A/HRC/25/48
13.
Corporate social responsibility
101. Corporal social responsibility has received increased attention in the light of
recognition of the business sector’s role in upholding and promoting human rights.
Initiatives seeking to strengthen corporate social responsibility have developed
considerably in very recent years, building concurrently on the private sector’s voluntary
efforts to take action, and on renewed momentum internationally through the adoption of
various important guidelines and resources.
102. The concept refers to the duty of businesses to respect human rights.58 The Human
Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy”’ Framework
(A/HRC/17/31) in 2011 as a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of
adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity.
103. The Guiding Principles have been adapted to the child rights framework in the
Children’s Rights and Business Principles developed by UNICEF, the United Nations
Global Compact and Save the Children, published in 2012.59 In addition, the Committee on
the Rights of the Child has adopted a general comment No. 16 (2013) on State obligations
regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights.
104. A significant number of businesses have adopted codes of conduct in an attempt to
adhere to international standards. In partnership with governments and non-governmental
organizations, they have also supported information and awareness-raising campaigns, as
well as prevention and child protection programmes. Initiatives include the creation and
expansion of various networks. The International Association of Internet Hotlines
(INHOPE) was created in 1999 and has grown to a network of 44 hotlines in 38 countries,
where the public can report child sexual abuse.60 In 2007, leading mobile telephone
operators and content providers in the European Union signed the European Framework for
Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children.61 Since 2008, Google has used
technology to identify duplicates of abuse images online and has recently developed
additional tools towards ending online child pornography.62
105. The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in
Travel and Tourism was introduced in 1996 and now has over 1,000 members, including
leading travel and tourism companies.63
106. Financial coalitions aiming to combat these crimes have multiplied, brining together
the public sector and banks, credit card and Internet payment companies and other financial
actors. In the United States, the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography was created
in 2006 to combat child pornography.64 The model has expanded to the Asia Pacific region
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
20
United Nations, The corporate responsibility to respect human rights: An Interpretative Guide
(2012). Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HR.PUB.12.2_En.pdf.
www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/human_rights/CRBP/Childrens_Rights_and_Business_
Principles.pdf.
www.inhope.org/gns/about-us/about-inhope.aspx.
http://www.gsma.com/gsmaeurope/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/saferchildren.pdf.
http://googleblog.blogspot.ch/2013/06/our-continued-commitment-to-combating.html.
UNICEF, Assessing The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in
Travel and Tourism: Discussion Paper (2012). Available from www.unicefirc.org/publications/pdf/ids_codeofconduct2.pdf.
www.missingkids.com/FCACP.
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