action on human development. The HRBA isuseful in analysing immediate as well as underlying causes of justice problems by framing
the issues in terms of ‘rights’ as guaranteed by law and international human rights standards
and identifying the multiple factors impeding access to justice. The HRBA also identifies andgives due attention to the most vulnerable ‘claim-holders’ and the ‘duty-bearers’ who are accountable for preventing and stopping the rights violations, as well as for fulfilling the rights.
(Source: Access to Justice Assessments in the Asia Pacific: A review of experiences and tools from the region,
Asia-Pacific Regional Centre United Nations Development Programme, February 2012, Bangkok, page 3)

Human rights and international crimes
Some of the most serious human rights violations may constitute international crimes.
International crimes have been defined by States under the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court. They are genocide (“acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or inpart, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”), crimes against humanity (widespreadand systematic attacks against civilians that include murder, enslavement, torture, rape,
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discriminatory persecution, etc.), war crimes (as defined by international humanitarianlaw) and the crime of aggression.
Human rights impact
a. Actual human rights impact
An “actual human rights impact” is an adverse impact that has already occurred or is
occurring.
b. Adverse human rights impact
An “adverse human rights impact” occurs when an action removes or reduces the abilityof an individual to enjoy his or her human rights.
c. Potential human rights impact
A “potential human rights impact” is an adverse impact that may occur but has not yet
done so.
d. Severe human rights impact
The commentary to the Guiding Principles defines severe human rights impact withreference to its scale, scope and irremediable character. This means that its gravity and thenumber of individuals that are or will be affected (for instance, from the delayed effects ofenvironmental harm) will both be relevant considerations.
Human rights risks
A business enterprise’s human rights risks are any risks that its operations may lead toone or more adverse human rights impacts. They therefore relate to its potential humanrights impact. In traditional risk assessment, risk factors in both the consequences of anevent (its severity) and its probability. In the context of human rights risk, severity is the
predominant factor. Probability may be relevant in helping prioritize the order in which
potential impacts are addressed in some circumstances (see “severe human rights impact”
above). Importantly, an enterprise’s human rights risks are the risks that its operations poseto human rights. This is separate from any risks that involvement in human rights impact
may pose to the enterprise, although the two are increasingly related.
“Irremediability”
This refers to any limits on the ability to restore those affected to a situation at least thesame as, or equivalent to, their situation before the adverse impact. For these purposes, financial compensation is relevant only to the extent that it can provide for such restoration.
Justiciability
A justiciable case is one that can be brought before the courts and in which a remedy canbe sought and obtained. Justiciability is a key feature of a right. It also refers to the ability to
use a human rights standard before the courts or to enforce such rights more generally. The
justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights has been a contentious issue for years.
(Source: UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions, December 2010,
New York-Geneva, page xvi)

Leverage
Leverage is an advantage that gives power to influence. In the context of the Guiding
Principles, it refers to the ability of a business enterprise to effect change in the wrongfulpractices of another party that is causing or contributing to an adverse human rights impact.
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Mitigation
The mitigation of adverse human rights impact refers to actions taken to reduce its extent, with any residual impact then requiring remediation. The mitigation of human rights
risks refers to actions taken to reduce the likelihood of a certain adverse impact occurring.
Prevention
The prevention of adverse human rights impact refers to actions taken to ensure suchimpact does not occur.
Remediation/remedy
Remediation and remedy refer to both the processes of providing remedy for an adverse
human rights impact and the substantive outcomes that can counteract, or make good, theadverse impact. These outcomes may take a range of forms, such as apologies, restitution,
rehabilitation, financial or non-financial compensation, and punitive sanctions (whether
criminal or administrative, such as fines), as well as the prevention of harm through, forexample, injunctions or guarantees of non-repetition.
Rights holders
Rights-holders are individuals or social groups that have particular entitlements in relation to specific duty-bearers. In general terms, all human beings are rights-holders under
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In particular contexts, there are often specificsocial groups whose human rights are not fully realized, respected or protected. More often
than not, these groups tend to include women/girls, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples,
migrants and youth, for example.
(Source: Gender Equality, UN Coherence and You, Glossary: Definitions A-Z, page 5, www.unicef.org/gender/
training/content/resources/Glossary.pdf)

Rule of law
One of the fundamental, overarching ideas in legal systems. The rule of law is a safeguard
against arbitrary governance and requires legal decisions to be made according to known
principles or laws of general and equal application. The rule of law ensures that no one isabove the law and that individuals are entitled to due process of law. It is a state responsibility. It informs and structures the effectiveness and integrity of the entire justice system,
including the work of NHRIs.
(Source: UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions, December 2010,
New York-Geneva, page xx)

Salient human rights
The most salient human rights for a business enterprise are those that stand out as being most at risk. This will typically vary according to its sector and operating context. The
Guiding Principles make clear that an enterprise should not focus exclusively on the mostsalient human rights issues and ignore others that might arise. But the most salient rights
will logically be the ones on which it concentrates its primary efforts.
Stakeholder/affected stakeholder
A stakeholder refers to any individual who may affect or be affected by an organization’s
activities. An affected stakeholder refers here specifically to an individual whose humanrights have been affected by an enterprise’s operations, products or services.
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Stakeholder engagement/consultation
Stakeholder engagement or consultation refers here to an ongoing process of interaction
and dialogue between an enterprise and its potentially affected stakeholders that enables
the enterprise to hear, understand and respond to their interests and concerns, including
through collaborative approaches.
Value chain
A business enterprise’s value chain encompasses the activities that convert input into
output by adding value. It includes entities with which it has a direct or indirect business
relationship and which either (a) supply products or services that contribute to the enterprise’s own products or services, or (b) receive products or services from the enterprise.
(Source: The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights – an Interpretative Guide, United Nations (NewYork/Geneva 2012), HR/PUB/12/02, pages 5 – 8.)

2. Child/children and businessBest interests of the childThis is one of the four core principles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,[and] applies to all actions and decisions concerning children and calls for active measures
to respect their rights and promote their survival, growth and well-being as children, as wellas measures to support and assist parents and others who have day-to-day responsibility forrealizing children’s rights.
Child labour
This refers to work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and theirdignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. This includes work thatis mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; work thatinterferes with their schooling; and engaging in work children who are under the minimum
working age(s) set by national legislation or international standards. No child under 18 years
old should be engaged in hazardous work (i.e. work that is likely to harm their health, safety
or morals) or other worst forms of child labour such as trafficking, sexual exploitation, debt
bondage, forced labour and the recruitment or use of underage children for security or military purposes. This also involves focus on the gender dimensions of child labour in light ofthe more likely engagement of girls in activities such as domestic work and sexual exploitation. For further elaboration, see the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions
No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and No. 138 on the Minimum Age, in addition
to the optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography and the optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Child participation
This is one of the four core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,[and] includes processes that encourage and enable children to articulate and convey theirviews on issues that affect them. It also involves information sharing and dialogue between
children and adults based on mutual respect in an environment that facilitates freedom of
expression. Such processes must be authentic, inclusive and meaningful and should take
into account the evolving capacities of children and enable them to learn constructive ways
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to influence the world around them. There should be a commitment to consider children’s
opinions including girls and boys, the most marginalized, the vulnerable, and those of different ages and abilities, their views should be respected, heard and taken into account inall decisions and actions affecting them. Participation should not be tokenistic and should
not exploit children.
Child protection code of conduct
This is a document that sets out the business’s detailed expectations of conduct for individuals within its operations who come into contact with children. The code of conduct
implements the business’s zero-tolerance policy on violence, exploitation and abuse. It uses
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional Protocols as its framework andis designed to help protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse.
Child or children
Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child defines children as every humanbeing under 18 years old unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained
earlier.
Decent work
This involves opportunities for work that are productive and deliver a fair income. Decent
work should provide security in the workplace and social protection for families, rights atwork, social dialogue, and better prospects for personal development and social integration.
People, including young people of working age, should be free to express their concerns,
to organize and to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and have the right toequality of opportunity and treatment.
Emergencies
The situations where lives, physical and mental well-being, or development opportunities
for children are threatened as a result of armed conflict, widespread violence, epidemics,
famine, natural disaster or the breakdown of social or legal order.
(Source: Children’s Rights and Business Principles, http://childrenandbusiness.org/)

3. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
ILO defines CSR as “a way in which enterprises give consideration to the impact of their operations on society and affirm their principles and values both in their own internal methods
and processes and in their interaction with other actors. CSR is a voluntary, enterprise-driven
initiative and refers to activities that are considered to exceed compliance with the law.”(Source: International Labour Office, Combating Forced Labour - A Handbook for Employers & Business, 2nd ed.
(Geneva: ILO, 2015), pages 6-7. Full text available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/
documents/publication/wcms_101171.pdf.)

4. Grievance Mechanisms
Grievance
An issue, concern, problem, or claim (perceived or actual) that an individual or community group wants a company or contractor to address and resolve.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual

19Company-Community Grievance Mechanism
A locally based, formalized way to accept, assess, and resolve community complaints
concerning the performance or behavior of a company, its contractors, or employees.
(Source: A Guide to Designing and Implementing Grievance Mechanisms for Development Projects, Compliance
Advisor/Ombudsman (Washington, DC, 2008), page iv.)

Adjudication
The formation of a judgment on the rights and wrongs of parties in a situation of disputeand on any remedies needed, which may be binding on the parties or lead to some form ofsanction. Usually, the culmination of an investigation, adjudication is distinct from arbitration in that it does not require agreement by the parties on who will adjudicate, nor does it
involve a formal process of hearings.
a. Specialised labour adjudication is a procedure whereby ordinary courts on special
labour courts settle finally any disputes over rights and obligations.
(Source: Labour dispute prevention and resolution, International Labour Organization, www.ilo.org/ifpdial/
areas-of-work/labour-dispute/lang--en/index.htm.)

Arbitrationa. Arbitration
A procedure whereby a third party (whether an individual arbitrator, a board of arbitrators or an arbitration court), not acting as a court of law, is empowered to take a decision
which disposes of the dispute.
(Source: Labour dispute prevention and resolution, International Labour Organization, www.ilo.org/ifpdial/
areas-of-work/labour-dispute/lang--en/index.htm.)

b. Arbitration process
A process by which neutral arbitrators selected by the parties to a dispute hear the positions of the parties, conduct some form of questioning or wider investigation and arrive ata judgment on the course of action to be taken in settling the grievance of dispute, often,
though not always, with binding effect on the parties.
Information Facilitation
The gathering and dissemination of information on grievances, with any further actionor that information largely left to its end-users.
Investigation
A process of gathering information and views about a grievance or disputed situationin order to produce an assessment of the facts.
Negotiation
Direct dialogue between the parties to the grievance with the aim of resolving the grievance or dispute through mutual agreement.
Mediation and/or Conciliation
a. Mediation/Conciliation
Direct or indirect dialogue between the parties assisted by an external, neutral/objective
facilitator with the aim of resolving the grievance through mutual agreement. The facilitator
may take a more or less active and intrusive role in the dialogue process.
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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

b. Conciliation and mediation
They are procedures whereby a third party provides assistance to the parties in the courseof negotiations, or when negotiations have reached an impasse, with a view to helping themto reach an agreement. While in many countries these terms are interchangeable, in somecountries a distinction is made between them according to the degree of initiative taken by
the third party.
(Source: Labour dispute prevention and resolution, International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org/ifpdial/
areas-of-work/labour-dispute/lang--en/index.htm.)(Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the definitions under Grievance Mechanisms are from Caroline Rees and David
Vermijs, Mapping Grievance Mechanisms in the Business and Human Rights Arena (Cambridge: Harvard University,
January 2008), page 3.)

4. National Contact Points (NCP)
Filed
It means a case has been submitted, but the NCP has not published an initial assessment
determining whether the case is admissible.
Pending
It means the NCP has issued an initial assessment and determined that the case merits
further examination.
Rejected
It means an NCP has determined the issues do not merit further examination.
BlockedIt means the NCP either provides no response to the complainants at all or it allows thecase to proceed endlessly without finalising it.
Concluded
It means the case was resolved with a joint agreement by the parties or the case was not
resolved and the NCP issued a final statement.
ClosedIt means the NCP has accepted the case, attempted to handle it, but then stops handlingit (usually because the company refuses to cooperate) without issuing a final statement.
Withdrawn
It means the complainants withdrew their case, usually because the NCP has mishandled
the process.
(Source: OECD Watch, Assessment of NCP Performance in the 2013-2014 Implementation Cycle, June 2014,
page 9, www.oecdwatch.org.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual215. Foreign Investment/International Financing
Stabilization Clauses
For the purposes of this study, “stabilization clauses” are those clauses in private contracts
between investors and host states that address changes in law in the host state during thelife the project. Use of stabilization clauses is widespread across industries and regions of
the world. From an investor’s perspective, stabilization clauses constitute a risk-mitigation
tool to protect foreign investments from such sovereign risks as nationalization, expropriation, or the obsolescence bargain, in which the host state can use changes in circumstances
to impose new requirements on investors. These clauses also may be designed to insulate
investors from environmental and social legislation, a matter of growing economic significance to investors.
Categories of stabilization clauses: Freezing clauses; Economic equilibrium clauses; andHybrid clauses.
Freezing clauses
Freezing clauses “freeze” the law of the host state with respect to the investment project
over the life of the project.
Economic equilibrium clauses
Economic equilibrium clauses require that the investor comply with new laws but also
require that the investor be compensated for the cost of complying with them (compensation
taking such forms as adjusted tariffs, extension of the concession, tax reductions, monetarycompensation, or other), but exemptions are not specifically mentioned in the contract.
Hybrid clauses
Hybrid clauses (so named because they share some aspects of both of the other categories) require the state to restore the investor to the same position it had prior to changes inlaw, including, as stated in the contract, by exemptions from new laws.
(Source: Andrea Shemberg, Stabilization Clauses and Human Rights, March 11, 2008. Full report available atwww.reports-and-materials.org/sites/default/files/reports-and-materials/Stabilization-Clauses-and-Human-Rights11-Mar-2008.pdf.)

6. International Labour Organization (ILO)
International Labour Standards
International labour standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO constituents(governments, employers and, workers) and setting out basic principles and rights at work.
They are either Conventions, which are legally binding international treaties that may be
ratified by member States, or recommendations, which serve as non-binding guidelines.
In many cases, a Convention lays down the basic principles to be implemented by ratifying countries, while a related recommendation supplements the Convention by providing
more detailed guidelines on how it can be applied.** Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie - Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing theUnited Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. A/HRC/17/31, 21 March 2011.)

22

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

There is a difference between labour “principles and rights” on the one hand, and ILO
standards (Conventions and Recommendations) on the other. The existence of this difference
is for instance also suggested by the ILO 1998 Declaration (although the 1998 Declaration
concerns only the fundamental principles and rights at work and ILO`s fundamental
Conventions):
THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE
1. Recalls: …
(b) that these principles and rights have been expressed and developed in theform of specific rights and obligations in Conventions recognized as fundamental
both inside and outside the Organization …”.
2. Declares that all Members, even if they have not ratified the Conventionsin question, have an obligation arising from the very fact of membership in the
Organization to respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith and in accordancewith the Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights ….
In other words, “principles and rights” are universal values that should (somehow) be
respected, promoted and realized everywhere. As they are necessarily imprecise, it is notpossible to control their implementation.
International labour standards (e. g. Conventions), on the other hand, spell out theseprinciples in concrete and specific rules. Countries that have ratified a Convention are undera legal obligation to implement these rules. Implementation can and is supervised.
(Source: ACT/EMP, Labour and Social Policy Components in Current Trade Agreements in Asia and the Pacific,
March 2015, pages 4-5. Full text available at www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/research_note_2015march.pdf.)

Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations (CEACR)
The body established by the ILO to examine the application of international labour
standards. It makes two kinds of comments: observations and direct requests. Observations
contain comments on fundamental questions raised by the application of a particular convention by a state. These observations are published in the Committee’s annual report. Direct
requests relate to more technical questions or requests for further information. They are
not published in the report but are communicated directly to the governments concerned.
(Source: Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, www.ilo.org/global/
standards/applying-and-promoting-international-labour-standards/committee-of-experts-on-the-application-ofconventions-and-recommendations/lang--en/index.htm.)

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards
A standing committee of the Conference, the Conference Committee is made up of
government, employer, and worker delegates. It examines the report in a tripartite setting
and selects from it a number of observations for discussion. The governments referred toin these comments are invited to respond before the Conference Committee and to provide
information on the situation in question. In many cases the Conference Committee draws
up conclusions recommending that governments take specific steps to remedy a problem
or to invite ILO missions or technical assistance. The discussions and conclusions of the

A Facilitator’s Training Manual23situations examined by the Conference Committee are published in its report. Situations ofspecial concern are highlighted in special paragraphs of its General Report.
(Source: Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, www.ilo.org/global/standards/applying-andpromoting-international-labour-standards/conference-committee-on-the-application-of-standards/lang--en/index.
htm.)

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Training Modules

Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion Human Rights Issues and BusinessThis module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Clarify the human rights issues related to company operations or the so-called “business-related human rights impacts” in the subregion;• Identify people affected by the human rights issues; and• Discuss human rights in general and in relation to specific issues that arise from theparticipants’ presentations.
Time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video, visual aid on human rights.

26

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion Human Rights Issues and Business
I. Procedurea. Opener – 30 minutes
Do a brainstorming exercise by asking the participants to answer the following questions:–– What is the current situation regarding company operations?
–– What are the possible reasons for this situation?
–– Who are affected by this situation?
The participants are expected to provide answers based on their own experiences – asworkers, members of communities near company premises, members of institutions working on issues regarding company operations, etc.
Alternatively, the participants can use the sample materials in Annex A to answer thequestions.
Tell the participants to write their answers on each question on separate small pieces of
paper and paste their answers on the board or wall under each of the three issues: current
situation; possible reasons for the situation; and affected people.
After all the answers have been posted, ask the participants to read on their own theanswers on the board or wall.
Organize the posted answers on another board by reducing duplicate answers or rearranging answer placements according to the questions:
Current situation

Possible reasons for the situation

Affected people

b. Presentation – 1 hour and 30 minutes
This section has two parts: presentation on human rights in general, and discussion on
specific rights affecting company operations.
i. Part 1 – General human rights discussion
Provide a 20-minute input/video presentation on human rights in general – discussing
briefly the following:• development of international human rights standards (i.e., standard-setting thatstarted in 1948, overview of human rights instruments and the major historical contexts involved; continuing nature of United Nations human rights standard-setting
process to cover more issues);• internationally agreed human rights (and also those that are still being discussed);• issues covered by the existing international human rights standards; and• main documents involved (e.g., International Bill of Human Rights – see Annexes B,
C and D for information on human rights treaties ratified or acceded to by Northeast
A Facilitator’s Training Manual27

Asian states, list of treaties under the International Bill of Human Rights, and thelist of specific rights).
The presentation on human rights can use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(see text of the declaration at Human Rights Documents section) as major reference in termsof justification for recognizing human rights, the basic rights involved and their relevanceto the issues regarding business operations. In case internet connection is available, thepresentation can use the discussion on human rights in the website of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) - www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/
WhatareHumanRights.aspx.
Invite the participants to• identify the rights they are familiar with (such as those rights found in domestic laws
like the Constitution), and• raise questions and comments on the meaning and realization of human rights.
Note on the board the rights and comments raised by participants.
ii. Part 2 – Specific rights and the company operations
Using the answers of the participants earlier posted on the board or wall during thebrainstorming exercises, introduce the concept of “business-related human rights impacts”
and their categories. See section on Concepts and Terms to discuss the concept of “humanrights impact.”
The input may stress impact related to the following:• Fair working conditions;• Equality, non-discrimination and dignity;• People’s health, life and security;• Housing and standards of living;• Indigenous peoples, land and culture; and• Human rights impacts in the supply chain.
(List from the Australian Human Rights Commission, see Catherine Sutherland, “Measuring up on humanrights,” WME, www.wme.com.au/categories/sustainable/aug6_2012.php)

The categories can also be the following:• Children’s rights;• Environment and water;• Gender;• High-risk and conflict-affected areas;• Indigenous Peoples;• Land and food;• Supply chains;• Migrant workers; and• Working conditions.
(Source: Nora Götzmann and Claire Methven O´Brien, Business and Human Rights - A Guidebook for National
Human Rights Institutions [International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion andProtection of Human Rights (ICC) and Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), November 2013] The category of
migrant workers has been added to the original list.)

28

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Whatever categories are used, ensure that the specific rights involved are identified andexplained as much as possible. Refer also to the list of human rights found to have been
abused by companies in Annex E.
c. Activity
Group Work – 1 hour
Using the summarized list of problems posted on the board or wall, ask the participantsto–– identify which would fall under the different types of “human rights impacts” ofcompany operations; and–– discuss what measures are being done on the human rights issues.
Ask the participants to discuss ways by which the identified measures have included or
excluded the affected people (workers, members of affected communities, etc.) in resolving
issues, and explain their involvement if any.
Ask the participants to report the results of their group discussion.
Note on the board the different measures identified by the participants.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points in the discussion particularly stressing the following:• Current situation in companies and the issues that occur from company operations;• Basic understanding of human rights;• Human rights impacts of business operations;• Categories of human rights impacts; and• Concrete measures being done or can be done on issues arising from company
operations.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual29Annex A
Case Materials
Case 1
A company has been mining gold using sodium and aluminum. It built a waste
dump by paving fifteen thousand square meters of land. However, the paved dump
was destroyed by harsh weather and resulted in huge financial loss for the company.
An inspection of its underground mining revealed many safety breaches including
insufficient bracings; violations of the General Safety Regulation for Underground
Mining; irregular testing or lack of daily report of air samples; no separate registrationof mineral samples in the different processing stages; establishing office and checkpoints outside the license area; failure to build fence around canal for waste flowing
from processing plant; and dumping of waste water from gold mining directly into
the soil. The last violation is a very serious breach of the Law on Water as well as theLaw on Environmental Influence Evaluation. A year before, the Specialized Inspection
Agency, Police Department, and the Emergency Department in a province found expired blasting material in the company’s warehouse and destroyed them.
(Based on Center for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights in the Mining Industry of Mongolia, page 114)

Case 2In the garment industry of A country, wage competitiveness is the principal element
when considering investment. Whereas the monthly wage in the country was ten US
dollars fifteen years ago, it has increased to a hundred US dollars today. The frequent
demonstrations in 2011 and 2012 led to a steep rise in wages in 2012. At the sametime, the number of companies investing in A country sharply increased, raising thenumber of garment factories run by companies from thirty to nearly seventy. In orderto prevent a drastic increase in wages, an association of garment companies controls
the amount of wage increase.
Children in A country go to companies looking for jobs. Investigations by the ILO or
the Ministry of Labour compelled the companies not to employ the children. However
in many cases, the children being desperate for work lie about their age.
Workers usually work for ten to eleven hours a day, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. with
one-hour break for lunch. They have eighty to one hundred twenty hours of overtime
work a month.
(Based on Korean Transnational Corporations Watch, Korean Companies and Human Rights: Doing Business in the Philippines,
Myanmar and Uzbekistan, page 74)

Case 3
The workers of a shipbuilding company have been trying to form a labor union
since 2007. Their leaders, however, were either fired or transferred by the company
as soon as they undertook the initial labor union activities. The company explainedthat they were fired because of involvement in robbery or theft or negligence of duty.
However, the workers claimed that they were fired or transferred by the company tosuppress the formation of a labor union. Under the labor law of the country where the30

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

company operates, “probationary employment” shall not exceed six months from thedate the employee started working. This means that workers who continue working
in a company beyond the six-month period are qualified for permanent employment
unless there are grounds for non-qualification. According to the workers, the company used tricks, such as registering the employees as workers of subcontractors,
or dismissing and re-hiring them to prevent them from becoming regular employees.
Such tricks upset the employees’ efforts to form a union. Some workers organizeda group. However, the company claimed that it was a group of dismissed workers
while in reality the group has members who are currently employed by the company.
(Based on Korean Transnational Corporations Watch, Korean Companies and Human Rights: Doing Business in the Philippines,
Myanmar and Uzbekistan, pages 64-65)

Case 4
Petroleum companies faces the risk of causing damage to the environment andpeople’s health and livelihood due to oil and gas exploration, related construction
processes as well as oil exploitation, transportation or warehousing. Over the past
years, several industrial incidents have occurred in the country such as the pipeline
spill of an oil company, a pipeline explosion and other serious oil spill accidents thathave caused long-lasting damage and extremely harsh consequences to the local
ecological environment, and the local residents’ living environment and health. Solid,
gaseous and liquid wastes generated during the production process in the petrochemical industry also bring environmental hazards. In one case, the members of an
ethical council of an organization that has investment in the company had face-to-facedialogues with the company officers regarding the “deficient safety procedures andemissions of chemicals” into a river, contrary to the Basel Convention on Hazardous
Waste. The ethical council was satisfied with the action taken by the company after
the dialogues. The nature of projects of the company exposes its workers to hazardous materials and equipment that can cause occupational diseases and injuries.
(Based on Huang Zhong and Cheng Qian, Merging Business and Human Rights in China: Still A Long Way to Go, pages 44-45)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual31Annex B
Table of Ratification of Human Rights Treaties
Human Rights Treaties

China

Japan

Korea

Mongolia

International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)

1981a

1995a

1978

1969

Convention on the Eliminationof All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)

1980

1985

1984

International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR)

-----

1979

1990a

International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR)

2001

1979

1990a

Convention on the Rights of theChild (CRC)

1992

1994

1991

1990

Convention against Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhumanor Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CAT)

1988

1999a

1995a

2002a

Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities

2008

2014

2008

2009a

1981
1974

1974

Note: “a” means accession by the State to the treaty
Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://indicators.ohchr.org/

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Annex C
Human Rights Treaties

A Facilitator’s Training Manual33Annex D
Examples of Human Rights
In the area of civil and political rights
Right to life
Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment or punishment• Freedom from slavery, servitude and forced
labour• Right to liberty and security of person• Right of detained persons to be treated withhumanity• Freedom of movement• Right to a fair trial• Prohibition of retroactive criminal laws
• Right to recognition as a person before thelaw• Right to privacy• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion• Freedom of opinion and expression• Prohibition of propaganda for war and ofincitement to national, racial or religious
hatred• Freedom of assembly• Freedom of association• Right to marry and found a family• Right to take part in the conduct of publicaffairs, vote, be elected and have access topublic office• Right to equality before the law andnon-discrimination
In the area of collective rights• Right of peoples to:• Self-determination• Development• Free use of their wealth and natural
resources• Peace• A healthy environment

In the area of economic, social and cultural rights

•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•

Right to work
Right to just and favourable conditions of work
Right to form and join trade unions
Right to social security
Protection of the family
Right to an adequate standard of living, including
adequate food, clothing and housing
Right to health
Right to education

Other collective rights:
Rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic
minorities
Rights of indigenous peoples(Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights: A Handbook
For Parliamentarians, page 2. Available at www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/hr_guide_en.pdf.)

