‘Protect, Respect & Remedy’: SAI & ICCO Working to Operationalize Ruggie Guiding Principles

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) November 10, 2011 - Finalized in March 2011 by UN Special Representative John Ruggie, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are intended to help operationalize the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. To assist in this transformation from principles to practice, SAI and ICCO’s handbook and training program will help companies address questions concerning interpretation, scope, and practical integration. The handbook is expected to be released in mid-2012, and the training will be initially piloted in the Netherlands, Brazil and India; additional countries are expected to be included later. The training will be offered in the classroom, and also online, through SAI’s Social Fingerprint^® Online Training Center.  

The Guiding Principles of the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework were endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011. The framework gained further significance when it aligned with the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise in May 2011. The framework consists of three key pillars – the role of the state to protect its citizens against human right violations; the responsibility of business to respect human rights; and the importance of access to remedy for victims of human rights violations. The framework provides the much needed, critical focal point from which both public and private actors can manage expectations to respect the human rights of workers in company supply chains.

The project is a follow-up to a seminar organized by ICCO in early 2011 that focused on Special Representative Ruggie´s work. SAI Europe Representative Edwin Koster participated in that seminar.

Read the full press release on SAI's website.

Social Accountability International (SAI) | SAI is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established to advance the human rights of workers and the social responsibility of companies by promoting decent work conditions and labor rights through voluntary standards.  SAI is among the world's leading supply chain management and CSR training organizations, and has provided training to over 20,000 people since its establishment in 1997. SAI developed one of the world's preeminent social standards— SA8000^®— a recognized benchmark among the voluntary codes and standards initiatives. Over 1.5 million workers are employed in over 2,600 SA8000^® facilities in 61 countries, across 65 industrial sectors. In 2010, SAI launched the Social Fingerprint^® Program, a suite of ratings, training and toolkits, that help companies to implement management systems in a credible, pragmatic and cost-effective way, supported through its online hub - the Social Fingerprint^® Training Center. www.sa-intl.org     SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Subscribe to SAI’s e-Newsletter at www.sa-intl.org/news and follow SAI on Twitter @sa_intl.   The Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO) | ICCO is the Dutch interchurch organization for international cooperation. ICCO's mission is to work towards a world in which people live in dignity and prosperity, a world where poverty and injustice are no longer present. We give financial support and advice to local organizations and networks across the globe that are committed to connect poor people to value chains and empower excluded groups in societies. Rather than supporting individual projects, ICCO believes in changing systems through a programmatic approach. ICCO works in 41countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in partnerships with civil society organizations, including development organizations, cooperatives, churches and businesses. Website: http://www.icco.nl/en   SAI18640