A/HRC/43/53/Add.2 peoples. The National Contact Point conducted a mediation process resulting in a joint statement by the parties that successfully resolved the complaint. 43 89. The Special Rapporteur met with representatives of Norwegian businesses (e.g., Telenor and Norsk Hydro) that have faced criticism for their role in alleged human rights violations in developing countries, including Malaysia and Brazil. He also heard extensive criticisms from civil society organizations that Norwegian aquaculture corporations continue to cause serious environmental harm and potential human rights violations in Chile and Canada. The Norwegian National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines could serve as an appropriate mechanism for further investigation into these allegations. Government Pension Fund Global 90. The public revenue generated by the exploitation of offshore oil and gas deposits has been invested in the Government Pension Fund Global, which was created in 1990, received its first deposit in 1996, and now has a value in excess of $1 trillion. The Fund has investments in more than 9,000 listed companies from across the world in pursuit of its main objective – high long-term financial returns within an acceptable level of risk. The Ministry of Finance is formally responsible for management of the Fund and created guidelines, endorsed by parliament, governing decisions to place companies under observation or exclude them from the Fund. Norges Bank carries out operational management. An independent Council on Ethics makes recommendations to Norges Bank on whether or not the Fund’s investment in specific companies is inconsistent with its ethical guidelines. Norges Bank makes decisions on exclusion, observation, or active ownership and can also divest from companies that it determines are unsustainable because of financial risks. 91. A total of 105 companies that produce certain types of weapons, tobacco, coal or coal-fired electricity have been excluded from the Fund. Another 33 companies have been excluded for conduct that seriously violates ethical norms, such as human rights violations, severe environmental damage or gross corruption. The Fund has also made 240 risk-based divestments from companies since 2012 for financial reasons related to climate change, deforestation and human rights. In 2019, the Storting endorsed a proposal to divest from upstream oil and gas companies to reduce financial risk, since Norway is already exposed to oil price risk through its national economy. 92. The Fund also has an environmental mandate, through which it must hold between 30 and 120 billion Norwegian krone in companies whose products or services produce environmental benefits (e.g., low-emission energy or energy efficiency). Recent changes will enable the Fund to invest in unlisted infrastructure projects for renewable energy that respect human rights. 93. Because of its fairly conservative approach to exclusion and divestment, the Fund continues to hold shares in corporations with poor environmental and human rights records, such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. Norges Bank asserts that it uses its ownership role in an effort to improve the environmental and human rights performance of such companies. Greater weight could be given to the recommendations made by the Council on Ethics, including those related to companies with “unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions”.44 Nevertheless, the Fund is widely seen as a global leader among pension funds in its efforts to take human rights into account in its investment decisions. 45 VI. Conclusion and recommendations 94. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the genuine determination demonstrated by the Government and others he met with in Norway to overcome the 43 44 45 See www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/ud/vedlegg/ncp/final_statement.pdf. Council on Ethics for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, Annual Report 2018. Niklas Kreander and Ken McPhail, “State investments and human rights? The case of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global”, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, vol. 32, No. 6 (23 August 2019). 17