34

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Annex E
Business impact on human rights
Labour rights
Freedom of association
Right to equal pay for equal work
Right to organize and participate in collective
Right to equality at work
bargaining
Right to non-discrimination
Right to just and favourable remuneration
Abolition of slavery and forced labour
Right to a safe work environment
Abolition of child labour
Right to rest and leisure
Right to work
Right to family life

Right to life, liberty and securityof the person

Non-labour rights
Right of peaceful assembly

Right to an adequate standard ofliving (including food, clothing,and housing)Right to physical and mental
health; access to medical
services
Right to education

Freedom from torture or cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment

Right to marry and form a family

Equal recognition and protection
under the law
Right to a fair trial

Freedom of thought, conscienceand religion
Right to hold opinions, freedom of Right to participate in cultural
information and expression
life, the benefits of scientificprogress, and protection of
authorial interests
Right to political life
Right to social security
Right to privacy

Right to self-determination
Freedom of movement(Source: Protect, Respect and Remedy: a Framework for Business and Human Rights Report of the Special Representative of theSecretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, Advance
Edited Version, A/HRC/8/5, 7 April 2008, pages 15-16.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual35

Materials
Short papers/media reports on the situation at the workplace and other aspects of company
operations such as the following:

36•

Thomas Wilson, Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito, “Subaru’s secret: Marginalized
foreign workers power a Japanese export boom,” Reuters Investigates, 28 July 2015,
www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/japan-subaru/•

Alexandra Chan, Investigative Report on the Working Conditions in UNIQLO’s China
Suppliers, January 2015, http://sacom.hk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014-UNIQLO-Investigative-Report_final_20150109.pdf•

Survey of Northeast Asian companies in the Mongolian mining industry, seeCenter for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights in the Mining Industryof Mongolia, pages 108-118•

Field reports on Korean company operations in other countries, see Korean
Transnational Corporations Watch, Korean Companies and Human Rights: Doing
Business in the Philippines, Myanmar and Uzbekistan, pages 64 – 87•

Huang Zhong and Cheng Qian, Merging Business and Human Rights in China: Still
A Long Way to Go, pages 36 – 45•

“Human Rights Issues by Sector,” 2014 Stakeholder Engagement (Human Rights Due
Diligence) (version 3, March 3, 2014), Caux Round Table, available at http://crt-japan.
jp/files2014/2-2-0-stakeholder_engagement/pdf/HR_DD_Final_Report_en(2014).
pdf

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion –National Development Policies
and BusinessThis module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Discuss the national and local development policies of the government and theirsupport for corporate investments;• Determine whether company operations subject to these national and local development policies have adverse impacts on disadvantaged groups;• Discuss other development policies that protect and realize human rights and analyze how they relate to development policies that support company operations withadverse impacts; and• Discuss how these business-related “human rights impacts” in the subregion/country
are addressed in a general sense in Northeast Asia/country.
Time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the socio-economic situation of the different countries inNortheast Asia and also of the subregion as a whole.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual37

Context of the Northeast Asian Subregion- National Development Policies and Business
I. Procedurea. Opener - 30 minutes
Show a 10-minute video on the socio-economic situation of Northeast Asia (or a country
in the subregion).
Ask participants to think of the following items:• factors that support the significant role of companies in the economy;• areas of the economy where companies play significant role.
In case there is no appropriate video available, a reading material on the subject or a
powerpoint presentation can be used instead.
Ask some participants for comments on the items listed and note them on the board.
b. Activity – 1 hour
In order to deepen the understanding of the socio-economic situation of Northeast Asia
(or a country in the subregion), tell the participants to examine how national policies relate
to business.
Ask the participants to discuss in groups a specific case or related material and determine whether or not the adverse impacts involved are related to any national and/or local
development policies. Discussion on development policies in Annex A can be used in thegroup discussion.
Instruct the participants to identify specific issues related to the national policies-business link and organize them using a mind map.
The reports may cover the following topics:
1. Specific business fields that are affected by national economic and development
policies;
2. Economic policies that promote industrialization or economic growth with little orvague reference to the protection of the workers and the community adjacent to thecompany premises;
3. Government programs that support private investment without social protection
clauses;
4. Fiscal incentives such as tax exemption/reduction for companies as well as measuresthat do not protect workers’ continued employment.
Write on the board the highlights of the group reports.
c. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input on:• development policies and corporate investments;• development policies and disadvantaged groups.
The input may include past and current social and economic development policies (seeAnnexes B and C for examples) and stress the following:

38

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Development policies
and corporate investments
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Strong role of governments in thedevelopment of countries“Investment protectionism”
National competitivenessGlobal/multilateral trade commitments
Tax benefits and other incentives to investors
Infrastructure development (roads, dams,etc.) program
Natural resources exploitation
Environmental protection

Development policies
and disadvantaged groups
•

•
•

•
•
•

Identification of specific disadvantaged
groups (such as indigenous peoples, farmers,
persons with disabilities, workers) indevelopment policies
Social safety net
Principles to protect disadvantaged groups(such as the principle of free, prior andinformed consent; active participation in thedevelopment process)Environmental and social protection
measures
Inclusive development
Promotion of corporate social responsibility

Provide additional input on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that influencenational development policies and have potential impact on disadvantaged groups.
Have an open forum on development policies in relation to company operations, andthe protection of the disadvantaged groups.
In plenary, brainstorm on human rights that should guide development policies. The
following human rights are likely to be relevant:• Right to work;• Right to adequate food;• Right to adequate housing;• Right to health;• Right to education;• Right to personal security and privacy;• Right of equal access to justice;• Political rights and freedoms.
Introduce some of the key principles stated in the United Nations Declaration on Right toDevelopment, such as the following:
1. Right to development as an inalienable human right;
2. Human person as the central subject of development and active participant andbeneficiary of the right to development;
3. Right and duty of States to formulate appropriate national development policies
that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire populationand of all individuals;
4. Duty of States to co-operate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development;
5. Duty of states to take all necessary national measures to ensure, inter alia,• equality of opportunity for all in their access to basic resources,• education,• health services,• food,• housing,

A Facilitator’s Training Manual39• employment,• fair distribution of income,• active role of women in the development process, and• eradication of all social injustices;
6. Popular participation in all spheres of development and in the full realization of all
human rights;
7. Full exercise and progressive enhancement of the right to development.
See Annex D for some relevant provisions of the UN Declaration.
d. Activity
Group Work – 30 minutes
Using the group mindmaps, ask the participants to discuss what measures are being
done on the human rights issues. Ask the participants to discuss ways by which the identified measures have included or excluded the affected people (workers, members of affected
communities, etc.) in resolving issues, and explain their involvement if any.
Tell the participants to add to the mindmaps the results of their group discussion, andreport them to the plenary. Write on the board the different measures identified by theparticipants.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points in the discussion particularly stressing the following:
1. Elements of the economy that support significant role of companies;
2. Development policies that support companies and adversely affect disadvantaged
groups at the same time;
3. Policy measures that protect the rights of disadvantaged groups from adverse impact
of development projects done by companies;
4. Human rights principles that should govern development policies;
5. Concrete forms of business-related “human rights impacts;”
6. Categories of people affected by the issues;
7. Concrete measures being done on the issues, and role of the affected people in thesemeasures.

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Annex A
Sample National Development Policies
China
In 2006 and 2008, the Bank of China and the Industrial Management Company
launched their first “socially responsible investing” (SRI) Funds to international anddomestic investors respectively. Since 2008, the securities information companies
and the Stock Exchange have also issued several indexes concerning environmental
protection and social responsibility. Moreover, the Chinese government has recently
begun to use financial channels to improve corporate environmental performance.
The Environmental Protection Agency of China (SEPA), the Bank of China, andthe China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) promulgated a joint document,“Opinion on Enforcement of Environmental Law and Prevention of Credit Risk,” encouraging Chinese banks to include corporate environmental performance into credit
assessment. With the release of the Opinion, the SEPA immediately initiated the green
loan program by blacklisting thirty enterprises on account of their serious environmental violations and reporting the information to the credit management system of the
Bank of China. In addition to the green credit scheme, the SEPA coordinated with the
China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to issue a series of measuresgenerally called “green securities.” Under the green securities scheme, companies
in the thirteen high-pollution and high-energy-consumption industries are subject toenvironmental performance reviews when applying for initial public offering (IPO) or
refinancing. Some large companies, including the China Coal Energy Corporation, thesecond-largest coal producer by output in China, failed their first IPO applications due
to failure to strictly implement environmental impact evaluation and other measuresrelating to environmental protection required by law.
(Based on Huang Zhong and Cheng Qian, Merging Business and Human Rights in China: Still A Long Way to Go, page 31)

Mongolia
The revised Minerals Law of Mongolia has provisions that are relevant to humanrights issues faced by communities where mining operations are held. The law prohibits mining activities in areas that have water resources (rivers, water basins, water
sources for water supply and sewerage, and areas with mineral water), and also inareas designated as “city and village tenure land, and within 5 kilometers from its
borders” (Article 5). The law authorizes the “Local Self-Governing Authorities andLocal Governments” to prohibit mining operations in specific areas such as thosenecessary for maintaining historical and cultural heritage, and for ecological balance(Article 20.1.1). These local governing authorities and local governments may also
propose to the national government to exclude from mining operations, areas needed
for the “special use” of a local area (Article 20.1.2).
Additionally, the local governing authorities and local governments have the power
to terminate the use of land by mining companies if they violate the area coverageof their mining license. They also have the authority to monitor the implementationof the mining companies’ obligations to protect and conduct the rehabilitation of
the environment, and protect the public health after cessation of mining operations

A Facilitator’s Training Manual41

(Article 20, also Article 120.3). In relation to the rehabilitation of areas used in mining
operations, the mining companies have to submit a tentative environmental rehabilitation work plan. After the approval of the plan, the companies have to guarantee its
completion by depositing in a special bank account established by the government
an amount equal to 100 percent of the “amount of expenditure for rehabilitation activity of each year.” The deposited amount shall not be used for purposes other thanfor rehabilitation work (Article 119). With respect to mining license, the government
shall inform the public, through its own website and the media within five days fromdate of decision, of tender opening, receipt of applications for mining license, grantor revocation of license, extension of license period, as well as change in the sizeof area granted. Article 77 obliges the extraction and processing license holder toconsult local citizens, whose interests maybe affected by its activities. During suchconsultation, said license holder shall ensure that local citizens are able to express
their views and opinions.
(Based on Center for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights in the Mining Industry of Mongolia, pages 98-99)

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Annex B
Statement Regarding Cabinet Approvalof the Proposed Amendments to the Worker Dispatch Law
Rikio Kozu, General Secretary
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO)
13 March 2015
1. On March 13, 2015, the Cabinet approved proposed amendments to theWorker Dispatch Law and submitted them to the National Diet. The proposal
in effect removes the upper limit on the duration of temporary staffing. The
proposal will increase the ranks of long-term dispatched workers who receive
low wages throughout their working lives, and will also substantially curtail
workers’ protection. It is deplorable that the government has submitted thisnew legislation, which is almost the same in content as last ones scrapped
twice last year.
2. The new government proposal is not in accordance with global norms that
stipulate that dispatched workers are to be hired for a limited period of time
and that they should enjoy the same treatment as regular workers. The proposal seeks to introduce permanent indirect-employment practices while notaddressing the inappropriate treatment of dispatched workers. It does not offer
any fundamental solutions to the problems facing dispatched workers, whose
wages do not rise, who get no semi-annual bonuses, and who feel that they
are unable to marry and start a family due to a lack of job security.
3. The latest proposal, which is based on an agreement between the policy research chiefs of the two ruling political parties, now takes into considerationthat the employment of dispatched workers should be temporary, and it clearlystipulates measures to stabilize the employment of dispatched workers. It also
now includes a clause to ensure that research is conducted on the equal treatment of dispatched and regular workers. However, this latest proposal will still
not be effective in protecting dispatched workers.
4. The way the proposal was submitted to the Diet is also problematic. The
proposal was created based on an agreement between the two ruling political parties, which was then approved by the Cabinet and submitted to theDiet. However, in accordance with the tripartism of the International Labor
Organization, labor-related legislation proposed by the government should
be debated by the Labor Policy Council of the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare. Therefore, it is extremely problematic that the legislation was approvedby the Cabinet without being debated by the council.
5. RENGO will mobilize all of its resources and lobby inside and outside of theDiet to thwart the enactment of this government proposal that would curtail
workers’ protection on the grounds that the numbers of low-income workers
and workers without job security should not be increased.
(Source: Japan Trade Union Confederation, www.jtuc-rengo.org/updates/index.cgi?mode=view&no=360&dir=2015/03.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual43Annex C
Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) (ratification: 1999) Follow-up
to the recommendations of the tripartite committee (representation made under article
24 of the ILO Constitution)
The Committee recalls that, at its 313th Session (March 2012), the Governing Body
adopted the report of the tripartite committee established to examine a representation
alleging non-observance by Japan of the Convention (document GB.313/INS/12/3). In
paragraph 43 of the report, the tripartite committee expressed its firm hope that the
new bill to revise the Worker Dispatch Law would soon be enacted into law in order toensure “adequate protection” for all workers employed by private employment agencies in accordance with Articles 1, 5 and 11 of the Convention. The Committee notes
the Government’s report which includes information in reply to its previous comments
and observations made by the Japan Business Federation (NIPPON KEIDANREN) andthe Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC– RENGO). It also notes the observations made by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN), received in
September 2014. The Committee recalls that the Worker Dispatch Law was revisedin 2012. The Government indicates in its report that the need to review the Worker
Dispatch Law approximately one year after it is enforced that is, in October 2013,
was pointed out during the deliberations in the Diet. In this regard, discussions were
held at the Labour Policy Council between the Government and the social partners.
A report was produced in January 2014 concluding that the employment instability issue of “registration-type dispatch” (workers are only “registered” with, but not
employed by, the agency prior to their work assignment) and worker dispatching to
manufacturing businesses should be responded to not by the means of prohibition,
but by ensuring that dispatch business operators take measures for securing employment stability of fixed-term contract dispatched workers. Based on that reportof the Labour Policy Council, a bill to amend the Worker Dispatch Law was submitted to the Diet. In its observations, the NIPPON KEIDANREN indicates that it is infavour of the bill, adding that its provisions will institute a permit system for all staffing agencies, create a good business environment for staffing agencies, and ensure
equality of treatment and promote career development for dispatched workers. The
NIPPON KEIDANREN is of the view that these measures are expected to solve theissues relating to “registration-type dispatch” and worker dispatching to manufacturingbusinesses. The JTUC–RENGO indicates that it has been making strong demands
to adhere to the principle that forms of dispatch working are only temporary and tostrengthen adequate protection for the employees of temporary work agencies byapplying the principle of equal treatment. It adds that their views were not reflectedin the bill. The JTUC–RENGO is of the view that there is a danger that a legal system
normalizing indirect employment would be put in place in Japan. Moreover, there isa growing concern that forms of low-pay dispatch work will be further expanded. It
adds that the term limit for dispatching workers and the equal treatment principle
are two global standards that are clearly recognized in the Directive on Temporary
Agency Work of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as within thelegal frameworks in China and in the Republic of Korea. The Government submitted
the bill to the Diet in March 2014 but it was eventually withdrawn due to lack of time
for deliberation when the session ended in June 2014. The JTUC–RENGO indicates

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that the bill will be resubmitted at the next session of the Diet in 2014. ZENROREN isof the view that the current state of the bill, if adopted, would likely increase the useof dispatched labour and seriously threaten the principle of direct employment. The
Committee expresses its firm hope, in the same way as the tripartite committee, thatthe revised legislation will ensure “adequate protection” for all workers employed byprivate employment agencies in accordance with the Convention. The Committee
invites the Government to provide a copy of the revised Worker Dispatch Law to the
ILO once it has been adopted.
Article 5(1). Equality of opportunity and treatment. In paragraph 38 of the tripartite
committee’s report, the Government was requested to clarify whether the provisionsof Article 5(1) of the Convention apply to both the dispatch business operators andthe dispatch receiving companies. The Government indicates that section 44 of theWorkers Dispatch Law provides that dispatch business operators and clients are subject to the guidance and inspection of the Labour Standards Inspection Offices withrespect to section 3 of the Labour Standards Law, which prohibits different forms of
discrimination. Moreover, the Government adds that the dispatching business operators are subject to the guidance and supervision of Prefectural Labour Bureaus withrespect to the Employment Security Law. The Committee invites the Government tocontinue to provide information on the application of Article 5(1) of the Convention
in practice. For example, please indicate whether the authorities responsible for theapplication of the abovementioned legislation or tribunals have rendered decisions
involving this matter which relates to the application of the Convention.
Article 11. Measures to ensure adequate protection for workers employed byprivate employment agencies. The Government indicates that the revised Labour
Contract Act, in force since April 2013, introduced provisions to convert fixed-termlabour contract into open-ended contracts, to prohibit the termination of the labour
contract by the employer in certain circumstances, to prohibit the imposition of working conditions on fixed-term contract workers that are unreasonably different fromthose of open-ended contract workers. Furthermore, the revised Worker Dispatch
Law includes measures to promote the conversion of certain fixed-term contracts
into contracts of an indefinite duration and to promote education and training of dispatched workers. The Committee notes that some provisions of the revised Worker
Dispatch Law will be effective as of October 2015. In its observations, ZENROREN
indicates that, while in recent years the number of work-related accidents causing fouror more days of absence is on the decrease for the overall workforce, the number ofoccupational accidents is increasing in the case of temporary workers. It adds thatmany user enterprises neglect health and safety considerations for dispatched workers for whom they are not directly responsible. Moreover, ZENROREN indicates thatJapanese legislation does not stipulate the obligation of a user enterprise to accept
collective bargaining by temporary workers. The Committee invites the Government
to provide its comments in this respect. It also invites the Government to specify themanner in which the provisions guaranteeing adequate protection for the workers
employed by a private employment agency in the fields of collective bargaining (Article
11(b)) and occupational safety and health (Article 11(g)) are supervised by the competent national authorities in order to ensure their effective implementation (Article 14(2)).
Articles 10 and 14. Investigation of complaints and adequate remedies. The
Committee notes that 13 complaints were filed with the Ministry of Health, Labour

A Facilitator’s Training Manual45and Welfare in 2012 in respect of job placement services on matters including theclear indication of working conditions. In that same year, 87 complaints were filed
regarding dispatch businesses for matters which included disguised employment
contracts. The Committee further notes that 8,764 instances of written guidancewere made in 2012. Also, the number of persons received by public prosecutors
offices for Worker Dispatch Law violations amounted to 74 in 2012. The Committee
invites the Government to continue to provide information on the number and natureof the complaints received in respect of the activities of private employment agencies. Please also continue to provide information on the remedies available in theevent of violations of provisions of the Convention, an evaluation of the adequacy ofsuch remedies, and statistics, disaggregated by sex and sector of the economy, withrespect to the source of complaints.
(Source: Application of International Labour Standards 2015 (I) , Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations, International Labour Office (Geneva, 2015), pages 381-382.)

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Annex D
United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development(Few selected articles)
Article 1
1. The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every
human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy
economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights andfundamental freedoms can be fully realized.
2. The human right to development also implies the full realization of the right ofpeoples to self-determination, which includes, subject to the relevant provisions ofboth International Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise of their inalienable rightto full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources.
Article 2
1. The human person is the central subject of development and should be theactive participant and beneficiary of the right to development.
2. All human beings have a responsibility for development, individually and collectively, taking into account the need for full respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as their duties to the community, which alone can ensure thefree and complete fulfilment of the human being, and they should therefore promote
and protect an appropriate political, social and economic order for development.
3. States have the right and the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire
population and of all individuals, on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom.
Article 3
3. States have the duty to co-operate with each other in ensuring development
and eliminating obstacles to development. States should realize their rights and fulfil
their duties in such a manner as to promote a new international economic order basedon sovereign equality, interdependence, mutual interest and co-operation among all
States, as well as to encourage the observance and realization of human rights.
Article 8
1. States should undertake, at the national level, all necessary measures for therealization of the right to development and shall ensure, inter alia, equality of opportunity for all in their access to basic resources, education, health services, food,housing, employment and the fair distribution of income. Effective measures should
be undertaken to ensure that women have an active role in the development process. Appropriate economic and social reforms should be carried out with a view toeradicating all social injustices.

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2. States should encourage popular participation in all spheres as an importantfactor in development and in the full realization of all human rights.
Article 10
Steps should be taken to ensure the full exercise and progressive enhancementof the right to development, including the formulation, adoption and implementationof policy, legislative and other measures at the national and international levels.

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Materials
Info sheets or video on:• Economic profile of Northeast Asia/country• Role of companies in the economy of the subregion/country.
International Labour Organization, Labour and Social Policy Components in Current
Trade Agreements in Asia-Pacific, ACT/EMP Research Note, , March 2015. Available at www.
ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/research_note_2015march.
pdf.
Reports on government policies regarding company investments in local areas.
Alternatively, case studies can be in video or other audio-visual material formats.
• A RENGO Perspective on the Japan Revitalization Strategy: For Whose Sake Is“Japan’s Revitalization”?, JTUC-RENGO, 17 July 2014, www.jtuc-rengo.org/updates/
pdf/20140717kenkai_en.pdf.
Short papers or media reports on development policies in general and for specific sector
or group (such as workers, indigenous peoples, subsistence farmers, subsistence fisherfolk,
local communities, etc.) such as the following:• Mioko Bo and Katsuro Oda, “Japan plans measures against deathfrom overwork,” 27 July 2015, http://business.asiaone.com/news/
japan-plans-measures-against-death-overwork;• “Cabinet OK’s outline of steps against death from overwork,” The Japan News, 24
July 2015;• Center for Human Rights and Development, “Human Rights in the Mining Industryof Mongolia,” in Jefferson R. Plantilla, editor, Bridging Human Rights Principles andBusiness Realities in Northeast Asia (Kuala Lumpur/Osaka: HURIGHTS OSAKA
and SIRD, 2014), pages 100-118;• Application of International Labour Standards 2015 (I), Report of the Committeeof Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, International
Labour Office (Geneva, 2015), pages 381-382.
What is a mind map? See www.mindmapping.com/mind-map.php.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual49Implementing the United Nations Initiatives UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy”
Framework, UN Global Compact
This module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Determine the United Nations initiatives on corporate responsibility to respect human rights;• Discuss the principles and mechanisms being promoted in the UN Global Compact,
UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, and other UN initiatives; and• Identify possible measures that would help companies fulfill their human rights
commitment under the UN initiatives.
Time: 4 hours and 15 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the United Nations initiatives on corporate responsibility torespect human rights.

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Implementing the United Nations Initiatives – UN “Protect, Respect
and Remedy” Framework, UN Global Compact
I. Procedurea. Opener - 30 minutes
Show a video or powerpoint on the general introduction of the United Nations’ Global
Compact and other initiatives on business and human rights. The video “Global Compact+15:
Business as a Force for Good” (available on YouTube) can be used for this purpose.
Additional information can be provided regarding:
1. Women Empowerment Principles (partnership between Global Compact and
UNWomen) – see Annex A;
2. Children’s Rights and Business Principles (partnership between Global Compact
and UNICEF) – see Annex B;
Have an open forum and encourage the participants to raise questions. Classify andsummarize questions on the board.
b. Input – 1 hour
Using the major questions raised in the open forum as starting point, provide a moredetailed input on the UN Global Compact and the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy”
Framework.
Discuss in the input the major elements of the UN initiatives, particularly the following:*
Principles:
1. Human Rights• Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and• Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
2.

Labour• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;• Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;• Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labor; and• Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment andoccupation.

* These are part of the “Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.” The remaining three principles are the following:
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; andPrinciple 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
Source: www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles.

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Stress specific provisions of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework such as thefollowing:**
Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework:
1. State duty to protect human rights
States must protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises.
2. Corporate responsibility to respect human rights
Business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should
avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse humanrights impacts with which they are involved.
3. Access to remedies
As part of their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuse, States
must take appropriate steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislativeor other appropriate means, that when such abuses occur within their territory and/or jurisdiction those affected have access to effective remedy.
Corporate responsibility: Human rights due diligence
In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address theiradverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights
due diligence. The process should include assessing actual and potential humanrights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, andcommunicating how impacts are addressed.
Use the text of Annex C as reference material for the participants on the basic components of the UN framework on business and human rights. Alternatively, the 2011 UN reporton the framework*** can also be made available to the participants.
c. Activity - 1 hour
As an introduction to group work, stress the UN Global Compact objective of providing “a principle-based framework to guide companies in the process of integrating humanrights, labour standards, environmental stewardship, and anti-corruption in strategy andoperations.” Use Annexes D to G for visual aids on UN Global Compact.
Emphasize the important obligation of UN Global Compact member-companies tosubmit a report stressing their
1. continued commitment to the initiative,** UN Framework and the Global Compact, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, www.ohchr.org/
Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.
*** Annex of the Report of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, Advance Edited Version, 21 March 2011, A/HRC/17/31/.
Full text available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Business/A-HRC-17-31_AEV.pdf.

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2. a description of practical actions on each of the four issue areas (human rights, labor
standards, environmental stewardship, and anti-corruption) encompassed in the
Ten Principles, and
3. a measurement of outcomes using qualitative and quantitative indicators.
Ask the participants to discuss in their groups the significant human rights and labor
issues that companies should focus in their report to the UN Global Compact.
Instruct the participants to prepare a report on their answers.
d. Input – 30 minutes
Introduce the implementation measures of the UN Global Compact, namely:
1. Integrity Measures (Annex H);
2. Communication of Progress (Annex I).
e. Activity - 1 hour
Ask the participants to discuss in the same small groups the following concrete examplesof Communication of Progress content - human rights (Annex J), labor (Annex K), andstakeholder engagement (Annex L).
1. What significant indicators should appear in the company report to the UN Global
Compact?
2. What probable problem areas may appear in company reports to the UN Global
Compact?
3. How can affected people influence the preparation of company report in compliancewith the UN Global Compact commitment?
Ask the participants to report to the plenary the results of group discussions in the two
activities.
Organize on the board the main points that came out of the group reports.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:
1. Major components of the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights;
2. Challenges in implementing the UN initiatives such as the UN Global Compact
experience;
3. Compliance by companies on their commitment under the UN initiatives;
4. Participation of affected people in the UN initiatives.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual53Annex A
Women’s Empowerment Principles
Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work - respect and support humanrights and nondiscrimination
Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for womenPrinciple 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower womenPrinciple 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.
(Source: www.weprinciples.org/)

Annex B
Children’s Rights and Business Principles
1. Meet the (companies’) responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit
to supporting the human rights of children;
2. Contribute to the elimination of child labour, including in all business activities
and business relationships;
3. Provide decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers;
4. Ensure the protection and safety of children in all business activities andfacilities;
5. Ensure that products and services are safe, and seek to support children’s
rights through them;
6. Use marketing and advertising that respect and support children’s rights;
7. Respect and support children’s rights in relation to the environment and toland acquisition and use;
8. Respect and support children’s rights in security arrangements;
9. Help protect children affected by emergencies;
10. Reinforce community and government efforts to protect and fulfil children’s
rights.
(Source: Children’s Rights and Business Principles, http://childrenandbusiness.org/)

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Annex C
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations“Protect, Respect and Remedy: a Framework for Business and Human Rights”
Framework**** (excerpts)
i. State duty to protect human rights*****
States must protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises. This requires taking appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse through effective
policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication.
In meeting their duty to protect, States should:(a) Enforce laws that are aimed at, or have the effect of, requiring business enterprises to respect human rights, and periodically to assess the adequacy of suchlaws and address any gaps;(b) Ensure that other laws and policies governing the creation and ongoing operation of business enterprises, such as corporate law, do not constrain but enablebusiness respect for human rights;(c) Provide effective guidance to business enterprises on how to respect humanrights throughout their operations;(d) Encourage, and where appropriate require, business enterprises to communicate how they address their human rights impacts.
ii. Corporate responsibility to respect human rights******
Business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should
avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse humanrights impacts with which they are involved.
The responsibility to respect human rights requires that business enterprises:(a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through theirown activities, and address such impacts when they occur;(b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly
linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even
if they have not contributed to those impacts.
The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights applies to allenterprises regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure. Nevertheless, the scale and complexity of the means through which enterprises
meet that responsibility may vary according to these factors and with the severity ofthe enterprise’s adverse human rights impacts.
Human rights due diligence*******In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due**** Ibid.,***** Ibid., pages 3-4.
****** Ibid., pages 13-15.
******* Ibid., page 17.

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diligence. The process should include assessing actual and potential human rights
impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed. Human rights due diligence:(a) Should cover adverse human rights impacts that the business enterprise may
cause or contribute to through its own activities, or which may be directly linked toits operations, products or services by its business relationships;(b) Will vary in complexity with the size of the business enterprise, the risk of severe
human rights impacts, and the nature and context of its operations;(c) Should be ongoing, recognizing that the human rights risks may change overtime as the business enterprise’s operations and operating context evolve.
iii. Access to remedies********
As part of their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuse,
States must take appropriate steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislative or other appropriate means, that when such abuses occur within their territory
and/or jurisdiction those affected have access to effective remedy.
To make it possible for grievances to be addressed early and remediated directly,
business enterprises should establish or participate in effective operational-level grievance mechanisms for individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted.

******** Ibid., pages 27-31.

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Annex D(Source: United Nations Global Compact, Impact, Transforming Business, Changing the World, 2015, page 77.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual57Annex E(Source: United Nations Global Compact, Impact, Transforming Business, Changing the World, 2015, page 14..)

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Annex F(Source: United Nations Global Compact, Impact, Transforming Business, Changing the World, 2015, page 15.)

Annex G

(Source: United Nations Global Compact, Impact, Transforming Business, Changing the World, 2015, page 15.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual59Annex H
Integrity Measures
The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary initiative that seeks toadvance universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption
through the active engagement of the corporate community, in cooperation with civilsociety and representatives of organized labor. The initiative is not designed, nordoes it have the mandate or resources, to monitor or measure member-companies’
performance. Nevertheless, with the aim of assuring that the integrity of the Global
Compact is safeguarded at all times, the Secretary-General has adopted the following measures:
1. Misuse of association with the UN and/or Global Compact
2. Prohibition on the “use of the United Nations name and emblem for commercial purposes or in any other manner without the prior authorization of theSecretary-General, and recommends that Member States take the necessary
measures to prevent the unauthorized use thereof;”
3. Failure to Communicate Progress
4. If a member-company fails to communicate its progress by the deadline, it will
be listed as “noncommunicating” on the Global Compact website. If a further
year passes without the submission of a COP, the member-company will be
expelled. The Global Compact reserves the right to publish the names of companies that have been expelled for failure to communicate on their progress;
5. Allegations of systematic or egregious abuses
6. Safeguarding the “reputation, integrity and good efforts of the Global Compact
and its [member-companies] requires transparent means to handle credible
allegations of systematic or egregious abuse of the Global Compact’s overallaims and principles.”(Source: Text based on Global Compact – Integrity Measures. Available at www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/about_the_gc/
Integrity_measures/Integrity_Measures_Note_EN.PDF)

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Annex I
Overview of the Communication on Progress (COP)The Communication on Progress (COP) is an annual disclosure through whicha business informs stakeholders about its efforts to implement the principles of theUnited Nations (UN) Global Compact.
As the central component of the UN Global Compact’s integrity measures, the
COP’s main objective is to serve as a public vehicle for information on sustainability
performance. At the same time, the COP can be an effective tool for stakeholder
dialogue and the sharing of best and emerging practices.
As a public document, the COP is an important demonstration of a company’scommitment to transparency and accountability. Failure to submit a COP on the Global
Compact website will result in a change of participant status and can eventually leadto the expulsion of a business from the initiative.
The submission of a COP enhances stakeholder access to information about aparticipant’s sustainability performance.
The COP Policy applies only to business participants.
(Source: UN Global Compact Policy on Communicating Progress, Updated 1 March 2013)

Submitting an annual COP is at the heart of the company’s commitment to the
UN Global Compact and provides valuable information to company stakeholders. It
covers the following:• A statement by the chief executive expressing continued support for the UN
Global Compact and renewing the participant’s ongoing commitment to theinitiative;• A description of practical actions the company has taken or plans to take toimplement the Ten Principles in each of the four areas (human rights, labour,
environment, anti-corruption); and• A measurement of outcomes.
At the advanced level, companies are required to expand upon the minimum
content requirements and to disclose actions and results in the following dimensions:–– Implementing the Ten Principles into strategies and operations;–– Taking action in support of broader UN goals and issues;–– Corporate sustainability governance and leadership.
(Source: Text based on www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop)

Corporate commitments to the UN Global Compact:• Operate responsibly, in alignment with universal sustainability principles;• Take actions that support the society around the company;• Commit to the effort from company’s highest level, pushing sustainability deep
into its DNA;
• Report annually on ongoing efforts; and• Engage locally where the company has a presence.
(Source: Text based on www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/join/commitment)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual61Annex J
Indicators of Compliance – Human Rights
Principle 1: Human Rights
Businesses should supportand respect the protection ofinternationally proclaimed humanrightsPrinciple 2: Human Rights
Business should make sure they
are not complicit in human rights
abuses.

Investment:• Total hours of employee training on human rights policies
or procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are
relevant to operations, including the percentage of employees
trained• Security Practices:• Percentage of security personnel trained in the organization’s
human rights policies or procedures that are relevant tooperations• Indigenous Rights• Total number of incidents of violations involving rights ofindigenous peoples and actions taken
Assessment• Total number and percentage of operations that have been
subject to human rights reviews or impact assessments• Human Rights Grievance Mechanisms• Number of grievances about human rights impacts
filed, addressed, and resolved through formal grievancemechanisms
Society:• Local Communities• Percentage of operations with implemented local community• Engagement, impact assessments, and development
programs• Operations with significant actual and potential negative
impacts on local communities
Investment:• Total number and percentage of significant investment
agreements and contracts that include human rights clausesor that underwent human rights screening
Supplier Human Rights Assessment• Percentage of new suppliers that were screened using humanrights criteria• Significant actual and potential negative human rights
impacts in the supply chain and actions taken(Source: Text based on Making the Connection - Using GRI G4 Guidelines to Communicate Progress on the UN Global Compact
Principles, Global Compact and GRI, pages 18-19.)

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Annex K
Indicators of Compliance – Labor
Principle 3: LabourBusinesses should
uphold the freedomof associationand the effective
recognition of theright to collective
bargaining.

Principle 4: LabourBusinesses should
uphold theelimination of all
forms of forced andcompulsory labour.
Principle 5: LabourBusinesses should
uphold the effective
abolition of childlabour.

General Standard Disclosures
Organizational Profilea. Report the percentage of total employees covered by collective bargaining
agreements.
Indicators
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining• Operations and suppliers identified in which the right to exercise freedom of
association and collective bargaining may be violated or at significant risk,
and measures taken to support these rights
Labor:
Labor/Management Relations• Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes, including whether
these are specified in collective agreements
Forced or Compulsory Labor• Operations and suppliers identified as having significant risk for incidents offorced or compulsory labor, and measures to contribute to the elimination of
all forms of forced or compulsory laborChild Labor
Operations and suppliers identified as having significant risk for incidents of childlabor, and measures taken to contribute to the effective abolition of child labor

A Facilitator’s Training Manual63Principle 6: Labour

General Standard Disclosures

Businesses should
uphold theelimination of
discriminationin respect of
employment andoccupation.

Organizational Profile
1. Report the total number of employees by employment contract and gender.
2. Report the total number of permanent employees by employment type andgender.
3. Report the total workforce by employees and supervised workers and bygender.
4. Report the total workforce by region and gender.
5. Report whether a substantial portion of the organization’s work is performed
by workers who are legally recognized as self-employed, or by individuals
other than employees or supervised workers, including employees andsupervised employees of contractors.
6. Report any significant variations in employment numbers (such as seasonalvariations in employment in the tourism or agricultural industries).
Indicators
Economic:
Aspect: Market Presence• Ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to local minimum
wage at significant locations of operation• Proportion of senior management hired from the local community at
significant locations of operation
Labor Practices and Decent Work:
Employment• Total number and rates of new employee hires and employee turnover by age
group, gender and region• Return to work and retention rates after parental leave, by gender
Training and Education• Average hours of training per year per employee by gender, and by employee
category• Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and careerdevelopment reviews, by gender and by employee category
Diversity and Equal Opportunity• Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per
employee category according to gender, age group, minority groupmembership, and other indicators of diversity
Equal Remuneration for Women and Men• Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men by employee
category, by significant locations of operation
Human Rights:
Non-discrimination• Total number of incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken(Source: Text based on pages 18-19, Making the Connection - Using GRI G4 Guidelines to Communicate Progress on the UN Global
Compact Principles, Global Compact and GRI.)

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Annex L
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is at the core of the commitment to the UN Global
Compact. As a private-public initiative, the UN Global Compact offers companies access to key actors in the corporate sustainability landscape, including governments,
civil society, labor, academia and the United Nations system. Companies in the UN
Global Compact recognize the importance of stakeholder consultation in the processof integrating the UN Global Compact principles into core operations and strategy.
At the advanced level, companies must describe in their COP their engagementwith all important stakeholders, including:• Publicly recognize responsibility for the company’s impacts on internal andexternal stakeholders;• Define sustainability strategies, goals and policies in consultation with key
stakeholders;• Consult stakeholders in implementation dilemmas and challenges and invite
them to take active part in reviewing performance;• Establish channels to engage with employees and other stakeholders to hear
their ideas and address their concerns, and protect “whistle-blowers;”• Provide a list of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization.
Report on the following:• Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage;• Organization’s approach to stakeholder engagement dealing with, including
frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group, and an indicationof whether any of the engagement was undertaken specifically as part of thereport preparation process;• Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how the organization has responded to those key topics and concerns, including through its reporting.
(Source: Text based on page 14, Making the Connection - Using GRI G4 Guidelines to Communicate Progress on the UN Global
Compact Principles, Global Compact and GRI.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual65Materials

66•

Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect,
Respect and Remedy” Framework. Full text of the document available at www.ohchr.
org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.

•

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the issue of humanrights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie- Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United
Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. A/HRC/17/31, 21 March 2011.

•

United Nations, The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights – anInterpretative Guide, New York/Geneva 2012, HR/PUB/12/02. Full text available atwww.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HR.PUB.12.2_En.pdf.

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Enforcing Labor Standards
This module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Determine labor standards under the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work;• Analyze the labor issues faced by workers in Northeast Asia/country;• Discuss issues that affect full implementation of the ILO Conventions.
Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the ILO Conventions.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual67Enforcing Labor Standards
I. Procedureb. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Workthat covers the following conventions:
1. Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining
i. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention,
1948 (CO87);
ii. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (CO98);
2. Elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labori. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (CO29);
ii. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (CO105);
3. Effective abolition of child labori. Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (CO 138);
ii. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (CO182);
4. Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
i. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (CO100);
ii. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (CO111).
A short presentation on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work can be found at www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm.
Below are some ILO materials that are useful in discussing different labor issues:
1. Child labor – Eliminating Child Labour : Guide for Employers
2. Forced labor – Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery
3. The Labour Principles of the United Nations Global Compact: A Guide for Business(ILO, 2008) – this can be used as guide for introducing the labor rights;
4. Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social
Policy (as amended in 2006) - this provides “principles in the fields of employment,
training, conditions of work and life and industrial relations which governments,
employers’ and workers’ organizations and multinational enterprises are recommended to observe on a voluntary basis.”
5. IOE-ILO guidance note on the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention,
1930 - short note jointly produced by the ILO and IOE to support the employer/business engagement to implement the Forced Labour Protocol.
Inform the participants about the status of ratification of the ILO Conventions inNortheast Asia. (Annex A).
Explain the ILO mechanisms on monitoring enforcement of its conventions, such as
the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations(CEACR). Emphasize the obligation of governments to submit reports to CEACR and torespond to comments on these reports from labor unions.
Mention also the Annex to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work on annual review of requested reports from “governments which have not ratified

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

one or more of the fundamental Conventions, on any changes which may have taken placein their law and practice.” The follow-up covers the “four areas of fundamental principles
and rights specified in the Declaration.”*
After the presentation, hold an open forum. Summarize the discussion during the open
forum by focusing on the factors that supported the enforcement of the ILO Convention.
C. Activity A – 1 hour
Ask the participants to form small groups to discuss the workers’ rights that are being
violated using the cases taken up by the CEACR as listed below:
1. Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining – Japan;
2. Right to Equal Remuneration – Japan;
3. Private Employment Agencies – Japan;
4. Labour Inspection – Korea;
5. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) – Korea;
6. Workers’ Representatives – Korea;
7. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) – Mongolia;
8. Weekly Rest (Industry) – China;
9. Minimum Age – China;
10. Worst Forms of Child Labor – China.
Ask the participants to analyze in the groups some of these cases (Annexes B, C, D, E,
F, G and H) by examining the responses of governments, employers, and the workers tospecific issues. Tell them to determine factors that prevent the enjoyment of workers’ rights.
Ask the participants to use the following group report format:
IssuesResponse
Government

Employer

Labor

Comment

Ask the participants to present the results of the group discussion in a panel discussion
format.
List on the board the major highlights of the group reports.
d. Activity B - 1 hour
Ask the participants to discuss in small groups specific cases of labor initiatives at the
local and national levels that
* See Annex of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work , available at www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:62:0::NO:62:P62_LIST_ENTRIE_ID:2453911:NO.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual69

1. helped address the violation of specific workers’ rights;
2. helped implement the ILO Conventions and identify elements that led to the successof the initiatives.
Ask them also to focus on cases that show the capacity of the workers and/or labor unions
to resolve their problems. See Annex I for an example of a local initiative that support laborrights. Use other examples available in the subregion/country.
Ask the groups to present the results of their discussion in a creative manner (drama,
painting, tableau, etc.).
List on the board the major contents of the group reports.
II. Summary - 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:• Major components of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work;• Issues affecting workers in Northeast Asia/country;• Issues regarding the implementation of ILO Conventions at the national level.

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Annex A
Status of Ratification of ILO Conventions
Convention
China
Japan
Korea
Mongolia
Freedom of Association and the Effective Recognition of the Right to Collective Bargaining
NR
R
NR
R
Freedom of Association and Protection of
the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
(CO87)
Right to Organise and Collective
NR
R
NR
R
Bargaining Convention, 1949 (CO98)
Elimination of All Forms of Forced and Compulsory Labour
NR
R
NR
R
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (C029)
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention,
NR
NR
NR
R
1957 (C105)
Effective Abolition of Child Labour
R
R
R
R
Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (CO138)
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention,
R
R
R
R
1999 (CO182)
Elimination of Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation
R
R
R
R
Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
(CO100)R
NR
R
R
Discrimination (Employment andOccupation) Convention, 1958 (CO111)
Note: NR – Not yet ratified; R - Ratified(Source: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:10011:0::NO::P10011_DISPLAY_BY,P10011_CONVENTION_TYPE_
CODE:1,F .)A Facilitator’s Training Manual71Annex B
1. Equal Remuneration Convention (Japan) - Excerpt
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Japan (Ratification: 1967)
The Committee notes the observations of the Zensekiyu Showa-Shell Labor Union
received on 17 December 2012, to which the Government replied in its report, as
well as the observations of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO),
which were annexed to the Government’s report received on 30 September 2013.
It further notes the observations received on 6 August 2013 from the Aichi Solidarity
Laborers’ Union and the Union of Women Trading Company Workers as well as theobservations of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN), received
on 25 September 2013.
Follow-up to the recommendations of the tripartite committee (representation
made under article 24 of the Constitution of the ILO)The Committee recalls the report adopted on 11 November 2011 of the tripartite
committee established by the Governing Body to examine the representation submitted by the Zensekiyu Showa-Shell Labour Union (GB.312/INS/15/3). The tripartite committee concluded that further measures were needed, in cooperation withworkers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote and ensure equal remuneration
for men and women for work of equal value in law and practice in accordance with
Article 2 of the Convention, and to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of
the existing legislation and measures, including measures to determine the relativevalue of jobs (paragraph 57).
Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. For a numberof years, the Committee has been pointing out that section 4 of the Labour Standards
Law, which provides that “an employer shall not engage in discriminatory treatment ofa woman as compared to a man with respect to wages by reason of the worker being a woman”, does not fully reflect the principle of the Convention. The Government
indicates that in order to clarify the interpretation of section 4 of the Labour Standards
Law, the related Notification was revised in December 2012, and some court cases
relating to section 4 of the Labour Standards Law were added as references. A brochure of relevant court cases was also prepared for employees to verify whether their
payroll system had substantial gender discrimination. The Government reiterates thatas long as the payroll system does not allow any discrimination in wages between
men and women only by reason of the worker being a woman, it is considered tomeet the requirements of the Convention. While noting the Government’s views, theCommittee is bound to reiterate that only prohibiting sex-based wage discrimination does not capture the concept of “work of equal value”, which is fundamental
to tackling occupational sex segregation in the labour market (see General Survey
on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 673-676). The Committee also
notes the views expressed by Zensekiyu Showa-Shell Labor Union, Aichi Solidarity
Laborers’ Union and the Union of Women Trading Company Workers that the principle

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

of equal remuneration for work of equal value is not considered as a principle that
directly regulates employment relations, thereby creating a significant barrier to pay
equity. In addition, JTUC-RENGO observes that the Government’s interpretation ofsection 4 of the Labour Standards Law in the Notification limits the scope of the discrimination to be eliminated and does not directly deal with equal remuneration formen and women for work of equal value. The organization reiterates its request for
the inclusion of a clause prohibiting wage discrimination based on sex in the Equal
Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL), and for “sex” to be added as a ground of
discrimination in section 3 of the Labour Standards Law. The Committee once again
urges the Government to take immediate and concrete measures to ensure that there
is a legislative framework clearly establishing the right to equal remuneration for men
and women for work of equal value and appropriate enforcement procedures andremedies. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on
the measures taken and the progress achieved in this regard, as well as information
on any revision of the current labour legislation which could have an impact on equal
remuneration for men and women, and on any judicial or administrative decisions
relating to equal pay.
Practical measures to address the gender pay gap and promote gender equality.
The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government regarding
the measures taken to address the differences between men and women in employment positions and in the number of years of employment through positive action
and support for the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities. Noting that thegender pay gap remains significant (27.8 per cent in 2012), the Committee asks theGovernment to step up its efforts to encourage enterprises to take positive measures
aimed at narrowing the gender pay gap, including regarding the access of women
to managerial positions and the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities forboth men and women on an equal footing. The Government is requested to reporton the measures taken and the results achieved.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3174112:NO.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual73Annex C
2. Equal Remuneration Convention (Japan) – Second excerpt
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Japan (Ratification: 1967)
		xxx				xxx		xxxNon-regular employment: Part-time and fixed-term employment. The Committee
has previously noted that in Japan “non-regular employment” refers to part-time andfixed-term work. With respect to part-time employment, the Committee notes fromthe Labour Force Survey of 2012 that women workers constituted 69.2 per centof all part-time workers. According to the JTUC-RENGO, the wages and working
conditions of many part-time workers remain at low levels and their wages hardly
increase with their age or length of service. The Committee recalls section 8 of thePart-Time Workers Law, which prohibits discriminatory treatment in the determinationof wages only in the case of part-time workers who meet specific criteria: their job
descriptions and the level of responsibilities are equal to those of regular workers;
they have concluded an employment contract for an indefinite period; and, during
the contract period, any change in their job description or assignment corresponds
to what a regular worker could also expect. The Committee notes that, according to
ZENROREN, an official survey showed that, due to these criteria, in practice only 1.3
per cent of part-time workers enjoy equal treatment with their full-time counterparts.
JTUC-RENGO reiterates its calls for the revision of section 8 on equal treatment andthe inclusion of a provision concerning the payment of divisible benefits with monetary
value to part-time workers. In its report, the Government indicates that legislative
measures will be taken to amend the provisions prohibiting discriminatory treatment.
The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Law No. 27 of 2014 to amend thePart-Time Workers Law. Law No. 27 amends several provisions, including section
8(1) on the prohibition of discrimination so as to remove the requirement relating to
the conclusion of a contract for an indefinite period of time, and therefore extends theprohibition of discriminatory treatment to part-time workers with a fixed-term contract
who fulfil the two remaining criteria. Recalling that the Convention applies to both fulltime and part-time workers, the Committee asks the Government to provide detailed
information on the content and scope of the amendments to the Part-Time Workers
Law and their impact on the situation of part-time workers with respect to remuneration, including the proportion of part-time men and women workers now covered by
the prohibition of discrimination. The Committee also asks the Government to continue
taking measures to ensure that part-time workers and full-time workers are treatedequally with respect to the principle of the Convention. The Committee once again
asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved in practice inpromoting conversions from part-time status to regular status, and to continue providing statistical information disaggregated by sex on the number of part-time workers.
The Committee notes that, according to the Zensekiyu Showa-Shell Labor Union,
the disparities in wages between men and women are connected to disparities inworking conditions, including seniority, between workers in regular and non regular
employment, with women being concentrated in the latter. With respect to fixed-term

74

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asiaemployment, the Committee notes that the amendment of the Labour Contract Law
adopted in August 2012 and in force since April 2013, provides for a mechanism
requiring the employer to convert fixed-term employment contracts into employment
contracts for an indefinite period at the employee’s request when fixed-term contracts
are renewed repeatedly for more than five years. It also prohibits the termination of
fixed-term employment contracts under “certain circumstances”, as well as the imposition on fixed-term workers of working conditions that are “unreasonably different”
from those of workers under contracts for an indefinite period. In this respect, theCommittee notes the Government’s reply to the Zensekiyu Showa-Shell Labor Union
that “unreasonably different” working conditions are determined taking into accountjob descriptions (duties and level of responsibilities), scope of duties, job rotation andother factors. The Committee also notes that JTUC-RENGO asserts that there aremany cases in which employers set different wage standards for fixed-term workers.
For its part, ZENROREN expresses concern that, since the working conditions (duties, place of work, salary, hours of work, etc.) applied to a fixed-term worker will notchange after the conversion of his or her contract, unless a separate contract is signed
to that effect, the existing pay gap will persist between workers with an indefinite contract and fixed-term workers whose work is identical but who are treated differently
in terms of place, hours of work and employment management category. In addition,
the Committee notes that, according to JTUC-RENGO and ZENROREN, concerns
remain regarding compliance with the new provisions by employers who want to avoid
conversion into definitive contracts. The Committee asks the Government to take thenecessary measures to monitor closely the effect of the new provisions of the Labour
Contract Law concerning the conversion of fixed-term contracts into contracts for
an indefinite period of time so as to ensure that the mechanism put in place does
not have adverse effects on the situation of fixed-term workers, including women
workers, with respect to remuneration. The Committee also asks the Government
to clarify the meaning, in the amendment of the Labour Contract Law, of the terms“unreasonably different working conditions” and to specify the “circumstances” underwhich the employer is prohibited to terminate (or not renew) a fixed-term contract,
including any interpretation given by the courts.
The Committee further notes the detailed statistical information provided by theGovernment showing that, as of 1 April 2012, there was a total of 603,582 temporary
and part-time officials in local governments, of whom 74.2 per cent were women andthat job categories are highly segregated by gender. According to the Government,
since 24 April 2009, local governments are regulated by a notification explaining thesystem related to temporary and part-time employees. The Government indicatesthat further information will be provided in this respect. JTUC-RENGO underlines
the precarious situation of such workers, 65 per cent of whom are paid on a daily or
weekly basis and 39.6 per cent continue to work for less than one year (while 31.7
per cent work for three years or longer and 17.8 per cent for five years or longer). The
trade union also stresses that the absence of provisions in the Local Autonomy Law
and the Local Public Service Law regarding temporary and part-time workers in the
public sector makes their status unclear; they have little access to commuting allowances, regular medical examinations and bereavement leave, although they are usuallyengaged in jobs similar to those of regular workers. JTUC-RENGO also indicates thatin May 2013 the Alliance of Public Service Workers Unions (APU) submitted to the

A Facilitator’s Training Manual75Diet a bill to amend partially the Local Autonomous Law with a view to ensuring theentitlement to various allowances, on the basis of municipal ordinances, of part-time
employees who are equivalent in their working conditions to full-time employees orare in official posts with shorter working hours. The Committee asks the Government
to indicate the manner in which the remuneration of local government non-regular
employees is determined, in comparison to the remuneration of officials in regular
employment, and how it ensures that officials performing work of equal value receive
equal remuneration, regardless of their employment status. Please also continue toprovide information disaggregated by sex on the number of temporary and part-timeofficials in local authorities at the prefectural and municipal levels.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3174112:NO.)

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Annex D
3. Discrimination in Employment (Korea) – First Excerpt
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Korea,
Republic of (Ratification: 1998)
The Committee notes the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee
on the Application of Standards in May-June 2014, including the written information
provided by the Government.
Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Migrant workers. For a number of years, theCommittee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the need to provide
appropriate flexibility to allow migrant workers to change workplaces and to ensure
the effective protection of these workers against discrimination. In this context, theCommittee noted previously that migrant workers are generally covered by the labour and anti-discrimination legislation, and it welcomed the changes made to the
Employment Permit System to allow foreign workers unlimited workplace changes ifthey are subject to “unfair treatment”, defined as including unreasonable discriminationby the employer. At the same time, the Committee noted that it is not clear how job
centres “objectively recognize” a victim of discrimination, which would allow the foreign
worker concerned to request an immediate change of workplace. It requested theGovernment to keep the applicable legislation governing migrant workers and related
measures under regular view. The Committee notes that foreign workers can submit
a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea(NHRCK), the outcome of which can be forwarded to job centres. The Committee
also notes that, during the discussions on the application of the Convention at theConference Committee, the Government indicated that the burden of proof does notlie solely with the worker and that, in the absence of sufficient evidence, the local job
centre would try to gather the facts to deal with the case. The Government further
indicates in its report that, in the event of such an investigation, the worker is placedin a new job while the case is pending. The Government also provides general information on the number of workplaces inspected in 2013 and the total violations of
the labour legislation found. The Committee requests the Government to continue
its efforts to ensure that migrant workers are able, in practice, to change workplaces
when subject to violations of the anti-discrimination legislation, and to provide information in this respect. Please provide information on the number of migrant workers
who have applied to job centres for a change of workplace on the basis of “unfair
treatment by the employer”, the nature and outcome of those cases and the manner in which the job centres “objectively recognize” a victim of discrimination. The
Committee requests the Government to continue monitoring the situation to ensurethat the legislation protecting migrant workers from discrimination is fully implemented
and enforced, and to provide information on the nature and number of the violations
detected, and the remedies provided, as well as the number, nature and outcome ofcomplaints brought before labour inspectors, the courts and the NHRCK.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3192311:NO.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual77Annex E
4. Discrimination in Employment (Korea) – Second Excerpt
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Korea,
Republic of (Ratification: 1998)
The Committee notes the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee
on the Application of Standards in May-June 2014, including the written information
provided by the Government.
		xxx				xxx		xxxDiscrimination based on sex and employment status. The Committee recalls that in
the Korean context, the term “non-regular workers” refers to part-time, fixed-term anddispatched workers, and that many of these workers are women. The Government
indicates in its report that following the adoption in November 2011 of the Measuresfor Non regular Workers in the Public Sector, 30,932 non-regular workers engaged inpermanent and continuous work have become workers with open-ended contracts,
and that the amendment of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Dispatched Workers
in 2012 resulted in 3,800 workers being hired directly by their employers in 2013 inaccordance with government orders. The Government also indicates that in 2014
further revisions were made to both the Act on the Protection, etc. of Dispatched
Workers and the Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees,
to introduce a punitive monetary compensation system as a measure to address repeated or willful discrimination. Starting in 2014, employers with 300 or more workers
will be required to announce the status of workers’ employment. The Government
also plans to introduce a guideline on employment security of non regular workers
and their conversion to regular status, which will promote the voluntary conversion of
non-regular workers to regular status. The Committee further notes that in 2013 theNHRCK conducted a survey on non-regular women workers (Annual Report 2013,
Seoul, April 2014, page 72). While welcoming these initiatives, the Committee urges
the Government to review the effectiveness of the measures taken regarding nonregular workers to ensure that they do not in practice result in discrimination on thebasis of sex and employment status, contrary to the Convention. In particular, theCommittee asks the Government to provide information on the practical application of
the measures for non-regular workers in the public sector and on the revisions madeto the Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees and the Act
on the Protection, etc. of Dispatched Workers, including any penalties imposed forviolations. The Committee requests the Government to take steps to ensure that any
information gathered on workers’ employment status is disaggregated by sex, and it
requests the Government to provide information in this regard. Please also provide
information on the results of the survey by NHRCK on non-regular women workers,
including any follow-up action taken.
Enforcement. The Committee notes the general information provided by theGovernment on the number of workplaces inspected and the overall number of

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violations detected by labour inspectors. The Committee further notes that according to the information provided by the Government to the Conference Committee,
589 violations of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Dispatched Workers and 213
violations of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees
were recorded in 2013. The Committee notes the Government’s indication to theConference Committee that 37 support centres and one call centre have been established to provide free services to migrant workers, such as counselling on labour laws.
The Committee notes from the 2013 Annual Report of the NHRCK that it received
615 complaints concerning discrimination in employment, most of which related torecruitment, hiring and wages, although it is not clear to what extent these were filed
by migrant workers. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number and nature of the violations detected by or reported
to labour inspectors concerning the non-discrimination legislation, the Act on theProtection, etc. of Dispatched Workers and the Act on the Protection, etc. of FixedTerm and Part-Time Employees, the sanctions imposed and the remedies provided.
Please indicate the number, nature and outcomes of the relevant complaints handled
by the NHRCK, as well as complaints brought by migrant workers to the National
Labour Relations Commission and the courts, and provide copies of relevant judicial
decisions.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to theGovernment.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3192311:NO.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual79Annex F
5. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (Mongolia)
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Mongolia(Ratification: 1969)
Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative developments. The Committee notes thatthe new draft Labour Law is currently under elaboration and that it addresses manyof the issues raised by the Committee, including the exclusion of women from certain
occupations, restrictions relating to the inherent requirements of the job, the protectionof workers with family responsibilities and protection against sexual harassment. The
Committee hopes that the new Labour Law will soon be adopted and that it will take
into account the Committee’s comments and will be in conformity with the Convention.
Exclusion of women from certain occupations. The Committee recalls its previous
comments concerning the exclusion of women from a wide range of occupations
under section 101.1 of the Labour Law of 1999 and Order No. A/204 of 1999. In
this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that Order No. A/204
of 1999 was annulled by Order No. 107 of 2008 and that the Ministry of Labour andSocial Welfare decided, following some studies carried out in order to renew the listof prohibited jobs, that it was not necessary to proceed to such renewal or to adopt alist of prohibited jobs for women. The Government also indicates that under the newdraft Labour Law women can only be excluded from certain occupations for reasonsof maternity protection. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the
new Labour Law strictly limits the exclusion of women from certain occupations tomeasures aimed at protecting maternity.
Inherent requirements. The Committee referred in its previous comments to section 6.5.6 of the Law on Promotion of Gender Equality (LPGE) of 2011, which allows
for sex-specific job recruitment “based on a specific nature of some workplaces suchas in pre-school education institutions”. The Committee also noted that the scope ofother provisions of the LPGE may be overly broad in permitting sex-based distinctions, such as in the “provision of health, educational and other services designed
to cater for the specific needs of one particular sex” (section 6.5.1) and in respect of
employment in specific “workplace facilities” (section 6.5.2). The Committee notesthat the definition of inherent requirements in the new Draft Labour Law no longer
refers to the limitations set out in the LPGE. The Committee requests the Government
to take the necessary measures to ensure that any limitations on protection against
discrimination in recruitment are strictly related to the inherent requirements of theparticular job, in accordance with Article 1(2) of the Convention. The Committee alsoasks the Government to review sections 6.5.1, 6.5.2 and 6.5.6 of the LPGE in orderto ensure that they do not in practice deny men and women equality of opportunity
and treatment in respect of their employment.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to theGovernment.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3183395:NO.)

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Annex G
6. Weekly Rest (China)
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - China (Ratification: 1934)
Article 2 of the Convention. Normal weekly rest scheme. In its previous comment,
the Committee had noted that the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
indicated that the workers’ entitlement to weekly rest was easily undermined by
employers using national and local rules on flexible and consolidated working-hour
schemes to exclude workers from the legal protection on rest and compensation. The
ITUC also indicated that, under those schemes, which had become commonplaceand even the norm in an increasing number of sectors, weekly rest could be replacedby “consolidated rest” arranged unilaterally by employers based on business considerations. The ITUC further alleged that exemptions were often granted by the Ministryof Human Resources and Social Security with the mere “paper consent” of the enterprise trade union without prior proper consultations with workers. The Committee had
also noted that the ITUC referred to the Measures for the Examination and Approvalof Flexible Working Hours Arrangement and Consolidated Hours Scheme, adopted
in 1995, which allowed for the averaging of hours of work without, however, guaranteeing a reasonable weekly rest day arrangement. Instead of specifying the right tocompensatory leave with respect to every seven-day period, the Measures referredvaguely to “consolidated work and consolidated rest” and, as a result, employees
were easily misled by their employers to confuse compensatory leave with annual
leave. It had further noted that according to the ITUC, employees were underpaid or
not paid at all for performing work on their weekly rest day which should entitle themto 200 per cent of the normal hourly rate under the Labour Law. The Committee once
again requests the Government to transmit its comments in reply to the observationsof the ITUC and to provide further information on the manner in which weekly rest is
ensured in law and practice.
In addition, in its previous comment, the Committee had noted that the ITUC referred to new draft national legislation on working hours which had been prepared by
the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in May 2012, and, in particular,
to draft section 10 providing for one 24-hour rest day in every period of two weeks inthe case of consolidated working hours schemes. The Committee would appreciatereceiving up-to-date information on the status of the above-referenced draft legislation and requests the Government to continue to provide information in this regard.
Articles 4 and 6. List of exceptions. With reference to its previous comment on
the weekly rest arrangements applicable in specific industries (including railway, petroleum and chemistry, power generation, press and publishing, civil aviation, metallurgy,banks, tobacco and shipbuilding) and the conditions set out in the Convention thatany exceptions to the general standard must comply with (i.e. due regard for all proper
humanitarian and economic considerations and prior consultations with the employers’ and workers’ representative organizations concerned), the Committee notes theGovernment’s indications that the labour administration authorities adopted strict
review and examination procedures for the approval of special working hours, which

A Facilitator’s Training Manual81include the consultation in writing of trade unions of enterprises. It recalls, however,that the ITUC alleged that exemptions were often granted by the Ministry of Human
Resources and Social Security with the mere “paper consent” of the enterprise tradeunion without prior proper consultations with workers. The Committee once again
requests the Government to provide more information on the weekly rest arrangements applicable in these specific industries. In particular, it requests the Government
to indicate how these provisions of the Convention are ensured in law and practice.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3183312:NO.)

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Annex H
7. Minimum Age (China)
Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)
Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - China (Ratification: 1999)
The Committee notes that the country is participating in an ILO technical assistance programme, the Special Programme Account (SPA) project, carried out jointly
between the ILO and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MoHRSS).
It also notes that, in the framework of the SPA, a tripartite inter-ministerial workshop
was conducted in September 2012 in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, with the aim ofdrawing attention to the implementation gaps identified by the Committee with regard to the child labour Conventions, as well as two follow-up missions in Beijing in
September 2013, and in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in September 2014, to assess
the progress achieved; provide a forum to exchange information on the problems
encountered in addressing child labour in the country; and identify priorities for futureassistance.
Article 3(1) of the Convention. Hazardous work performed through work-study
programmes. The Committee previously expressed its concern at the continued engagement of school children under 18 years of age in hazardous types of work within
the context of work-study programmes.
The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, as
well as the information it supplied under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention,
1999 (No. 182), with respect to its work-study programmes. In this connection, theCommittee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Education has repeatedly issued circulars and increased its inspection efforts with a view to ensuring
healthy development in these programmes. The Government further indicates thatthe work-study programmes must be incorporated into, and must abide by, normal
teaching programmes and may not, for example, modify hours of work without priorpermission. In addition, it indicates that schools that organize work-study programmes
must ensure the safety of students by prohibiting participation in toxic, hazardous or
dangerous types of activities or labour which exceeds their physical capacity. The
Government states, in this respect, that safety education must be provided to students to prevent accidents, and that the local governments are required to analyse
the manner in which work-study programmes are carried out on a local basis.
The Committee takes note of the Government’s efforts to ensure a healthy environment for its work-study programmes. It also recalls that the missions undertaken
within the context of the SPA, discussed above, addressed ways in which the legal
framework could be strengthened with respect to protecting young persons engaged
in work-study programmes. The Committee notes, however, the 2014 report on thelabour protection of interns in Chinese textile and apparel enterprises, carried out with
ILO assistance, according to which 52.1 per cent of interns continue to work in conditions that do not meet national minimum standards for labour protection, and 14.8
per cent of interns are engaged in involuntary and coercive work (page ix). It further
notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations on the combined third and fourth reports (CRC/C/CHN/CO/3-4, paragraphs

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85?86), urged the Government, as a matter of priority, to end the use of work-study
schools and the use of forced and exploitative child labour under those programmes.
While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes withconcern that a significant number of school children continue to engage in hazardous work within the context of work-study programmes. The Committee accordingly
urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that persons under 18 yearsof age are not engaged in hazardous work through work-study programmes, even
where safety and security measures are in place. Furthermore, noting the absenceof information on this point, the Committee once again requests the Government tosubmit statistical information concerning the number and nature of infringements of
the applicable legislation and penalties applied.
Article 9(1). Labour inspectorate and penalties. In its previous comment, theCommittee noted that it was difficult to assess the extent of child labour owing toa lack of official reporting on cases and the lack of transparency in statistics. It also
noted that the chances of discovering child labour were slim given the shortage oflabour inspectors in the country and the extensive collusion between private businesses and local officials.
The Committee notes the Government’s information concerning its labour inspection system which, by the end of 2013, consisted of 3,291 labour security inspection departments, 25,000 full-time labour security inspectors and 28,000 part-timeinspectors. The Committee further notes the information provided by the Government
under Convention No. 182, which indicates that it has employed labour security advisors from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), trade unions and otherinstitutions, to monitor the compliance of employers with national labour laws andregulations. The Government further reports that the departments of human resources
and social security implement the provisions of national legislation prohibiting childlabour and regularly monitor implementation through routine and ad hoc inspections,investigation of complaints and verification of cases reported by informants, written
requests and other forms of supervision and law enforcement.
While noting this information, the Committee notes with deep concern that, todate, not a single case of child labour has been found, despite the Government’s indication that its labour inspectors conduct routine visits and inspections. The Committee
also notes with regret the absence of any information concerning measures taken
or envisaged to address the allegations of extensive collusion between private businesses and local officials. The Committee notes, in this respect, that the CRC, in its
concluding observations on the combined third and fourth reports (CRC/C/CHN/
CO/3-4, paragraph 85) in 2013, noted the absence of specific data on child labourin the country, despite reports which indicate that child labour is widespread. In theabsence of any indications of child labour in the country, the Committee once again
urges the Government to take the necessary measures to address the issue of collusion between labour inspectors and enterprises to ensure thorough investigations into
possible cases of child labour. In this regard, it requests the Government to indicate
the methodology used to collect information and to provide information on the typesof violations detected by the labour inspectorate, the number of persons prosecutedand the penalties imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to pursue
its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate. Lastly, the Committee

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Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asiaurges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient upto-date data on the situation of working children in China is made available, including,for example, data on the number of children and young persons below the minimum
age who are engaged in economic activities, and statistics relating to the nature,
scope and trends of their work.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to theGovernment.
(Source: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3187553:NO.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual85Annex I
Community Unions“Community unions” means a labor union in the local community, and any workers
including part-time workers, temporary agency workers and foreign workers can join it
as a single individual. The first community union was Edogawa Union, which was organized in 1984 under the slogan of “Fureai, Yuai and Tasukeai (Contact, Compassion
and Cooperation).” After that, community unions were organized nationwide. Eachcommunity union is basically an independent labor union and the activities vary fromone union to another. The resolution of labor disputes is listed among their commonly
performed activities.
Community unions play significant role in preventing and resolving labor disputes.
They listen sympathetically to the workers who have nowhere to go to resolve theirproblems, and provide advice. They help the workers regain their dignity and get
empowered to move on their next job as in the case of temporary agency workers.
During collective bargaining, community unions raise the problems of the companies
regarding personnel management, labor management or communication that led todisputes. Finally, they resolve disputes that cannot be resolved with the company.
They often deal with labor disputes that cannot be resolved by administrative bodies.
They essentially function as administrative or judicial body in terms of dispute resolution and play a different role from company unions.
(Based on Hak-Soo Oh, Occurrence Mechanism and Resolution Process of Labor Disputes: Cass of Community Unions (Kyushu Area),
The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, pages 84, 100-101.)

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Materials
Labor Issues and Observations of the Committee of Experts on the Application ofConventions and Recommendations (CEACR)• Reports per country in the “Supervision by country,” www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/
en/f?p=1000:11000:0::NO:::
Papers on problems regarding enforcement of Conventions covered by the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work• Alfred Wisskirchen, The standard-setting and monitoring activity of the ILO: Legal
questions and practical experience (2005). Available at www.ilo.org/public/english/
dialogue/actemp/downloads/projects/standard_setting_2005_en.pdf• General Survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work in lightof the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, International
Labour Conference, 101st Session, 2012. Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/
public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_174846.pdf
Case study on initiatives of the labor sector to implement the ILO Conventions• Hak-Soo Oh, Occurrence Mechanism and Resolution Process of Labor Disputes: Cassof Community Unions (Kyushu Area), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy andTraining Available at www.jil.go.jp/english/reports/documents/jilpt-research/no.111.
pdf.
ILO materials:
1. The Labour Principles of the United Nations Global Compact: A Guide for Business(Geneva: ILO, 2008). Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/--emp_ent/---multi/documents/instructionalmaterial/wcms_101246.pdf
2. Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social
Policy (as amended in 2006). Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/---multi/documents/publication/wcms_094386.pdf
3. An introduction to the Multinational Enterprises Declaration - a self-guided e-learning module available at https://ecampus.itcilo.org/course/view.php?id=21
4. Child labor – Eliminating Child Labour : Guide for Employers Available at www.ilo.
org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/projects/child_guide1_en.pdf
5. Forced labor – Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery www.ilo.org/global/
topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm
6. IOE-ILO guidance note on the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
Available at www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/publications/WCMS_321410/
lang--en/index.htm.

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Using International Corporate Standards
and Frameworks
This module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Determine the human rights coverage of international corporate standards/
frameworks;• Determine how the international corporate standards/frameworks are applied incompany operations to address human rights issues;• Analyze the international corporate standards regarding involvement of stakeholders;• Discuss how the international corporate standards address human rights issues withthe participation of the stakeholders; and• Identify ways by which stakeholders can influence companies in preparing reports
and other actions to comply with the international corporate standards or framework.
Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the international corporate standards/frameworks.

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Using International Corporate Standards and Frameworks
I. Procedurea. Opener - 30 minutes
Show the video entitled “UNGP Reporting Framework: Salient Human Rights Issues”(https://vimeo.com/154834462) and raise the question on how companies should start theirwork on addressing human rights issues.
Ask the participants, in plenary, to answer the question. Stress that an important startof the work of companies to address human rights issues is in putting their commitment todo so in writing and making that document available to the public.
b. Activity – 1 hour
Introduce the corporate declarations, codes of conduct and reports that have been issued
by different companies in Northeast Asia/country.
Ask the participants to discuss in small groups sample corporate declarations, codes ofconduct and reports to determine the human rights content of the documents.*
Ask the participants to present the results of the group discussion in a panel discussion
format.
Make a table of answers of the groups regarding company operations and the humanrights components. The table may include the following items:
Corporate document
PolicyRightsHuman rights in general

Code of Conduct

Right to remedy

Annual report

Labor rights and some humanrightsComment
Needs more clear statement on
specific human rights
Easy procedure for lodging
complaint
Discussion on cases of rights
abuse neededc. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input on international frameworks on business and human rights (aside fromthe UN framework) that focus on institutionalization of company commitment to addresshuman rights issues and report on practical steps taken. These international frameworks
can include the following:**
1. International Guidance Standard on Organisational Social Responsibility (ISO
26000);
2. Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
3. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI);* Here are some examples:a. Human Rights Initiatives at Workplaces - Ajinomotowww.ajinomoto.com/en/activity/csr/pdf/2015/063e.pdf
b. Respecting Human Rights and Building a Great Place to Work – Chubu Electric Powerwww.chuden.co.jp/english/resource/corporate/ecsr_report_2015_26.pdf
c. Human Right and Labor Practices (Condition of work and Human development) - Taisei Corporation
www.taisei.co.jp/english/csr/hr/everyone.html.
** The Introduction in Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia, pages 8-15, provides
highlights of these international frameworks.

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4. Equator Principles (EPs);
5. 2012 Sustainability Framework of the International Financial Corporation (IFC); and6. The Caux Round Table (CRT) Principles for Responsible Business.
See Annex A for brief description of these international standards and frameworks.
Emphasize to the participants that these international frameworks require the companies
to state in their corporate reports actual steps taken to respect and protect human rights.
This is the reporting commitment of the companies.***Provide an input on human rights content on corporate reports and identify the areasof company operations where human rights have been applied.****
d. Activity - 1 hour
Tell the participants to brainstorm in small groups the practical measures that different
stakeholders can employ to influence company reports on different human rights issues
regarding:–– company operations (internal); and–– company relations with the community.
Remind the participants to discuss also how small and medium-size companies might
be able adopt measures to address their human rights issues.
Tell the participants to classify and justify which measures raised in the brainstorming
session are feasible, hardly feasible, and not feasible.
Ask the participants to present their group reports in a TV talk show style. They will
decide on who will be the TV host, and guests [“experts”] who will explain why the corporate
measures are feasible, hardly feasible, and not feasible.
Ask the other participants to raise comments and questions as members of the “liveaudience” in the “TV show.”II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:• Human rights content of the international corporate standards or frameworks;• Practical measures under the international corporate standards or frameworks suchas stakeholder mechanisms and actions by stakeholders that can influence corporate
behavior.

*** A video on reporting framework can be used for this part of the input, see “UN Guiding Principles Reporting
Framework Launch, February 2015,” https://vimeo.com/124811300?from=outro-local.
**** The report of HURIGHTS OSAKA in Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia,
pages 147-157 and its Appendix B, pages 200-202, provide examples of surveys on human rights content of corporate
reports.

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Annex A
International Guidance Standard on Organisational Social Responsibility (ISO 26000)
ISO 26000 provides guidance on how businesses and organizations can operate ina socially responsible way. This means acting in an ethical and transparent way that
contributes to the health and welfare of society.
ISO 26000:2010 provides guidance rather than requirements, so it cannot becertified to unlike some other well-known ISO standards. Instead, it helps clarify whatsocial responsibility is, helps businesses and organizations translate principles into
effective actions and shares best practices relating to social responsibility, globally. It
is aimed at all types of organizations regardless of their activity, size or location.
This International Standard is intended to assist organizations in contributing tosustainable development. It is intended to encourage them to go beyond legal compliance, recognizing that compliance with law is a fundamental duty of any organization
and an essential part of their social responsibility. It is intended to promote common
understanding in the field of social responsibility, and to complement other instruments
and initiatives for social responsibility, not to replace them.
In applying this International Standard, it is advisable that an organization take
into consideration societal, environmental, legal, cultural, political and organizational
diversity, as well as differences in economic conditions, while being consistent withinternational norms of behaviour.
This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regulatory or contractual use. Any
offer to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose and a misuse of this International Standard. As thisInternational Standard does not contain requirements, any such certification would
not be a demonstration of conformity with this International Standard.
The standard was launched in 2010 following five years of negotiations between
many different stakeholders across the world. Representatives from government,
NGOs, industry, consumer groups and labour organizations around the world wereinvolved in its development, which means it represents an international consensus.
(Source: Text drawn from ISO 26000 – Social Responsibility, www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso26000.htm; and www.iso.org/obp/
ui/#iso:std:iso:26000:ed-1:v1:en)

Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD)The Guidelines are the first international instrument to integrate the corporate
responsibility to respect human rights as set out in the UN’s Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights. The Guidelines are also the first international corporate
responsibility instrument to incorporate risk-based due diligence into major areas ofbusiness ethics. The nature and extent of due diligence depend on the circumstancesof a particular situation, an important point considering the complexity of international
business.
The Guidelines are the only existing multilaterally agreed corporate responsibility
instrument that adhering governments have committed to promoting in a global context. They express the shared views and values of countries, including major emerging
economies, that are the sources and the recipients of a large majority of the world’s

A Facilitator’s Training Manual91investment flows and are also home to a majority of MNEs. The Guidelines cover all
major areas of business ethics. Their recommendations are set out in 11 chapters andcover topics such as information disclosure, human rights, employment and labour,
environment, anti-corruption, and consumer interests. The Guidelines also encompass
three areas - science and technology, competition, and taxation - not as fully coveredby any other international corporate responsibility instrument.
Unique implementation mechanism
The active way in which the Guidelines are implemented distinguishes them fromother international corporate responsibility instruments.
National Contact Points
Adhering countries are obliged to set up National Contact Points (NCPs) that are
tasked with furthering the effectiveness of the Guidelines by undertaking promotional
activities, handling inquiries, and providing a mediation and conciliation platform forresolving issues that arise from the alleged non-observance of the Guidelines. This
makes the Guidelines the only international corporate responsibility instrument witha built-in grievance mechanism.
Proactive Agenda
The effective implementation of the Guidelines is supported by the proactive agenda. The proactive agenda aims to promote the effective observance of the Guidelines
by helping enterprises identify and respond to risks of adverse impacts associatedwith particular products, regions, sectors, or industries. Central to its potential to effectchange on a broad scale is its employment of the multi-stakeholder process which
gives relevant stakeholders the opportunity to participate side-by-side with enterprises
in developing strategies to avoid and address risks of adverse impacts.
(Source: OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises Responsible Business Conduct Matters, pages 2-3, http://mneguidelines.
oecd.org/MNEguidelines_RBCmatters.pdf)

Equator Principles (EPs)
The Equator Principles (EPs) is a risk management framework, adopted by financial
institutions, for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social riskin projects and is primarily intended to provide a minimum standard for due diligenceto support responsible risk decision-making.
The EPs apply globally, to all industry sectors and to four financial products 1)
Project Finance Advisory Services 2) Project Finance 3) Project-Related Corporate
Loans and 4) Bridge Loans. The relevant thresholds and criteria for application is
described in detail in the Scope section of the EPs.
Currently 82 Equator Principles Financial Institutions (EPFIs) in 36 countries haveofficially adopted the EPs, covering over 70 percent of international Project Financedebt in emerging markets.
EPFIs commit to implementing the EP in their internal environmental and social
policies, procedures and standards for financing projects and will not provide Project
Finance or Project-Related Corporate Loans to projects where the client will not, oris unable to, comply with the EPs.

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While the EPs are not intended to be applied retroactively, EPFIs apply them tothe expansion or upgrade of an existing project where changes in scale or scope may
create significant environmental and social risks and impacts, or significantly change
the nature or degree of an existing impact.
The EPs have greatly increased the attention and focus on social/community
standards and responsibility, including robust standards for indigenous peoples, labour standards, and consultation with locally affected communities within the Project
Finance market. They have also promoted convergence around common environmental and social standards. Multilateral development banks, including the European
Bank for Reconstruction & Development , and export credit agencies through theOECD Common Approaches are increasingly drawing on the same standards as theEPs.
(Source: Equator Principles, www.equator-principles.com/index.php/about-ep)

G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
G4, the fourth generation of the Guidelines, was launched in May 2013. The
launch marked the culmination of two years of extensive stakeholder consultationand dialogue with hundreds of experts from across the world from a wide variety of
sectors, including companies, civil society, labor organizations, academia, and finance.
The aim of G4 is simple: to help reporters prepare sustainability reports that matterand to make robust and purposeful sustainability reporting standard practice. G4 isdesigned to be universally applicable to all organizations of all types and sectors, large
and small, across the world.
G4 includes references to other widely recognized frameworks, and is designed
as a consolidated framework for reporting performance against different codes andnorms for sustainability. This includes harmonization with other important global frameworks, including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global
Compact Principles, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The guidance in G4 is designed to be compatible with a range of different reporting
formats. In addition to enhancing the relevance and quality of standalone sustainability
reports, G4 also offers a widely recognized global standard for sustainability information to be included in integrated reports.
(Source: An Introduction to G4 - The next generation of sustainability reporting, www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Anintroduction-to-G4.pdf)

2012 Sustainability Framework of the International Financial Corporation (IFC)The Sustainability Framework articulates IFC’s strategic commitment to sustainable
development and is an integral part of our approach to risk management.
Our Sustainability Framework helps our clients do business in a sustainable way.
It promotes sound environmental and social practices, encourages transparency andaccountability, and contributes to positive development impacts. IFC’s PerformanceStandards, which are part of the Sustainability Framework, have become globally
recognized as a benchmark for environmental and social risk management in theprivate sector.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual93Originally adopted in 2006, the Sustainability Framework has recently been updated following an 18-month consultation process with stakeholders around the world.
Effective on January 1, 2012, our updates reflect the evolution in good practice forsustainability and risk mitigation over the past five years. They incorporate modifications on challenging issues that are increasingly important to sustainable businesses,
including supply-chain management, resource efficiency and climate change, andbusiness and human rights.
The Sustainability Framework Consists of• The Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, which defines IFC’s
commitments to environmental and social sustainability.
• The Performance Standards, which define clients’ responsibilities for managing
their environmental and social risks.
• The Access to Information Policy, which articulates IFC’s commitment totransparency.
• Environmental and Social Categorization.
(Source: International Finance Corporation, www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Topics_Ext_Content/IFC_External_Corporate_site/
Sustainability+and+Disclosure/Environmental-Social-Governance/Sustainability+Framework)

The Caux Round Table (CRT)The Caux Round Table (CRT) is an international network of business leaders working to promote a morally and sustainable way of doing business. The CRT believes
that its Principles for Responsible Business provide necessary foundations for a fair,
free and transparent global society.
The Caux Round Table was founded in1986 by Frits Philips Sr, former President ofPhilips Electronics, and Olivier Giscard d’Estaing, former Vice-Chairman of INSEAD, asa means of reducing escalating international trade tensions between Europe, Japanand the USA.
At the urging of Ryuzaburo Kaku, then Chairman of Canon, Inc, the CRT began tofocus attention on the importance of global corporate responsibility in reducing socialand economic threats to world peace and stability. This led to the development of
the 1994 Caux Round Table Principles for Business around three ethical foundations,
namely: responsible stewardship; the Japanese concept of Kyosei - living and working
for mutual advantage; and respecting and protecting human dignity.
The 2009 CRT Principles for Responsible Business comprise seven principles andmore detailed Stakeholder Management Guidelines covering each of the key stakeholder dimensions of ethical business practices: customers, employees, shareholders,
suppliers, competitors, and communities.
The CRT Principles have been published in twelve languages, utilized in businessschool curricula worldwide, and are widely recognized as the most comprehensive
statement of responsible business practice formulated by business leaders for business leaders.](Source: Caux Round Table, www.cauxroundtable.org/index.cfm?menuid=8)94

Business, Human Rights and Northeast Asia

Materials
International frameworks and standards:•

International Guidance Standard on Organisational Social Responsibility (ISO
26000); ISO 26000 – Social Responsibility, www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/
iso26000.htm; and www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:26000:ed-1:v1:en;•

Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/text/;•

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI); https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/g4/
Pages/Introduction-to-G4-brochure.aspx;•

Equator Principles (EPs); http://www.equator-principles.com/index.php/about-ep;•

2012 Sustainability Framework of the International Financial Corporation (IFC);
http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Topics_Ext_Content/IFC_External_
Corporate_site/Sustainability+and+Disclosure/Environmental-Social-Governance/
Sustainability+Framework and•

The Caux Round Table (CRT) Principles for Responsible Business - http://www.
cauxroundtable.org/index.cfm?menuid=8.

Introduction in Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia
(Osaka/Kuala Lumpur: HURIGHTS OSAKA and SIRD, 2014)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual95Principles of Human Rights-based
Approach to Access to JusticeThis module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Discuss the principles of human rights-based approach to access to justice; and• Apply the concept of human rights-based approach to access to justice to humanrights issues related to company operations.
Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the human rights-based approach to access to justice.

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Principles of Human Rights-based Approachto Access to JusticeI. Procedurea. Opener - 30 minutes
Show a video about a situation involving access to justice. Ask the participants to comment or raise questions on the video.
Inform the participants that their comments and questions will be discussed in the otheractivities in the module.
b. Activity – 1 hour*
Ask the participants to do the photograph sequencing game. Provide the participants
with several photos depicting issues, actions being taken by people, and related events. The
photographs should be able to portray a story of people seeking a remedy on their complaints
regarding company operations.
Tell them to make a story out of the set of photographs subject to the following rules:
1. Each participant is given one photograph that she/he will not show to anyone;
2. Without seeing all the photographs, the participants discuss and agree on a story
based on each one’s idea on each photograph;
3. They put all the photographs face down on the floor/table in a sequence to tell theagreed story. A participant who thinks her/his photograph begins the story puts
her/his photograph face down on the floor/table first, others do the same until one
participant who considers her/his photograph to be ending the story puts it down as
the last one in the sequence. The photographs must not be seen by the participantsat this point.
4. Ask the participants to turn over all photographs and tell the story that comes out
from the sequence of photographs.
There can be two groups of participants with two different sets of photographs.
Draw out from the sequence of photographs ideas or principles on how the issues areresolved or could have been resolved. These ideas or principles can include the following:
1. Participation of affected community in problem solving;
2. Empowerment of people, especially as members of groups or communities, on how
to resolve their problems;
3. Fair and effective mechanism for resolving problems;
4. Accountability of the company that cause problems; and5. Appropriate remedy for the problems.
c. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input on the following:
1. Bases for determining subscription of corporate grievance mechanisms to humanrights-based approach:* This activity is based on “Exercise 4 – Zoom into Human Rights Approach to Realizing EA2J” discussed on pages 4054 of the Asian Consortium for Human Rights-based Access to Justice, A Manual on Human Rights-Based Approach to
Realizing Equal Access to Justice (Quezon city, 2011).

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i. Use of human rights framework;
ii. Consideration of different degrees of vulnerability with regard to a particular problem, and groups who may be more seriously impacted by the company
operations;iii. Identification of the relevant stakeholders as either claim/rights holders andduty bearers;**
iv. Assessment of the capacity of both the claim/rights holders and the duty
bearers to address the problem and capacity development strategies for both sides;
v. Existence of participatory processes where those who are impacted on as aresult of the problem are freely and meaningfully involved.
(Note: this list is based on Programming for Justice: Access for All – A Practitioners’ Guide to a Human Rights
Based Approach to Access to Justice, United Nations Development Programme, 2005)

2. Access to remedy with stress on, among other matters, the following:i. Definition of remedy, grievance mechanism, procedures of the grievancemechanism; link to other responsibilities of the companies such as human rights due
diligence;***ii. Relation of corporate grievance mechanism with the larger, national justicesystems (formal and non-formal, judicial and non-judicial/legislative/administrative
systems); effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms;
iii. Supporting measures for effective use of grievance mechanism or the early
resolution of issues such as education programs (for workers, community members
and other stakeholders), pro-active monitoring of the situation for early detection ofissues (such as dialogues), multi-stakeholder initiative.
d. Activity
Group Work - 1 hour
Divide the participants into three groups and give each group a case to work on. The
cases should not be too detailed to allow the participants to add situations and arguments/
ideas to the stories. Annexes A, B and C can be used as cases for the group discussion.
Ask the participants to determine how the elements of the human rights-based approachto access to justice can be applied to the cases in terms of grievance mechanism. They haveto develop a story on the development or improvement of a grievance mechanism and theapplication of the human rights-based approach.
Tell the groups to act out the story they developed as a play and assign participants todifferent roles such as the following:
1. Workers, or members of the local community where a company operates;
2. Company officials;
3. Members of the local NGO/trade union that assist the workers or the members of
the local community; and4. National or local government officials.
After the role play, ask the participants to answer the following questions:
1. What kind of grievance mechanism was developed/improved?
2. Was the issue involved resolved?
** See “Business and Human Rights: Concepts and Terms” section for definition of “rights holders” and “duty bearers.”*** See “Business and Human Rights: Concepts and Terms” section for definition of the terms.

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i. If yes, was it resolved in accordance with human rights norms?
ii. If no, what was missing in the story or what went wrong in the story?
3. What aspects of the human rights-based approach to access to justice have beenfound to be either
i. Helpful in resolving business-related “human rights impacts;” orii. Problematic in applying to concrete cases?
Write on the board/big size paper the key points raised in the answers, comments andalso questions of the participants.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:
1. The general principles governing human rights-based approach to access to justice;
2. The key issues raised on the approach that should be considered in using it on actual
cases involving companies.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual99Annex A
A big shipping and construction company established business in a freeport zone in a country in Southeast Asia to build a wide variety of bulk carriers at
the site. While the presence of the company in the freeport zone brought thousandsof jobs to the area, occasional accidents, workplace deaths and alleged labor law
violations have called into question the company’s compliance with the local laborand occupational safety laws. The workers of this shipbuilding company have been
trying to form a labor union for several years but have failed to have a labor union sofar. Their leaders, however, were either fired or transferred by the company as soon
as they undertook the initial labor union activities. The company explained that they
were fired because of involvement in robbery or theft or negligence of duty. However,
the workers claimed that they were fired or transferred by the company to suppress
the formation of a labor union.
Under the local labor law, “probationary employment” shall not exceed six months
from the date the employee started working. This means that workers who continue
working in a company beyond the six-month period are qualified for permanent employment unless there are grounds for non-qualification. According to the workers,
the company used tricks, such as registering the employees as workers of subcontractors, or dismissing and re-hiring them to prevent them from becoming regular
employees. Such tricks upset the employees’ efforts to form a labor union.
The frequency of industrial accidents forced the workers to continuously request
the company to establish a hospital for them. But the company ignored the requests
supposedly due to lack of personnel. The workers filed formal complaints against
the company with the freeport zone management authority; while the issue got theattention of the national legislature. Both the freeport zone management authority
and the national legislature investigated the complaints. Both found the company
violating industrial safety and labor laws. At the conclusion of the legislative committee investigation, the legislators required the company to build a medical center andcomply with industrial safety laws. Nevertheless, the company claimed that it had thecapability to send injured workers immediately to a hospital using speedboats.
(This case is based on Korean Transnational Corporations Watch, “Korean Companies and Human Rights: Doing Business in thePhilippines, Myanmar and Uzbekistan,” in Jefferson R. Plantilla, editor, Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities inNortheast Asia (Kuala Lumpur/Osaka: HURIGHTS OSAKA and SIRD, 2014)

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Annex B
A company consortium acquired the development rights to offshore gas fields
in a country in Southeast Asia. The company consortium agreed to sell natural gas
from the gas field to another company through a memorandum of understanding.
Human rights issues have been raised by the residents in the affected areas and by
the international community regarding the construction of the gas pipeline from thegas field to a province in the neighboring country. Non-governmental organizations
have constantly demanded information on the status of the gas development as wellas on the protection of human rights.
Local residents have been raising their concerns about the adverse impacts ofthe project from the time it started. Residents held a demonstration to express theircomplaint about insufficient land compensation. Ten residents who led the demonstration were arrested, charged before a court for violating the peace assembly law andsentenced to three months in prison. A human rights organization raised this issue inthe UN Human Rights Council sessions and asserted that the government and thecompanies participating in this project should take responsibility for the imprisonmentof people who were merely demanding respect for their right to live. The company
consortium promised to review the issues and to prepare measures to address them.
Residents near the onshore gas terminal complain of considerable damage inflicted on them by the project. The residents have consistently insisted that the damage
to their farmlands caused by the wire fences and the sewage pipeline of the onshore
gas terminal has not been properly compensated. Accumulated soil and sand madeit hard to farm the land and to reach it during rainy season. The residents demandthat the companies involved should conduct a field investigation and then either
compensate them properly for the damage caused or purchase the useless land.
Due to inadequate explanation, the residents know neither the system for determining
the amount of compensation nor how it would be paid. They also do not know whoamong the two companies is in-charge of providing the compensation.
(This case is based on Korean Transnational Corporations Watch, “Korean Companies and Human Rights: Doing Business in thePhilippines, Myanmar and Uzbekistan,” in Jefferson R. Plantilla, editor, Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities inNortheast Asia (Kuala Lumpur/Osaka: HURIGHTS OSAKA and SIRD, 2014)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual101Annex C
Allegations of workers in a supplier company being forced to work very longhours, living in cramped and insufﬁcient accommodation, being forced to pay for accommodation and food, and being prevented from leaving the facility appeared in theinternational press. In addition, there were allegations of child labor in the manufactureof some products, and use of disciplinary actions which involved workers being madeto stand still for long periods.
The main company took steps to investigate the allegations through extensive factory visits and worker interviews. It published a report on its website within six weeksof the initial media coverage. In the report, the main company stated that an audit
team sent to the factory was made up of staff from its human resources, operations
and legal departments, and that the evidence gathered was cross-checked against
many sources of information from employees, management and staff records. It also
pointed out that, in auditing for forced labor, security records were checked to look for
false identiﬁcation papers. The report summarized the ﬁndings related to the working
and living environment, compensation, overtime, and worker treatment.
Although the main company report stated that there was no evidence of forcedlabor or child labor, it made public the observation that the company’s own weekly limit
on hours worked, as stated in the company’s code of conduct, was being exceeded.
The main company stated that, as a result of its ﬁndings, the supplier company waschanging its policy to ensure compliance with the weekly overtime limits. In addition,
the main company noted that improvements to the sleeping facilities were required
but that the supplier company was in the process of acquiring more land to build
further facilities. The supplier company was quoted as having opened the factory to
its customer and provided access for the audits to take place. The supplier company
is a signiﬁcant company in the industry and has grown rapidly in recent years.
(Source: Text based on Combating Forced Labour - A Handbook for Employers & Business, 7 Case Studies, International Labour
Organization (Geneva, 2015), pages 5-7.)

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Materials•

Photos of people and events related to human rights issues•

United Nations, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing theUnited Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. HR/PUB/11/04, 2011.

•

United Nations Development Programme, Programming for Justice: Access for All – A
Practitioners’ Guide to a Human Rights Based Approach to Access to Justice, United
Nations Development Programme (Bangkok, 2005). Available at www.unrol.org/
files/Justice_Guides_ProgrammingForJustice-AccessForAll.pdf.

•

Asian Consortium for Human Rights-based Access to Justice, A Manual on Human
Rights-Based Approach to Realizing Equal Access to Justice (Quezon city, 2011).

A Facilitator’s Training Manual103Corporate Mechanisms
and Access to JusticeThis module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Discuss the grievance mechanisms created by companies to address human rights
issues; and• Analyze the operations of mechanisms established by companies in cooperation withthe communities to resolve business-related human rights impacts.
Time: 4 hours and 45 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Documents on examples of corporate grievance mechanisms.

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Corporate Mechanisms and Access to JusticeI. Procedurea. Opener - 45 minutes
Ask the participants to do the “Issues, Rights and Solutions” game. Ask them to form
three lines. Give each line an assigned topic, namely,
1. First line - issues in the company,
2. Second line - human rights involved in those issues, and3. Third line - ways to solve the issues.
The first person in the first line will say an issue, the first person in the second line will
respond by saying the corresponding human rights involved in the issue raised, and the first
person in the third line will respond with measure to solve the issue. This is repeated until
the last persons in the lines have spoken. The answers must be short, as much as possible
one-word answers.
List the answers of the three groups on the board as in the sample list below:
Issue
Low pay
Harassment
Loss of land

Human/labor rights
Adequate pay
Security
Livelihood

Solution
StrikeFile complaint
Negotiate

Using the answers in the game that were listed on the board, examine in the plenary ifthey were appropriate answers. Try to correct what can be considered inappropriate answers.
b. Activity A – Group Discussion - 1 hour
Display three big size papers on the wall with short description of three communitycompany mechanisms, such as the following:
1. Pro-active consultation/survey
C Company is a successful flat-glass company in China with six production facilities across provinces. It has a Grievance and Communications Management Processthat conducts stakeholders’ satisfaction surveys on an annual basis with the goal to
improve quality, environment, and occupational safety and health management systems and demonstrate to the community that it takes feedback seriously. To receive
grievances, it keeps open phone, website, and e-mail channels that are publicizedon a large outdoor advertisement board on the company building. It believes that agrievance mechanism helps organize environmental management more proactively
and keep up as people’s general awareness on environmental issues rises. It also
believes that seeking stakeholders’ input and feedback, as opposed to fixing issues
under pressure, ensures smooth operations and helps build a good public image.
2. Third party/Mediator
Third parties such as non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, local governments, local community and religious organizations and councils– can sometimes be involved in companies’ grievance mechanisms. They can serve
A Facilitator’s Training Manual105as process organizers, places to bring a complaint to be passed on to the company, or
as facilitators, witnesses, advisors, or mediators. In some cases, it may be beneficial
to place part of the responsibility for the process on external entities - formed within
the communities themselves or acceptable to them – while the company maintains
ultimate responsibility and accountability for the process. Third parties can help
increase the level of trust from communities as well as overcome certain limitationsof project level mechanisms, such as lack of transparency, insufficient company resources, possible conflict of interest, and biases, provided that they themselves areperceived to be not biased and impartial to both the company and the communities.
3.

Multistakeholder Advisory Group
The Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MSAG) is a multi-stakeholder body thatmonitors the effectiveness of the resettlement and income restoration program activities for the people and communities affected by the resettlement program of a
special economic zone (SEZ) project. In addition, MSAG discusses countermeasures
for issues identified in the process of the resettlement and income restoration program activities, and advises to Income Restoration Program Implementation SubCommittee (IRPISC). Some of the MSAG’s objectives are:
• To identify and assess potential issues, concerns and complaints from Project
Affected Persons (PAPs) with the implementation of the resettlement program and recommend corrective measures or other actions required to resolve such issues, concerns or complaints;• To bring to the attention of the relevant implementing agencies and authorities any issues, concerns and complaints that PAPs and other stakeholders
have regarding the SEZ Phase 1 project.

Ask the participants to read the description of the three mechanisms and stay in front of
the mechanism they like the most. Randomly ask the participants on the reason for choosing a particular mechanism. Note which mechanism is most popular, and which reasons
are most impressive.
Ask the participants to discuss in small groups the grievance mechanisms displayed on
the wall and determine their advantages and disadvantages in terms of community participation and the mechanism’s capacity to resolve issues. One group discusses one mechanism.
Provide the participants with additional information on the grievance mechanisms using Annex A.
Instruct them to cite in their group discussion specific cases/examples of similar grievance mechanisms that exist in Northeast Asia/country.
c. Activity B – Role Play - 1 hour
Tell the participants to role play the results of the group discussion. Give a guide on how
to do the role play particularly on the following:
1. Assignment of group members to act out different roles (workers or members of theaffected community, company officials, NGO workers, local government officials,etc.);
2. Creation of a story that would present
i. human rights impacts;

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ii. use of grievance mechanism to resolve the human rights impacts;iii. role of the workers or members of the affected community in the grievancemechanism; andiv. outcome of the action(s) taken.
Ask the groups to do the role play in plenary, and seek questions or comments fromparticipants on the content of the role play.
Organize on the board the key points raised in the role play and in the comments andquestions of the participants, particularly regarding the following:
1. Features of the mechanisms that address the grievances of the affected people (workers or members of community);
2. Role of the affected people in the operation of the mechanisms;
3. Advantages and disadvantages of the mechanisms portrayed in the role play.
d. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input on characteristics, principles, and experiences in using grievancemechanisms that are relevant to companies, their workers and the people affected by theiroperations. Stress the relevance of human rights principles in these grievance mechanisms
in line with the human rights-based approach to access to justice perspective.
Before presenting the principles of grievance mechanisms, show a video on an experience on grievance mechanism.
Possible videos to show:
1. “Making Monkey Business:” Building Company/Community Dialogue in the Philippines(Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, available athttps://vimeo.com/25199195)
2. Corporate-Community Dialogue: An Introduction(Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, available athttps://vimeo.com/43661831)
The principles of grievance mechanism may cover the following elements:
Principle 1: Proportionality: A mechanism scaled to risk and adverse impact on affected communities;
Principle 2: Cultural Appropriateness: Designed to take into account culturally appropriate ways of handling community concerns;
Principle 3: Accessibility: A clear and understandable mechanism that is accessible
to all segments of the affected communities at no cost;
Principle 4: Transparency and Accountability to All Stakeholders;
Principle 5: Appropriate Protection: A mechanism that prevents retribution and does
not impede access to other remedies.
(Source: Addressing Grievances from Project-Affected Communities - Guidance for Projects and Companies
on Designing Grievance Mechanisms [Washington: International Finance Corporation, September 2009], pages 7-15.)

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From the UN Guiding Principles, the following can also be discussed:
In order to ensure their effectiveness, non-judicial grievance mechanisms, both Statebased and non-State-based, should be:(a) Legitimate: enabling trust from the stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and being accountable for the fair conduct of grievance processes;(b) Accessible: being known to all stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended,and providing adequate assistance for those who may face particular barriers to access;(c) Predictable: providing a clear and known procedure with an indicative time frame
for each stage, and clarity on the types of process and outcome available and means ofmonitoring implementation;(d) Equitable: seeking to ensure that aggrieved parties have reasonable access to sourcesof information, advice and expertise necessary to engage in a grievance process on fair,
informed and respectful terms;(e) Transparent: keeping parties to a grievance informed about its progress, and providing sufficient information about the mechanism’s performance to build confidence in its
effectiveness and meet any public interest at stake;(f) Rights-compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies accord with internationallyrecognized human rights;(g) A source of continuous learning: drawing on relevant measures to identify lessons
for improving the mechanism and preventing future grievances and harms.
Operational-level mechanisms should also be: (h) Based on engagement and dialogue:
consulting the stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended on their design and performance, and focusing on dialogue as the means to address and resolve grievances.
(Source: The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights – An Interpretative Guide, United Nations,2012, pages 73- 74)

For a brief explanation of operational- or project-level grievance mechanism see Annexes
B and C.
Question and Answer session follows. The resource person may answer questions and/or add explanation on the mechanisms.
e. Activity C – 45 minutes
Ask the participants to discuss in the same groups the following question: How can theprinciples of grievance mechanisms presented in the input be applied to the sample grievance mechanisms earlier discussed in the groups? Determine which of the principles arelikely incorporated in the mechanism and which principles can be still be incorporated; andgive reasons for the answers.
Instruct the participants to put their answers in the following report format:
Name of grievance mechanism: ___________________________
Incorporated principles

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Ask them to present their group reports in plenary and explain the reasons for theiranswers.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:
1. The general characteristics of the grievance mechanisms that companies should
establish;
2. The key issues on grievance mechanisms that arise in Northeast Asia in addressing
human rights impacts, especially those related to affected communities;
3. The role of the affected communities in the operation of the grievance mechanisms.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual109Annex A
Examples of community-company mechanisms
1. Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys
China Glass Holdings (CGH) is a successful flat-glass company in China with six
production facilities across provinces. During its rapid growth, the company is striving
to attain international standards and practices in the areas of energy efficiency andenvironmental management. An Environmental and Social Management system is partof CGH official policies and includes a Grievance and Communications Management
Process. As part of this process, CGH conducts stakeholders’ satisfaction surveys onan annual basis with the goal to improve quality, environment, and occupational safety
and health management systems and demonstrate to the community that CGH takes
feedback seriously. In addition to the affected communities, the Survey seeks feedback from government institutions, suppliers, and staff on the same issues. To receive
grievances, CGH keeps open phone, Web site, and email channels that are publicizedon a large outdoor advertisement board on the company building. CGH staff also
visits communities to inform them about the company’s procedures and policies aswell as to disseminate “stakeholders’ satisfaction questionnaire” forms. Through thesurvey, the company seeks feedback from communities on how effectively their issues
are being resolved. Investigation and analysis of survey results are conducted by theplanning department, and reported in the management review meetings. The surveys
also help ensure internal accountability of the units involved in handling grievances
and taking corrective actions. For example, CGH’s Production Department has an
Accident Unit that is held responsible for acting on environmental impact complaints
in conformance with the company’s Accident Investigation and Handling Process aswell as Correction & Prevention Measures and Control Process. CGH believes that agrievance mechanism helps organize environmental management more proactively
and keep up as people’s general awareness on environmental issues rises. Seeking
stakeholders’ input and feedback, as opposed to fixing issues under pressure, ensures smooth operations and helps build a good public image. For example, when acomplaint was received regarding dust fallout from the raw materials plant resulting
in lower harvest in a nearby orchard, the grievance-handling and corrective action
procedures facilitated immediate action on dust-collector maintenance and enclosureof plant windows and doors. The complainant was satisfied with the outcome.
(Source: Addressing Grievances from Project-Affected Communities - Guidance for Projects and Companies on Designing Grievance
Mechanisms [Washington: International Finance Corporation, September 2009, page 26.)

2. Third party/Mediator
The Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project in Azerbaijan is operated by the
British Petroleum (BP). In its construction phase, BTC created a complaint mechanism with the help of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and experts. The
mechanism provided for community members to raise grievances, including humanrights-based grievances. Any communities or community members along the pipeline
who claimed to have been impacted by the pipeline construction could register acomplaint. Complaints could be brought regarding the activities of the BTC consortiumor a contractor engaged by them on work related to the construction of the pipeline.
No complaints were excluded and the BTC did not make any prima facie judgments

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on their legitimacy. The only requirement was to have a name and a contact point forthe complainant so that a response could be provided.
The complaints are resolved through a dialogue process – concerned parties meetto seek a common settlement. In case the dialogue does lead to an agreed settlement,

Source: Emma Wilson and Emma Blackmore, editors, Dispute or dialogue? (London: International Institute for Environment andDevelopment, 2013), page 53.

and where the issue in dispute relates to land, compensation or other primarily nontechnical issues, the complainant(s) can take the matter to the Center for Legal andEconomic Education (CLEE), a local NGO engaged by BP to provide the function of anarbiter in such situations. CLEE would review all documents related to the complaint
and produce a finding or opinion on the appropriate outcome. Neither side would bebound a priori to accept that finding, but PB/PTC did so in practice in every case.
(Source: Caroline Rees and David Vermijs, Mapping Grievance Mechanisms in the Business and Human Rights Arena (Cambridge:
Harvard University, January 2008), pages 8-9.)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual111

3. Community-driven Grievance Mechanism and Multistakeholder AdvisoryGroup
To address the impacts of the first phase of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) Project on the affected community, a proposal has been made to develop amodel for operational-level grievance mechanisms (OGMs) that are designed primarily by the affected populations themselves to meet their needs and expectations asrights-holders seeking an adequate remedy. This approach will ensure that OGMs
provide adequate, appropriate remedies for human rights abuses, through a processthat is considered legitimate by the affected communities and complies with international human rights law. The scope of the OGM, the processes by which it functions,the people who staff it, and the outcomes of individual grievance complaints will all
be dictated by the communities themselves, based on international human rights
principles and their own traditional conceptions of fair process and just outcomes.
(Source: Earth Rights International and SOMO, Community-Driven Operational Grievance Mechanisms discussion paper for a newmodel, page 4)This model reinforces the position that remedy is not a gift bestowed on a community from a charitable company, but rather the most basic right of affected stakeholders because it secures and ensures the realization of all other substantive humanrights. (Jonathan Kaufman and Katherine McDonnel, Community-Driven Operational
Grievance Mechanisms, 2015, page 131)
To address the impacts of the first phase of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) Project in Myanmar, a community-driven operational grievance mechanism(CD-OGM) is being established by which the local community can play a leading rolein the design and implementation of the mechanism. Where grievances fall outsideof the scope of the CD-OGM or cannot be resolved through it, the Multistakeholder
Advisory Group (MSAG) may have a role to play in elevating the issues or finding
solutions. The Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MSAG) aims to strengthen stakeholder coordination and advise on the resettlement aspects of implementation of theThilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Project. It responds to continued civil society
interest and concerns about the resettlement program and the recognition of thegovernments of Myanmar and Japan that broader stakeholder engagement will assist in making progress of Income Restoration Program (IRP) and resolving some ofthe ongoing challenges that have arisen, as well as providing lessons learned for the
next phase of the SEZ.
MSAG has the following objectives:–– To create a broad dialogue between relevant key stakeholders of the Thilawa
SEZ Phase 1 project with the intention to improve policies, priorities and processes that govern the project and ensure the success of the SEZ and benefits
to affected communities;–– To identify and assess potential issues, concerns and complaints from Project
Affected Persons (PAPs) with the implementation of the resettlement program
and recommend corrective measures or other actions required to resolve such
issues, concerns or complaints;–– To bring to the attention of the relevant implementing agencies and authorities
any issues, concerns and complaints that PAPs and other stakeholders haveregarding the Thilawa Phase 1 project;112

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–– To monitor implementation of resettlement and income restoration activities toensure they fulfil the obligations set out by relevant Myanmar and international
commitments;–– To help promote and facilitate improved outcomes for PAPs of Thilawa Phase
1 resettlement program including by encouraging good international practicein resettlement and income restoration activities;–– To promote good international practice in stakeholder engagement including
disseminating information to generate a better understanding of Thilawa SEZ
Phase 1 project and reduce the risk of conflict and misunderstandings;–– To identify lessons learned from Thilawa Phase 1 project to inform planningand implementation of the Phase 2 project.
The MSAG structure and its relations to the stakeholders in the SEZ Phase 1 arestill evolving. The envisioned operations of MSAG are shown in the illustration
below.

Illustration on the operation of the MSAGKey Questions/Guiding Principles for the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MSAG):
1. Will the action/advice benefit PAPs or other target communities?
2. Is the action/advice informed by relevant international standards (e.g. WorldBank Group social safeguard policies on community engagement and land acquisition
and involuntary resettlement)?
3. Will the action/advice support the achievement of good international practicein resettlement, livelihood restoration and community engagement?
4. Does the action/advice contribute to livelihood restoration of PAPs?
5. Does the action/advice contribute to improving the standard of living of PAPs?
A Facilitator’s Training Manual1136. Have PAPs and other relevant stakeholders been consulted to develop theaction?
7. Does the action consider and recognise the differential benefits and impacts on
women and other potentially vulnerable groups? Have special provisions been madeto support vulnerable people?
8. Will the action/advice address or contribute to meeting other needs of the community (e.g. Host Community or others)?
9. Is the action/advice locally appropriate to the target communities and does it
respect the local culture and traditions?
10. Is the action/advice based on or supported by an objective and professional,
third party study, assessment or opinion of the benefits of the action?
11. Is the action/advice consistent with Myanmar laws and regulations?
12. Will the action/advice avoid or reduce conflict and disagreement with the GOM,
and promote achievable win-win solutions?
(Sources: Proposed terms of reference of the Thilawa SEZ Multistakeholder Advisory Group, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.
org/pdf/MSAG/TOR.pdf and Thilawa Special Economic Zone (Sez), Myanmar, submission on the session on “Stakeholder Engagement
Across All Three Pillars (Case Studies),” UN Forum On Business & Human Rights, 16 November 2015, www.ohchr.org/Documents/
Issues/Business/ForumSession4/ThilawaSpecialEconomicZoneMyanmar.pdf)

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Annex B
Commentary
Operational-level grievance mechanisms are accessible directly to individuals
and communities who may be adversely impacted by a business enterprise. They are
typically administered by enterprises, alone or in collaboration with others, including
relevant stakeholders. They may also be provided through recourse to a mutually acceptable external expert or body. They do not require that those bringing a complaint
first access other means of recourse. They can engage the business enterprise directlyin assessing the issues and seeking remediation of any harm.
Operational-level grievance mechanisms perform two key functions regarding the
responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights. 		
First, they support the identification of adverse human rights impacts as
a part of an enterprise’s ongoing human rights due diligence. They do so by
providing a channel for those directly impacted by the enterprise’s operations toraise concerns when they believe they are being or will be adversely impacted.
By analysing trends and patterns in complaints, business enterprises can also
identify systemic problems and adapt their practices accordingly;
Second, these mechanisms make it possible for grievances, once identified, to be addressed and for adverse impacts to be remediated early anddirectly by the business enterprise, thereby preventing harms from compounding and grievances from escalating. Such mechanisms need not require thata complaint or grievance amount to an alleged human rights abuse before it
can be raised, but specifically aim to identify any legitimate concerns of those
who may be adversely impacted. If those concerns are not identified and addressed, they may over time escalate into more major disputes and humanrights abuses. Operational-level grievance mechanisms should reflect certain
criteria to ensure their effectiveness in practice (Principle 31).
These criteria can be met through many different forms of grievance mechanism
according to the demands of scale, resource, sector, culture and other parameters.
Operational-level grievance mechanisms can be important complements to wider
stakeholder engagement and collective bargaining processes, but cannot substitutefor either. They should not be used to undermine the role of legitimate trade unionsin addressing labour-related disputes, nor to preclude access to judicial or other nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
(Source: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy”
Framework. United Nations, HR/PUB/11/04, 2011, pages 32-34)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual115Annex C
What Is a Project-Level Grievance Mechanism?
A project-level grievance mechanism for affected communities is a process forreceiving, evaluating, and addressing project related grievances from affected communities at the level of the company, or project. In the context of relatively large projects,
this mechanism may also address grievances against contractors and subcontractors.
Project-level grievance mechanisms offer companies and affected communities
an alternative to external dispute resolution processes (legal or administrative systems or other public or civic mechanisms). These grievance mechanisms differ fromother forms of dispute resolution in that they offer the advantage of a locally based,
simplified, and mutually beneficial way to settle issues within the framework of thecompany-community relationship, while recognizing the right of complainants to taketheir grievances to a formal dispute body or other external dispute-resolution mechanisms. It should be noted, however, that complex issues that arise from high environmental and social impacts are seldom resolved in a relatively simple way. In suchcases, projects should anticipate involvement of various third parties in the resolution
process to achieve solutions with affected communities. These include, but are notlimited to, various national and international mediation bodies, independent mediatorsand facilitators with sector- and country-specific expertise, and independent accountability mechanisms of public sector financiers.
A project’s grievance mechanism should be specifically designed with a focus
on local communities affected by the project. The task of understanding who will bepotentially affected by project operations, and who will therefore use the company
grievance mechanism to raise complaints, is not always straightforward and depends
on the project’s particular circumstances. Thus, it is beneficial to review who may beaffected by the project, and the nature of the potential impact, during the broader
stakeholder analysis phase of the Social and Environmental Assessment. Early andstrategic interaction with communities will help ensure that the grievance mechanism
is culturally acceptable to all affected groups within communities, integrates traditional
mechanisms for raising and resolving issues, and reasonably addresses accessibility
and other barriers that may prevent communities from raising their concerns.
(Source: Addressing Grievances from Project-Affected Communities - Guidance for Projects and Companies on Designing Grievance
Mechanisms [Washington: International Finance Corporation, September 2009, pages 4-5. Footnotes deleted.)

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References
Caroline Rees, Piloting Principles for Effective Company-Stakeholder Grievance
Mechanisms: A Report of Lessons Learned (Cambridge: Harvard Kennedy School, May 2011).
Available at www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/CSRI/publications/report_46_GM_pilots.pdf.
Caroline Rees and David Vermijs, Mapping Grievance Mechanisms in the Business andHuman Rights Arena (Cambridge: Harvard University, January 2008). Available at http://
shiftproject.org/sites/default/files/Report_28_Mapping.pdf.
Emma Wilson and Emma Blackmore, editors, Dispute or dialogue? (London: International
Institute for Environment and Development, 2013). Available at: http://pubs.iied.org/
pdfs/16529IIED.pdf
Addressing Grievances from Project-Affected Communities - Guidance for Projects andCompanies on Designing Grievance Mechanisms [Washington: International FinanceCorporation, September 2009]. Available at www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/cbe7b18048855348ae6cfe6a6515bb18/IFC%2BGrievance%2BMechanisms.pdf?MOD=AJPER
ES&CACHEID=cbe7b18048855348ae6cfe6a6515bb18.
Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman, A Guide to Designing and Implementing
Grievance Mechanisms for Development Projects (Washington: Compliance Advisor/
Ombudsman, 2008). Available at www.cao-ombudsman.org/howwework/advisor/documents/implemgrieveng.pdf.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual117

Administrative and Judicial Mechanisms
and the UN Framework
This module has the following objectives:
Enable the participants to• Discuss the experiences of using the existing labor grievance mechanisms;• Discuss the administrative oversight on corporation-related issues (e.g., compliance with domestic standards on use of natural resources that impact on livelihood
security, health, land use, cultural protection, environmental protection);• Analyze the experience of using the courts in addressing business-related humanrights issues;• Determine what measures should be done by affected people when using the administrative and judicial mechanisms to resolve business-related human rights issues.
Time: 7 hours and 20 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video or a on labor mechanisms.

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Administrative and Judicial Mechanisms and the UN Framework
I. Procedurea. Opener – 5 minutes
Explain that there are two sections in this module. One section covers labor dispute
resolution mechanisms and administrative oversight mechanisms. The second section dwells
on judicial mechanism.
Inform the participants that the discussions/activities will use their own experiences
and/or their own knowledge about specific cases related to the mechanisms.
SECTION ONE
Labor grievance mechanisms
a. Activity 1 – 1 hour
Ask the participants to recall their experience in using labor mechanisms and answer
the following questions:i. What advantages or disadvantages are provided by these labor grievance mechanisms in addressing labor issues?
ii. What procedural aspects of the mechanisms should change or be retained to ensurethat they subscribe to human rights-based approach to access to justice?
iii. What lessons can be learned from the experiences of using these mechanisms?
Ask the participants to discuss the answers to the question in groups. Instruct them towrite their answers on big size papers; and post the papers on the wall afterward.
Administrative oversight mechanisms
b. Activity 2 – 1 hour and 30 minutes
Provide examples of existing administrative oversight mechanisms that cover humanrights issues. These mechanisms can be the following:
National government corporate oversighti. Government agencies that monitor compliance with laws on agricultural (including
aquatic) production, forestry preservation, environmental/natural resources protection, mineral exploitation, foreign investment, special economic zones, cultural
assets protection, and other related issues;ii. Administrative procedures in resolving complaints about non-compliance bycompanies;
Local government corporate oversighti. Local government offices that monitor the corporate compliance with laws andordinances on agricultural (including aquatic) production, forestry preservation,
environmental/natural resources protection, mineral exploitation, foreign investment, cultural assets protection ,and other concerns;
ii. Remedies available in local governments (provincial, city and town governments)
regarding complaints of adverse human rights impact of company operations;
A Facilitator’s Training Manual

119National human rights institutions
i. Role of national human rights institutions in resolving business-related humanrights issues;ii. Procedures for resolving business-related human rights issues.
Ask the participants to discuss in small groups lessons that can be learned from the experiences of using the existing mechanisms and determine their advantages and disadvantages
in resolving business-related human rights issues. Assign each group of participants to one
type of administrative mechanism.
Tell the participants to present their group reports in plenary.
Ask the participants to raise questions or comments on the group reports.
Organize on the board/big size paper the key points raised in the group reports and in
the comments and questions of the participants. Use the table below in summarizing the
key points:
Administrative mechanism

Procedures

Advantages

Disadvantages

National government
Local government
National human rights institution

Ask the groups to present their reports in plenary.
Tell the participants to raise questions or comments on the group reports.
Organize on the board/big size paper the key points raised in the group reports and in
the comments and questions of the participants.
Alternative Activities
Alternatively, the activities in this Section can start with a visit to nearby offices of
the administrative mechanisms to interview officials involved in resolving cases related tocompanies. The interview on specific cases should include the procedures of the grievancemechanisms.
The participants can be divided into as many groups as there are offices that can bevisited.
In this case, the participants will use the information gathered from the interview to
discuss the questions in the two activities above.
c. Input – 1 HOUR
Provide an input on how existing administrative grievance mechanisms can be improved
to be able to subscribe to human rights-based approach to access to justice.
The presentation can discuss the characteristics of effective non-judicial grievance mechanisms, both State-based and non-State-based, such as the following:a. Legitimate: enabling trust from the stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and being accountable for the fair conduct of grievance processes;

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b. Accessible: being known to all stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended,and providing adequate assistance for those who may face particular barriers toaccess;c. Predictable: providing a clear and known procedure with an indicative time frame
for each stage, and clarity on the types of process and outcome available and meansof monitoring implementation;
d. Equitable: seeking to ensure that aggrieved parties have reasonable access to sourcesof information, advice and expertise necessary to engage in a grievance process on
fair, informed and respectful terms;
e. Transparent: keeping parties to a grievance informed about its progress, and providing sufficient information about the mechanism’s performance to build confidence
in its effectiveness and meet any public interest at stake;f. Rights-compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies accord with internationallyrecognized human rights;
g. A source of continuous learning: drawing on relevant measures to identify lessons
for improving the mechanism and preventing future grievances and harms;
Operational-level mechanisms should also be:
h. Based on engagement and dialogue: consulting the stakeholder groups for whose
use they are intended on their design and performance, and focusing on dialogue
as the means to address and resolve grievances.
(Source: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect
and Remedy” Framework. United Nations, HR/PUB/11/04, 2011, page 33)

Tell the participants to refer to Annex A for an explanation of these principles. Ask theparticipants to go back to their discussions on labor and administrative oversight mechanisms and determine whether these characteristics apply to these mechanisms’ mandate,
powers and procedures.
Provide another input on the national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and their role
in resolving grievances arising from business operations. The following characteristics ofeffective investigation and complaints handling system can be stressed:
Complaints are handled promptly and effectively by:
1. Identifying out-of-jurisdiction complaints and potential referrals out to other organisations at the intake stage;
2. Using information and tips from NGOs [non-governmental organizations], advocates, and other organisations in the field to pursue investigations;
3. Using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the early stages of the complaint process (statistics show that voluntary mediation can resolve 30% - 50% of complaints
submitted, if properly structured);
4. Tracks the performance of investigators in terms of the numbers of complaints theyhandle and close per year, depending on whether cases are systemic or complex
in nature. This information feeds into both individual performance measures andinstitutional targets. (The target may be higher in Ombuds-style NHRIs that rely onquick, early resolution processes to resolve cases without many legal formalities);
5. Communicates regularly with parties about the status of the complaint and recording this activity;

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6. Demonstrates that the NHRI has made recommendations following investigations
on important human rights issues (as set out in the strategic plan) and has madeefforts to ensure that these recommendations were adopted;
7. Uses case management committees, or an equivalent structure, that meets regularly
and provides timely process decisions;
8. Has decision-making structures, whereby senior office-holders meet regularly toreview and decide on investigation reports, and document those decisions;9. Sets service standards for timelines for each part of the investigation process andcommunicating these to the public;
10. Is used to inform and improve programming and performance in investigation andin other programme areas.
(Source: Text based on UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions [NewYork/Geneva, December 2010], page 221)

Ask the participants to review their discussions on NHRIs and determine whether or
not these characteristics apply to their complaints handling system.
SECTION TWO
Judicial mechanism
a. Activity 3 – 1 hour and 30 minutes
Ask the participants to discuss in small groups court cases they are familiar with andanswer the following questions:i. How do courts address the business and human rights issues?
ii. What are the challenges being faced in using the courts to uphold corporate accountability and on employing the human rights-based approach to access to justice?
iii. What lessons can be learned from these experiences?
Tell the participants to discuss in groups the questions and write on big size paper their
responses. Ask them to give a report in plenary.
b. Input – 1 HOUR
Provide an input on judicial mechanism and the practical measures necessary to maximize the use of the courts to address business-related human rights issues. Use a case study
on how resorting to court action has helped the community affected by company operations
recover from the effects of pollution. See Annex B for a case study.
Discuss in the input the following issues, among other concerns, regarding judicial
mechanism:• Consideration of adverse human rights impacts of business operations as subject
to domestic laws and therefore bases for court action;• Requirements in initiating judicial recourse on adverse human rights impacts ofbusiness operations, including the costs of litigation;• Role of supporters (particularly of volunteer lawyers,* legal assistance groups andother civil society organizations) to pursue court claims on behalf of the affected* See for example Takeji Fujiwara, The Involvement of Japan’s Lawyers in Environmental Issues.

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people against companies - this includes the issue of the supporters’ locus standi** inrepresenting them in court;***Evidence necessary to prove claims against companies - this includes evidence oftechnical/medical/scientific nature that is difficult and expensive to obtain;
Time needed to complete judicial proceedings; andJudicial remedies and their enforcement – the remedies include compensation forthe damage caused (including compensation for lost income, or lost capacity to earna living), restoration of property that have been taken, rehabilitation of area that has
been damaged, support for the medical needs of affected people, and stoppage of
operations of erring companies. Such remedies may also be in the form of settlement agreement, which require appropriate negotiation capacity on the part of theaffected people to be able to obtain their demands from the companies. The extent
of enforcement of the remedies obtained has to be explained too.

c. Activity – 1 HOUR
In plenary, brainstorm on practical measures needed in seeking the courts’ intervention
on business-related human rights issues.
List on the board the suggested practical measures.
Report to the plenary the results of the group discussion using a panel discussion format.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:
1. General characteristics of administrative and judicial mechanisms to resolve business-related human rights issues;
2. The key issues and lessons on the resolution of specific cases using the mechanisms
existing in Northeast Asia/country that affect business and human rights.

** In law, locus standi means the right to bring an action, to be heard in court, or to address the Court on a matter before it.
Locus standi is the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action
challenged to support that party’s participation in the case (USLegal.com, http://definitions.uslegal.com/l/locus-standi/).
*** See discussion of this issue in the Mongolian context in Center for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights in
the Mining Industry of Mongolia, pages 106-108.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual123Annex A
Commentary
A grievance mechanism can only serve its purpose if the people it is intended toserve know about it, trust it and are able to use it. These criteria provide a benchmark
for designing, revising or assessing a non-judicial grievance mechanism to help ensurethat it is effective in practice. Poorly designed or implemented grievance mechanisms
can risk compounding a sense of grievance amongst affected stakeholders by heightening their sense of disempowerment and disrespect by the process. The first sevencriteria apply to any State-based or non-State-based, adjudicative or dialogue-based
mechanism. The eighth criterion is specific to operational-level mechanisms that business enterprises help administer. The term “grievance mechanism” is used here as aterm of art. The term itself may not always be appropriate or helpful when applied toa specific mechanism, but the criteria for effectiveness remain the same. Commentaryon the specific criteria follows:a. Stakeholders for whose use a mechanism is intended must trust it if they are
to choose to use it. Accountability for ensuring that the parties to a grievance process cannot interfere with its fair conduct is typically one important factor in building
stakeholder trust;b. Barriers to access may include a lack of awareness of the mechanism, language, literacy, costs, physical location and fears of reprisal;c. In order for a mechanism to be trusted and used, it should provide public
information about the procedure it offers. Time frames for each stage should be respected wherever possible, while allowing that flexibility may sometimes be needed;
d. In grievances or disputes between business enterprises and affected stakeholders, the latter frequently have much less access to information and expert resources, and often lack the financial resources to pay for them. Where this imbalance
is not redressed, it can reduce both the achievement and perception of a fair process
and make it harder to arrive at durable solutions;e. Communicating regularly with parties about the progress of individual grievances can be essential to retaining confidence in the process. Providing transparency about the mechanism’s performance to wider stakeholders, through statistics,
case studies or more detailed information about the handling of certain cases, canbe important to demonstrate its legitimacy and retain broad trust. At the same time,
confidentiality of the dialogue between parties and of individuals’ identities should be
provided where necessary;f. Grievances are frequently not framed in terms of human rights and many do notinitially raise human rights concerns. Regardless, where outcomes have implications
for human rights, care should be taken to ensure that they are in line with internationally recognized human rights;
g. Regular analysis of the frequency, patterns and causes of grievances can enable the institution administering the mechanism to identify and influence policies,
procedures or practices that should be altered to prevent future harm;h. For an operational-level grievance mechanism, engaging with affected stakeholder groups about its design and performance can help to ensure that it meets theirneeds, that they will use it in practice, and that there is a shared interest in ensuring
its success. Since a business enterprise cannot, with legitimacy, both be the subject

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of complaints and unilaterally determine their outcome, these mechanisms should
focus on reaching agreed solutions through dialogue. Where adjudication is needed,
this should be provided by a legitimate, independent third-party mechanism.
(Source: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy”
Framework. United Nations, HR/PUB/11/04, 2011, pages 32-34)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual125Annex B
Case Study: Nishiyodogawa: Community Struggle on Right to Health and Environment*
Aozora Foundation
By mid-1930s, Nishiyodogawa ward had seven hundred factories, sixty thousand
employees, and four hundred sixty of these factories had ten or more employees.
This made Nishiyodogawa ward the heart of Osaka’s industrial area.**In the 1930s, Osaka city was named the “City of Factories”*** but also as “Smoke
Capital” of Japan due to its industrialization history dating back to the 1870s. In aschool textbook, Osaka city’s industrial development was symbolized by smokescoming from numerous factory smokestacks.
The strong demand of foreign trade as well as the military industry in the 1930s
caused the fast industrial development of Nishiyodogawa ward; it resumed afterWorld War II. In the 1960s, residents experienced brown-colored haze that enveloped
the area all day. Residents believed that all types of chemical pollution existed in
Nishiyodogawa ward, particularly sulfur oxides. Cars and trains had their lights turnedon during the day due to poor visibility.
Protests (including law suits) against widespread pollution in the country led tothe enactment of the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control in 1967, the Law
on Special Measures Concerning Redress for Pollution-related Health Damage in
1969, and the Absolute Liability Law in 1972 and the Pollution-related Health Damage
Compensation Law in 1973. The 1969 law designated parts of several cities including Yokkaichi, Osaka (including Nishiyodogawa ward) and Kawasaki cities as polluted
areas. Under this law, people who were certified as suffering from pollution-induced
health problems were qualified to receive medical care benefits. Under the 1972
Absolute Liability Law, lack of intent to pollute does not exempt companies fromescaping their responsibility for the pollution caused.
Nishiyodogawa Residents’ Protest
In mid-1970s, the Nishiyodogawa Association for Pollution Patients and Their
Families contacted lawyer-members of the Osaka Bar Association to study the
Nishiyodogawa problem. The difficulty of finding the sources of air pollution led thelawyers to do a three-year study on what legal action to take. In April 1978, the patients filed a case before the District Court in Osaka against ten companies believed
to be sources of air pollution.**** More than twenty lawyers were involved in the filingof the complaint in court, but lawyers from different parts of Japan later joined thelegal team that increased the number of lawyers to one hundred and fifty.
The tort liability complaint asked the court, among several demands, to stop theoperations of the companies and to order the companies to pay compensation to* This is a short version of the article entitled “Nishiyodogawa: Community Struggle on Right to Health” published in FOCUS Asia-Pacific, December 2015, volume 82, and available at www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/
section3/2015/12/nishiyodogawa-community-struggle-on-right-to-health.html.
** “A City of Factories Appears,” Osaka Asahi Shimbun, 16 November 1936, an English version of the article isfound in http://aozora.or.jp/lang/english/nishiyodogawa-field-museum/citizens-struggle.
***­  Japan’s Air Pollution from the Perspective of Pollution Victims, Center for the Redevelopment of Pollutiondamaged Areas in Japan (The Aozora Foundation), page 9.
**** Three more complaints were subsequently filed by the patients in court including those filed against the government about the air pollution (nitrogen oxides) from vehicle exhaust from public roads.

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the pollution victims. The Nishiyodogawa residents received a lot of support from thegeneral public in pursuing the complaint.
While proving which companies were the sources of specific types and amounts ofpollutants was technically difficult, proving the unusually high rate of health problems(compared to the national average) among the Nishiyodogawa residents, especiallythe young and old, was not. And the court considered the health issue data in favorof the complainants.
After seventeen years of litigation, the companies sought to settle the complaint.
Both sides subsequently agreed on a four billion Yen compensation package. The
District Court accepted the settlement agreement in a decision issued in March 1995.
The Nishiyodogawa residents filed several other cases in court. These cases ended
after twenty years lapsed from1978.
Aozora Foundation
Years before the District Court decision came out, the Nishiyodogawa Association
for Pollution Patients and Their Families had released in March 1991 the “Nishiyodogawa
Redevelopment Plan” aimed at having a pollution-free community development inNishiyodogawa ward. The Association brought forth a series of proposals, including
one directed at defendant companies and on reconstruction after earthquakes.*****
Using part of the settlement package given by the companies under the 1995
court settlement agreement, the Nishiyodogawa pollution victims established in 1996
the Center for the Redevelopment of Pollution-damaged Areas in Japan (Aozora
Foundation).
Aozora Foundation organizes studies and practical activities that are creatively
carried out from the standpoint of pollution victims and community members, andaimed at rejuvenating local areas and environments.
It also holds public lectures, symposiums and other events with the participationof the residents, gathers documents and source materials, provides information, hosts
observation tours and trainees, lends support for school classes, conducts international exchanges, and more.
Redeveloping polluted areas does not merely involve rejuvenating, recreating, andpreserving the natural environment. In the Aozora Foundation way of thinking such
redevelopment depends on recovering and improving the health of local citizens;recovering and fostering community functions lost on account of economics-firstdevelopment; rebuilding relationships of trust and cooperation among government,
business, and citizens; and other such efforts. This necessitates basing initiatives on
the idea of “participation” as proposed in the Basic Environment Plan****** and, from acitizens’ standpoint, obtaining the cooperation of local authorities, businesses, andall other social entities.************ See website of Aozora Foundation, http://aozora.or.jp/lang/english/nishiyodogawa-field-museum/regeneration-begins.
****** See Basic Environment Law and Basic Environment Plan, www.env.go.jp/en/aboutus/pamph/
html/00pan250.html for basic information on the Plan.
******* “Our mission,” The Aozora Foundation, http://aozora.or.jp/lang/english/our-mission.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual127References
Takeji Fujiwara, The Involvement of Japan’s Lawyers in Environmental Issues.
Available at http://aozora.or.jp/lang/english/papers-from-overseas-workshops/
the-involvement-of-japans-lawyers-in-environmental-issues.
Nora Götzmann and Claire Methven O´Brien, Business and Human Rights - A Guidebook
for National Human Rights Institutions, (International Coordinating Committee of National
Human Rights Institutions [ICC] and Danish Institute for Human Rights [DIH], November2013). Full text available at www.humanrights.dk/files/media/dokumenter/udgivelser/bhr_
guidebook_for_nhris_2013_eng.pdf.
Dan Guttman and Xia Kunbao, “Protect the Environmental Rights and Justice of the
Public,” Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific, volume 6, pages 277 – 308. Available atwww.hurights.or.jp/archives/asia-pacific/section1/13%20Environmental%20Rights%20
and%20Justice%20-China.pdf.
Strategic Plan of NHRIs, for Mongolia see the 5th Strategic Plan of NHRCM – 2012-2014,
in Center for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights in the Mining Industry ofMongolia, pages 100-102.

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Resorting to Mechanisms
of International Institutions
This module has the following objectives:•

Enable the participants to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using themechanisms that have been established by international institutions (such as theIntegrity Measures of the UN Global Compact and the National Contact Point [NCP]
system of OECD) to address human rights and labor issues.

Time: 4 hours and 15 minutes
Materials:• Big size papers, colored pens, writing papers, adhesive tapes;• Equipment - computer, projector, screen;• Video/documents on the international mechanisms such as the National Contact
Point of the OECD and the UN mechanisms.

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Resorting to Mechanisms of International Institutions
I. Procedurea. Opener - 30 minutes
Show a video on the National Contact Point (NCP) of the OECD. Ask the participants
for comments.
b. Input
Provide an input on international mechanisms to resolve cases of adverse human rights
impact:1. Integrity Measures of the UN Global Compact (Annex A)
2. National Contact Point of the OECD (Annex B).
Activity – 1 hour
In small groups, ask the participants to review in small groups the cases decided by the
NCPs and the Office of the UN Global Compact relating to Northeast Asian companies
such as the following:
1. Korean Trans National Corporations Watch, et al., v Daewoo International, POSCO,et al., ruling of the Korean National Contact Point, 3 December 2014 (Annex C);
2. Canada Tibet Committee vs. China Gold Int. Resources, Canada National Contact
Point, 29 January 2014 (Annex D); and3. Complaint against Petro-China filed in the Office of the UN Global Compact (Annex
E)
One group discusses one case. Use the text of the cases in the annexes.
Instruct them to take note of the process involved from the filing of complaint to theresolution of the case by the NCP or whatever stage the case has reached; who filed thecomplaint; reasons/explanations given the NCP, UN Global Compact on the cases.
Ask them to present the results of their discussion in the plenary.
List on the board the ideas/suggestions provided by the participants.
c. Input - 1 hour
Provide an input that answers the following questions:• How have the National Contact Points (NCPs) and the Integrity Measures addressed
the complaints brought before them?
• What are the limitations of the NCPs and Integrity Measures?
• What can be done to further improve the work of the NCPs and Global Compact
Office (regarding Integrity Measures)?
• What lessons can be learned from the use of the NCPs and Integrity Measures?
(See F Annex E for an assessment of a NCP)
d. Activity - 1 hour and 30 minutes
In small groups, ask the participants to• discuss the feasibility of using the NCPs by local stakeholders (workers, membersof the local community, etc.);

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•cite practical ideas/suggestions on the use of these mechanisms to resolve disputes
involving companies.
Instruct them to present the results of their discussion in the plenary.
II. Summary
Time: 15 minutes
Summarize the main points discussed during the session such as the following:
1. The existing international mechanisms to address “business-related human rights
impacts” of company operations especially the NCPs and the Integrity Measures;
2. The advantages and disadvantages of using these international mechanisms especially for local stakeholders.

A Facilitator’s Training Manual131Annex A
Integrity Measures
Allegations of Systematic or Egregious Abuses
The Global Compact welcomes any participant that pledges to work towards
implementation of the Global Compact principles through learning, dialogue, projects,
process improvements or other such measures. Moreover, it is not now and does
not aspire to become a compliance based initiative. Nevertheless, safeguarding the
reputation, integrity and good efforts of the Global Compact and its participants requires transparent means to handle credible allegations of systematic or egregious
abuse of the Global Compact’s overall aims and principles. The Global Compact Office
can assist or provide guidance in this regard, by means of the measures described
below. The purpose of these measures in the first instance always will be to promote
continuous quality improvement and assist participants in aligning their actions withthe commitments they have undertaken with regard to the Global Compact principles.
It should be noted that the Global Compact Office will not involve itself in any way in
any claims of a legal nature that a party may have against a participating company orvice versa. Similarly, the measures set out below are not intended to affect, pre-empt
or substitute for other regulatory or legal procedures or proceedings in any jurisdiction.
Thus, when a matter is presented in writing to the Global Compact Office, theOffice will:
1. use its judgement to filter out prima facie frivolous allegations. If a matter isfound to be prima facie frivolous, the party raising the matter will be so informed
and no further action will be taken on the matter by the Global Compact Office.
2. If an allegation of systematic or egregious abuse is found not to be prima facie
frivolous, the Global Compact Office will forward the matter to the participatingcompany concerned, requesting• written comments, which should be submitted directly to the party raising the matter, with a copy to the Global Compact Office, and• that the Global Compact Office be kept informed of any actions takenby the participating company to address the situation which is the
subject matter of the allegation. The Global Compact Office will informthe party raising the matter of the above-described actions taken by
the Global Compact Office.
3. The Global Compact Office would be available to provide guidance and assistance, as necessary and appropriate, to the participating company concerned,
in taking actions to remedy the situation that is the subject matter of the allegation in order to align the actions of the company with its commitments to
the Global Compact principles.
The Global Compact Office may, in its sole discretion, take one or more of thefollowing steps, as appropriate:
1. Use its own good offices to encourage resolution of the matter;
2. Ask the relevant country/regional Global Compact network, or other Global
Compact participant organization, to assist with the resolution of the matter;
3. Refer the matter to one or more of the UN entities that are the guardians of
the Global Compact principles for advice, assistance or action;

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4. Share with the parties information about the specific instance procedures of
the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and, in the case of mattersrelating to the labour principles, the interpretation procedure under the ILO
Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises andSocial Policy.
5. Refer the matter to the Global Compact Board, drawing in particular on theexpertise and recommendations of its business members.
If the participating company concerned refuses to engage in dialogue on the matter within two months of first being contacted by the Global Compact Office undersubparagraph (b) above, it may be regarded as “non-communicating”, and would
be identified as such on the Global Compact website until such time as a dialoguecommences. If, as a result of the process outlined above and based on the review of
the nature of the matter submitted and the responses by the participating company,
the continued listing of the participating company on the Global Compact website isconsidered to be detrimental to the reputation and integrity of the Global Compact,
the Global Compact Office reserves the right to remove that company from the list ofparticipants and to so indicate on the Global Compact website.
A participating company that is designated “non-communicating” or is removed
from the list of participants will not be allowed to use the Global Compact name orlogo if such permission had been granted.
If the participating company concerned has subsequently taken appropriate actions to remedy the situation that is the subject matter of the allegation, and hasaligned its actions with the commitments it has undertaken with regard to the Global
Compact principles, the company may seek reinstatement as an “active” participant
to the Global Compact and to the list of participants on the Global Compact website.
If there is a local network in the country where the company is based, the company
should first approach the local network; in all other cases the Global Compact Officeshould be contacted directly. Only the Global Compact Office can make a final determination of reinstatement.
The Global Compact Office is committed to ensuring a fair process for the parties
involved. In order to promote the productive resolution of matters raised, no entity
involved in the process should make any public statements regarding the matter until
it is resolved.
(Source: Text based on Global Compact – Integrity Measures. Available at www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/about_the_gc/
Integrity_measures/Integrity_Measures_Note_EN.PDF)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual133Annex B
National Contact Point
The National Contact Point [NCP] will contribute to the resolution of issues thatarise relating to implementation of the Guidelines [OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises] in specific instances in a manner that is impartial, predictable, equitable
and compatible with the principles and standards of the Guidelines. The NCP will offer a forum for discussion and assist the business community, worker organisations,other non-governmental organisations, and other interested parties concerned todeal with the issues raised in an efficient and timely manner and in accordance withapplicable law. In providing this assistance, the NCP will:
1. Make an initial assessment of whether the issues raised merit further examination and respond to the parties involved.
2. Where the issues raised merit further examination, offer good offices to help theparties involved to resolve the issues. For this purpose, the NCP will consult
with these parties and where relevant:a. seek advice from relevant authorities, and/or representatives of the business community, worker organisations, other nongovernmental organisations, and relevant experts;
b. consult the NCP in the other country or countries concerned;c. seek the guidance of the Committee if it has doubt about the interpretationof the Guidelines in particular circumstances;
d. offer, and with the agreement of the parties involved, facilitate access toconsensual and non-adversarial means, such as conciliation or mediation,
to assist the parties in dealing with the issues.
3. At the conclusion of the procedures and after consultation with the parties
involved, make the results of the procedures publicly available, taking into account the need to protect sensitive business and other stakeholder information, by issuing:a. a statement when the NCP decides that the issues raised do not meritfurther consideration. The statement should at a minimum describe theissues raised and the reasons for the NCP’s decision;b. a report when the parties have reached agreement on the issues raised.
The report should at a minimum describe the issues raised, the procedures
the NCP initiated in assisting the parties and when agreement was reached.
Information on the content of the agreement will only be included insofar
as the parties involved agree thereto;c. a statement when no agreement is reached or when a party is unwilling toparticipate in the procedures. This statement should at a minimum describe
the issues raised, the reasons why the NCP decided that the issues raised
merit further examination and the procedures the NCP initiated in assisting
the parties. The NCP will make recommendations on the implementationof the Guidelines as appropriate, which should be included in the statement. Where appropriate, the statement could also include the reasonsthat agreement could not be reached.

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The NCP will notify the results of its specific instance procedures to the Committee
in a timely manner.
4. In order to facilitate resolution of the issues raised, take appropriate steps toprotect sensitive business and other information and the interests of otherstakeholders involved in the specific instance. While the procedures underparagraph 2 are underway, confidentiality of the proceedings will be maintained. At the conclusion of the procedures, if the parties involved have notagreed on a resolution of the issues raised, they are free to communicate about
and discuss these issues. However, information and views provided during
the proceedings by another party involved will remain confidential, unless that
other party agrees to their disclosure or this would be contrary to the provisions of national law.
5. If issues arise in non-adhering countries, take steps to develop an understanding of the issues involved, and follow these procedures where relevant andpracticable.
(Source: OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011 edition, OECD Publishing, pages 72-74. Available at http://dx.doi.
org/10.1787/9789264115415-en)

A Facilitator’s Training Manual135Annex C
National Contact Point - Cases
KTNCW et al. vs. Daewoo, et al.
Case overview
Date filed: 3 December 2014
Current status: Rejected (7 July 2015)
Issue: Daewoo’s use of cotton harvested with forced & child labour
Summary of the caseUzbekistan is one of the few countries around the world that through the implementation of state policy subjects its citizens to forced labour. The government forcibly
mobilises farmers to grow cotton and forces more than a million men, women andchildren to harvest it. Since its first investment in Uzbekistan in the 1990s, Daewoo
has expanded to three factories and is currently the country’s largest cotton processor, buying 5% of all Uzbekistan’s cotton. In return, the Uzbek government provides
Daewoo with discounted cotton prices, tax incentives and preferential loans.
The complainants have been in direct contact with Daewoo since 2012. The company repeatedly admitted to having purchased cotton produced with forced and childlabour. Nevertheless, the complaint alleges that Daewoo refuses to cease purchasing
forced-labour cotton or to conduct independent human rights monitoring of its supply chain in Uzbekistan. It also alleges that Daewoo failed to conduct comprehensive
human rights due diligence in its supply chain and contributes to the ongoing humanrights violations associated with the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan.
The complainants also ask Daewoo’s parent company POSCO to take its responsibility to avoid contributing to human rights violations in its subsidiary’s operations
and supply chains. Complaints have also been filed against Norwegian pension funds
NPS and NBIM, requesting that as institutional investors of Daewoo International, they
use their leverage to ensure that they mitigate the adverse human rights impacts towhich they are directly linked to through their financial relationship with Daewoo.
Developments/Outcome
After an extension to carry out its initial assessment, the Korean NCP rejected thecomplaints against Daewoo, POSCO and NPS in July 2015. The NCP recognised
the internal guidelines for ethical business conduct that the companies have in placeand could not establish that they have breached the due diligence provisions of theOECD Guidelines or contributed to child labour and forced labour. The NCP further
takes into consideration that the companies are not in a position to have leverageover the Uzbek government.
Given its relatively recent conclusion of a complaint against NBIM on the same
issues and the ongoing clarification process at OECD level on the application of theOECD Guidelines to the financial sector, the Norwegian NCP decided to close thecase without further consideration in July 2015. The NCP did not reject the complaint,
but concluded that a new examination of same questions of principles concerning thefinancial sector’s compliance with the Guidelines will not contribute to the purposeof the OECD Guidelines. In its statement the NCP did make reference to its previous

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decision and recommendations to NBIM formulated at the conclusion of a complaint
filed by ForUM and concluded by the NCP in May 2013.
(note: list of relevant OECD Guidelines not included in this Annex)
Case keywords
Child labour, Forced labour
NCP Information
NCP name: National Contact Point Korea
NCP address: 1 Chungang-dong Gwacheon-si, Kyonggi-do, Korea, Republic of
NCP website: www.mocie.go.kr/
Other NCPs involved: National Contact Point Norway
ComplainantsNGO
Anti-slavery International
Cotton Campaign
Korean Trans National Corporations Watch
Source: www.oecdwatch.org/cases/Case_354

A Facilitator’s Training Manual137Annex D
National Contact Point - Cases
Canada Tibet Committee vs. China Gold Int. Resources
Case overview
Date filed: 29 January 2014
Current status: Concluded (1 April 2015)
Issue: Environmental, HR & disclosure issues China Gold Int.
Summary of the caseOn 29 March 2013, Chinese state media reported that 83 miners were buried
after a major landslide hit part of the Gyama Copper Polymetallic Mine located in the
Pulang Valley in Siphug Village of Tashi Gang Town in Central Tibet (Tibet Autonomous
Region). There were no survivors. The workers were reportedly asleep in their tents
when they were buried by a mass of mud, rocks, and debris that was three kilometreswide and thirty metres deep. The camp where the workers were buried belongs to
Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Gold
International Resources.
Although the Chinese government has stated that the landslide was a natural disaster, CTC alleges that there is documented evidence that it was in fact a manmade
disaster and that the company had ignored previous warnings and local protests.
In addition, the complaint describes numerous other disputes with local stakeholders that remain unresolved and are indicative of a range of continuing violationsof the Guidelines.
The complaint was filed by CTC because members of affected communities areunable to bring forward public complaints for reasons of personal security.
Developments/Outcome
After confirming receipt on 28 January, CTC did not hear from the NCP until 17
April, when the NCP informed CTC that China Gold was unwilling to engage in theprocess despite multiple requests from the NCP.
Though it never formally issued an initial assessment, in April 2015 the Canadian
NCP released a final statement “accepting” the case and concluding that China Gold
had not demonstrated that it is operating in a manner that can be considered to beconsistent with the OECD Guidelines.
Interestingly, in its final statement, the NCP took the unprecedented step of imposing sanctions on the company for failing to engage in the complaint process,including withdrawing Trade Commissioner Services and other Canadian advocacy
support abroad. This is a first in the NCP system. The sanctions can be repealed if
the company eventually does engage with the NCP or somehow shows that it has
engaged in good-faith dialogue with CTC.
The final statement also made recommendations to China Gold with respect tohuman rights due diligence including the importance of undertaking human rights
impact assessments of the potential impacts of anticipated activities, and of disclosing any past or future reports.
(note: list of relevant OECD Guidelines not included in this Annex)

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Case keywords
Health and safety, Extractives / mining sector, Forced evictions and resettlement,
Labour rights, Human rights, Environment, Disclosure of information
NCP Information
NCP name: National Contact Point Canada
NCP website: www.ncp-pcn.gc.ca/
ComplainantNGO
Canada Tibet Committee
Source: www.oecdwatch.org/cases/Case_324

A Facilitator’s Training Manual139Annex E
Complaint Against Petro-China
In a 12 May 2008 letter, an international group of NGOs requested the UN Global
Compact Board to exercise its authority under the so-called “Integrity Measures” tohold PetroChina accountable for the Darfur crisis. The group asked the Board torequest PetroChina to 1) engage the Sudanese government, either independently orcollectively with other foreign oil companies operating in Sudan, to implement the UN
Security Council resolution on ending the conflict in Darfur; 2) make all possible efforts
to contribute to the success of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),
including utilizing leverage on its business affiliates on the [government of Sudan] andon the government of South Sudan, to ensure that the CPA is implemented without
further delay. This group of NGOs subsequently filed a formal complaint on the issue
with the UN Global Compact Board on 15 December 2008. The formal complaint
has two major issues: a. Are signatory-companies accountable under the UN Global
Compact for the actions of their shareholders? And if the shareholders were companies, can UN Global Compact hold them accountable regardless of their non-signatory
status? b. Are signatory-companies accountable under the UN Global Compact for
any link to activities of other companies that allegedly support the human rights violations of host government?
The response of the UN Global Compact Office (through the letter of the Vice-Chairof the Global Compact Board on 9 February 2009) addresses the two issues. On thefirst issue, the letter explains that PetroChina (a signatory to the Global Compact) is
not operating in Sudan and thus cannot be held responsible for the crisis there. And
while the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), the “dominant majority shareholder” of PetroChina, operates in Sudan it is not a signatory to the Global Compact
and thus it is not covered by the integrity measures. The letter cites the difficulty ofholding a subsidiary “responsible for the activities of a non-signatory shareholder, even
if that shareholder holds a significant majority of the shares.” A prior response by the
Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Office to the NGO request to delist
PetroChina says that the Global Compact Board decided “not to handle this matteras an integrity issue of an individual company, PetroChina” and that the UN “Global
Compact’s approach to business and peace emphasizes engagement rather than divestment and the power of collective action rather than focusing on any one individualcompany.” On the second issue, the complaint argues that any company that takes“part in any activity which is a source of major government revenue is by definition
complicit with any human rights [violations] of the host government whether or notthere is direct connection with the company’s activities.” In this case, the “company
should then either engage with the government in order to persuade it to desist [fromcommitting human rights violations], or presumably withdraw from the country.” Theletter of the Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact, however, states that “companies
have to make their own decisions based on whether they feel able to operate in linewith the principle they subscribe to as well as any advice or sanction from their homegovernment and of course whether there are United Nations sanctions involved.”(Source: Huang Zhong and Chen Qian, “Merging Business and Human Rights in China: Still a Long To Go,” in Bridging Human Rights
Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia, pages 40-42. Endnotes have been omitted.)

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Annex F
Assessment of the Australian NCP by Monash University, the University of Melbourne
and Deakin University’s Non-Judicial Human Rights Mechanisms Research Project,
April 21st, 2014
Has the NCP changed its structure or procedures in the present implementation cycle?
Although the Australian National Contact Point (ANCP) has not changed its structure or procedures in the past period, the establishment of the oversight committee in2012 as a direct response to the 2011 review of the Guidelines is important to note.
The prime duty of the committee is to assist the ANCP when complaints are madeand there are contentious issues to be considered. Although it was introduced aspart of the structure of the ANCP and members are expected to meet biannually, the
ANCP website only has records of the minutes from its First Meeting in November
2012 suggesting that it has not been active. We encourage the ANCP to ensure an
active role for the oversight committee.
How do you assess the general functioning and structure of the NCP in yourcountry you have been in contact with?
The ANCP is considered to be relatively weak, even after the oversight body wasestablished. The ANCP is under-resourced and its determination processes are lessrigorous than ‘best practice’ NCPs. The ANCP receives significantly less funding
than the model NCPs (UK, Dutch, Norway). It does not have a dedicated budget
or any designated staff, and instead is supported by staff of the Foreign Investment
and Trade Policy Division of the Commonwealth Treasury.* As a result of its lack offunding, its ability to investigate specific instance complaints, conduct consultations
within Australia, participate at OECD meetings, and promote the OECD Guidelines isdetrimentally affected. Whilst the ANCP is one of the 15 (33%) NCPs that have created a multi-stakeholder board** the continuing functionality of this board is in question (as discussed above). The ACNP is not very active when compared with other
NCPs, and there is no reason to believe that Australian companies have better humanrights records than companies based elsewhere in the OECD. It has only received 12
cases, of which 5 have been concluded, 5 rejected, 1 withdrawn and 1 still pending.***If the ANCP chooses to refuse mediation or mediation fails, it does not continue toinvestigate the complaint and it does not make an assessment of whether a company
has breached the Guidelines. This is an area where Australia is failing to uphold the
Guidelines. Furthermore, where mediation is successful and the NCP releases a final
statement, it does not have a follow up process to monitor a company’s compliancewith its recommendations.**** This allows multinational enterprises that are in violationof the Guidelines to avoid implementing the recommendations of the NCP to bringthemselves in line with the Guidelines. The ANCP performs well by having a dedicated website with adequate web pages explaining its function and role. Key OECD
materials on the Guidelines are accessible on the website in English. Far more canbe done to improve accessibility, however, such as more thorough outreach activities* Trade Union Cases, National Contact Point Comparison.
** Trade Union Cases, National Contact Point Comparison.
*** OECD Watch, NCP: National Contact Point Australia.
**** Trade Union Cases, Australia NCP.

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and the publication of materials in different languages. The ANCP offers reasonablelevels of transparency by publishing its initial statement in the complaint process andprovides mediation to parties for the purpose of resolving disputes. The NCP uses
independent mediators in this process, and upon the conclusion of the mediation
process it publishes a final statement to the public which includes recommendations
to the company on future implementation of the Guidelines. Despite this, there ismuch room for improvement within the ANCP.*****How do you assess the performance of information and promotion functionof the NCP in your country?
The ANCP complaint process is well publicised on their website. The website details information on the stages involved in handling complaints, the review procedure
for complaints, and provides time limits for each stage. However, in Australia, the NCP
is not a widely known mechanism and the NCP itself does little promotional work. The
ANCP website states that their role includes the promotion of the Guidelines and thatthey do this by undertaking activities such as conducting seminars and consultation
session on the Guidelines with businesses, NGOs, government departments andagencies, and the interested public; and publicising a Service Charter on the role of
the ANCP to multinational enterprises and more broadly.****** However, in practice, there
is no evidence of these outreach activities being conducted in any substantive form.
As a result, concerns have been raised about the lack of accessibility to the ANCP
due to the lack of promotional activities undertaken. Furthermore, the NCP website
states “Consultations are held at least once a year to complement the schedule ofmeetings of the OECD Committee on Investment. These sessions aim to provide aforum for stakeholders to address issues under the Guidelines with the ANCP and topromote the Guidelines as a useful framework for business.”******* However, membersof OECD Watch complain that although there used to be 3 meetings a year in Sydney,
Melbourne and Canberra, which operate as multi- stakeholder consultations, theseno longer occur. According to the Trade Union Cases (TUAC), the ANCP does nothold regular consultations in cooperation with external stakeholders, including tradeunions, and it does not organise events to promote the Guidelines either in Australia
or abroad.********
Whilst the ANCP does have publications and key materials on the OECD Guidelines
and reports from the Annual Meeting of NCPs, it has not been updated since 2012,
which further limits its information and promotion function.
Other comments
With respect to the structure of the ANCP, it is housed in a single government
department, the Foreign Investment and Trade Policy Division at the Commonwealth
Treasury. In general, scepticism has been expressed regarding the independenceof the ANCP (from ACTU and Oxfam Australia) and its ability to operate impartiallythroughout the complaints process as the structure can influence how the NCP
handles complaints. For example, decision-making by the ANCP ultimately sits within
this government department which can result in conflicts of interest. Thus, the ANCP***** Trade Union Cases, Australia NCP.
****** Australian Government, Implementation and Promotion.
******* Australian Government, The Australian National Contact Point.
******** Trade Union Cases, Australia NCP.

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should consider having an independent location to avoid conflicts of interest withthe goals of the Guidelines. In short, the Australian NCP is falling short of achieving
the four core criteria of functional equivalence of NCPs recommended in the 2011
Guidelines. Though it is formally visible, accessible, transparent and accountable, inpractice it takes a very minimalist approach to meeting these criteria and that has
impacted adversely on its usefulness as a grievance mechanism and promoter ofhuman rights in the Australian business community.
(Source: OECD Watch, Assessment of NCP Performance in the 2013-2014 Implementation Cycle, June 2014, pages 36-38. Availableat www.oecdwatch.org.)

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References
Norwegian National Contact Point, Final Statement - Complaint from Lok Shakti Abhiyan,
Korean Transnational Corporations Watch, Fair Green And Global Alliance and Forum For
Environment and Development Vs. POSCO
Assessment of the Australian NCP by Monash University, the University of Melbourne
and Deakin University’s Non-Judicial Human Rights Mechanisms Research Project, 21
April 2014
Caitlin Daniel, Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, Kris Genovese, Virginia Sandjojo, Remedy
Remains Rare (Amsterdam: OECD Watch, 2015)
National Contact Point, HURIGHTS OSAKA, “Human Rights and Japanese Companies,”
pages 165 - 172; and Appendix C, pages 203-204, in Jefferson R. Plantilla, editor, Bridging
Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia (Osaka/Kuala Lumpur:
HURIGHTS OSAKA and SIRD, 2014)

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Human Rights Documents

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of December 1948
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts whichhave outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has beenproclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort,
to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by therule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faithin fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in theequal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with theUnited Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights andfundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ ofsociety, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education
to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national
and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both
among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under
their jurisdiction.
Article I
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed withreason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
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Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional
or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violationof this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals foracts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent andimpartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.
Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission
which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time
when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home orcorrespondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right tothe protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
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Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders ofeach State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country.
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from nonpolitical crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change
his nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion,
have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending
spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled toprotection by society and the State.
Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community withothers and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom
to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

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Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or
through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shallbe expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrageand shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance withthe organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable
conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for
himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his
interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working
hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessarysocial services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children,whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementaryand fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equallyaccessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to
the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, andshall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to theirchildren.
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Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, toenjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting
from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms
set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full developmentof his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such
limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition andrespect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes andprinciples of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person
any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of
the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
Implementing the United Nations “Protect,
Respect and Remedy” Framework*
General principles
I. The State duty to protect human rights
A. Foundational principles
1. States must protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction
by third parties, including business enterprises. This requires taking appropriate steps toprevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse through effective policies, legislation,
regulations and adjudication.
2. States should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in theirterritory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations.
B. Operational principles
General State regulatory and policy functions
3. In meeting their duty to protect, States should:(a) Enforce laws that are aimed at, or have the effect of, requiring business enterprises
to respect human rights, and periodically to assess the adequacy of such laws and address any gaps;(b) Ensure that other laws and policies governing the creation and ongoing operation ofbusiness enterprises, such as corporate law, do not constrain but enable business respectfor human rights;(c) Provide effective guidance to business enterprises on how to respect human rights
throughout their operations;(d) Encourage, and where appropriate require, business enterprises to communicate
how they address their human rights impacts.
The State-business nexus
4. States should take additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by businessenterprises that are owned or controlled by the State, or that receive substantial support andservices from State agencies such as export credit agencies and official investment insurance or guarantee agencies, including, where appropriate, by requiring human rights due
diligence.

* Text taken from the Annex of the Report of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on the issue of humanrights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John RuggieねAdvance Edited Version, 21 March
2011, A/HRC/17/31/. Full text available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Business/A-HRC-17-31_AEV.pdf.

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5. States should exercise adequate oversight in order to meet their international humanrights obligations when they contract with, or legislate for, business enterprises to provide
services that may impact upon the enjoyment of human rights.
6. States should promote respect for human rights by business enterprises with which they
conduct commercial transactions.
Supporting business respect for human rights in conflict-affected areas
7. Because the risk of gross human rights abuses is heightened in conflict-affected areas,
States should help ensure that business enterprises operating in those contexts are not involved with such abuses, including by:(a) Engaging at the earliest stage possible with business enterprises to help them identify, prevent and mitigate the human rights-related risks of their activities and business
relationships;(b) Providing adequate assistance to business enterprises to assess and address theheightened risks of abuses, paying special attention to both gender-based and sexual
violence;(c) Denying access to public support and services for a business enterprise that is involved
with gross human rights abuses and refuses to cooperate in addressing the situation;(d) Ensuring that their current policies, legislation, regulations and enforcement measures are effective in addressing the risk of business involvement in gross human rights
abuses.
Ensuring policy coherence
8. States should ensure that governmental departments, agencies and other State-based
institutions that shape business practices are aware of and observe the State’s human rights
obligations when fulfilling their respective mandates, including by providing them with
relevant information, training and support.
9. States should maintain adequate domestic policy space to meet their human rights obligations when pursuing business-related policy objectives with other States or businessenterprises, for instance through investment treaties or contracts.
10. States, when acting as members of multilateral institutions that deal with business related
issues, should:(a) Seek to ensure that those institutions neither restrain the ability of their member
States to meet their duty to protect nor hinder business enterprises from respecting
human rights;(b) Encourage those institutions, within their respective mandates and capacities, to promote business respect for human rights and, where requested, to help States meet their
duty to protect against human rights abuse by business enterprises, including throughtechnical assistance, capacity-building and awareness-raising;(c) Draw on these Guiding Principles to promote shared understanding and advanceinternational cooperation in the management of business and human rights challenges.

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II. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights
A. Foundational principles
11. Business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should avoid
infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts
with which they are involved.
12. The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights refers to internationally recognized human rights understood, at a minimum, as those expressed in theInternational Bill of Human Rights and the principles concerning fundamental rights set
out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles andRights at Work.
13. The responsibility to respect human rights requires that business enterprises:(a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own
activities, and address such impacts when they occur;(b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked totheir operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they havenot contributed to those impacts
14. The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights applies to all enterprises regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure. Nevertheless,the scale and complexity of the means through which enterprises meet that responsibility
may vary according to these factors and with the severity of the enterprise’s adverse humanrights impacts.
15. In order to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, business enterprises shouldhave in place policies and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances, including:(a) A policy commitment to meet their responsibility to respect human rights;(b) A human rights due-diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for
how they address their impacts on human rights;(c) Processes to enable the remediation of any adverse human rights impacts they cause
or to which they contribute.
B. Operational principles
Policy commitment
16. As the basis for embedding their responsibility to respect human rights, business enterprises should express their commitment to meet this responsibility through a statementof policy that:(a) Is approved at the most senior level of the business enterprise;(b) Is informed by relevant internal and/or external expertise;(c) Stipulates the enterprise’s human rights expectations of personnel, business partners
and other parties directly linked to its operations, products or services;(d) Is publicly available and communicated internally and externally to all personnel,
business partners and other relevant parties;

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(e) Is reflected in operational policies and procedures necessary to embed it throughout
the business enterprise.
Human rights due diligence
17. In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse
human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due diligence.
The process should include assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are
addressed. Human rights due diligence:(a) Should cover adverse human rights impacts that the business enterprise may cause
or contribute to through its own activities, or which may be directly linked to its operations, products or services by its business relationships;(b) Will vary in complexity with the size of the business enterprise, the risk of severe
human rights impacts, and the nature and context of its operations;(c) Should be ongoing, recognizing that the human rights risks may change over timeas the business enterprise’s operations and operating context evolve.
18. In order to gauge human rights risks, business enterprises should identify and assess any
actual or potential adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved either
through their own activities or as a result of their business relationships. This process should:(a) Draw on internal and/or independent external human rights expertise;(b) Involve meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant
stakeholders, as appropriate to the size of the business enterprise and the nature andcontext of the operation.
19. In order to prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises
should integrate the findings from their impact assessments across relevant internal functions and processes, and take appropriate action.
(a) Effective integration requires that:(i) Responsibility for addressing such impacts is assigned to the appropriate leveland function within the business enterprise;(ii) Internal decision-making, budget allocations and oversight processes enable effective responses to such impacts.
(b) Appropriate action will vary according to:(i) Whether the business enterprise causes or contributes to an adverse impact, or
whether it is involved solely because the impact is directly linked to its operations,products or services by a business relationship;(ii) The extent of its leverage in addressing the adverse impact.
20. In order to verify whether adverse human rights impacts are being addressed, businessenterprises should track the effectiveness of their response. Tracking should:(a) Be based on appropriate qualitative and quantitative indicators;(b) Draw on feedback from both internal and external sources, including affectedstakeholders.
21. In order to account for how they address their human rights impacts, business enterprises
should be prepared to communicate this externally, particularly when concerns are raised
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by or on behalf of affected stakeholders. Business enterprises whose operations or operating contexts pose risks of severe human rights impacts should report formally on how they
address them. In all instances, communications should:(a) Be of a form and frequency that reflect an enterprise’s human rights impacts and thatare accessible to its intended audiences;(b) Provide information that is sufficient to evaluate the adequacy of an enterprise’s
response to the particular human rights impact involved;(c) In turn not pose risks to affected stakeholders, personnel or to legitimate requirements of commercial confidentiality.
Remediation
22. Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in their remediation through legitimate processes.
Issues of context
23. In all contexts, business enterprises should:(a) Comply with all applicable laws and respect internationally recognized human rights,
wherever they operate;(b) Seek ways to honour the principles of internationally recognized human rights when
faced with conflicting requirements;(c) Treat the risk of causing or contributing to gross human rights abuses as a legal
compliance issue wherever they operate.
24. Where it is necessary to prioritize actions to address actual and potential adverse humanrights impacts, business enterprises should first seek to prevent and mitigate those that are
most severe or where delayed response would make them irremediable.
III. Access to remedy
A. Foundational principle
25. As part of their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuse, States musttake appropriate steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislative or other appropriate means, that when such abuses occur within their territory and/or jurisdiction thoseaffected have access to effective remedy.
B. Operational principles
State-based judicial mechanisms
26. States should take appropriate steps to ensure the effectiveness of domestic judicial
mechanisms when addressing business-related human rights abuses, including considering ways to reduce legal, practical and other relevant barriers that could lead to a denial ofaccess to remedy.
State-based non-judicial grievance mechanisms
27. States should provide effective and appropriate non-judicial grievance mechanisms,
alongside judicial mechanisms, as part of a comprehensive State-based system for the remedyof business-related human rights abuse.
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28. States should consider ways to facilitate access to effective non-State-based grievancemechanisms dealing with business-related human rights harms.
29. To make it possible for grievances to be addressed early and remediated directly, businessenterprises should establish or participate in effective operational-level grievance mechanisms for individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted.
30. Industry, multi-stakeholder and other collaborative initiatives that are based on respectfor human rights-related standards should ensure that effective grievance mechanisms areavailable.
Effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms
31. In order to ensure their effectiveness, non-judicial grievance mechanisms, both State
based and non-State-based, should be:(a) Legitimate: enabling trust from the stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and being accountable for the fair conduct of grievance processes;(b) Accessible: being known to all stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended,and providing adequate assistance for those who may face particular barriers to access;(c) Predictable: providing a clear and known procedure with an indicative timeframe
for each stage, and clarity on the types of process and outcome available and means ofmonitoring implementation;(d) Equitable: seeking to ensure that aggrieved parties have reasonable access to sourcesof information, advice and expertise necessary to engage in a grievance process on fair,
informed and respectful terms;(e) Transparent: keeping parties to a grievance informed about its progress, and providing sufficient information about the mechanism’s performance to build confidence in its
effectiveness and meet any public interest at stake;(f) Rights-compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies accord with internationallyrecognized human rights;(g) A source of continuous learning: drawing on relevant measures to identify lessons
for improving the mechanism and preventing future grievances and harms;
Operational-level mechanisms should also be:(h) Based on engagement and dialogue: consulting the stakeholder groups for whose use
they are intended on their design and performance, and focusing on dialogue as the means
to address and resolve grievances.

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Other Suggested References

Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights, United Nations Global Compact and the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Guide for Integrating Human Rights
into Business Management, 2006.
John G. Ruggie, Human Rights Policies & Management Practices of Fortune Global 500
Firms: Results of a Survey, Working Paper no. 28, October 2006 (Cambridge, MA: John F
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University). Full text available at www.ksg.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/CSRI/publications/workingpaper_28_ruggie.pdf.
International Labour Office, Combating Forced Labour - A Handbook for Employers &Business, 2nd ed. (Geneva: ILO, 2015). Available at: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_101171.pdf
Andrea Shemberg, Stabilization Clauses and Human Rights, March 11, 2008. Full report available at www.reports-and-materials.org/sites/default/files/reports-and-materials/
Stabilization-Clauses-and-Human-Rights-11-Mar-2008.pdf
Human Rights Resource Centre University of Indonesia, Business and Human
Rights in ASEAN - A Baseline Study (Jakarta: Human Rights Resource Centre
University of Indonesia, 2013). Full report available at http://hrrca.org/data/business-and-human-rights-asean-baseline-study.
United Nations Global Compact, Impact, Transforming Business, Changing the World,
2015.
Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Myanmar, www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/
Business/ForumSession4/ThilawaSpecialEconomicZoneMyanmar.pdf

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