50 years of the OECD Guidelines: Contributions, limitations, and what is needed next
Recommendations for the OECD and member governments on the future implementation of the Guidelines
Our work on human rights
OECD Watch seeks stronger rules and accountability for businesses to respect human rights. Explore our work on connected rights issues below.
The majority of community and civil society NCP complaints highlight human rights violations. We help complainants craft complaints strategically to pursue remedy and justice.
Protecting human rights is a thread throughout all of our policy advising at the OECD. We promote business, investment, and development models that protect human rights, share benefits equitably, and include impacted people as decision-makers.
We support civil society engaging at national, regional, and multilateral levels to ensure laws and standards on corporate conduct embed a commitment to respect all internationally-recognised human rights.
What the OECD Guidelines say
The OECD Guidelines expect companies to:
- Respect all internationally recognised human rights and avoid causing or contributing to human rights harms
- Prevent or mitigate human rights harms directly linked to their operations, products, services or business relationships, including by using their leverage to influence business partners
- Carry out human rights due diligence to identify, prevent and address actual and potential impacts, taking into account risks faced by vulnerable or marginalised groups
- Engage meaningfully and safely with people affected by their activities, including communities and workers, throughout due diligence efforts
Where harm occurs, companies should take steps to cease or prevent it, mitigate its impacts and provide or cooperate in remedy where appropriate. The Guidelines also make clear that companies should not retaliate against or tolerate reprisals against people who raise concerns about their activities.
Get involved
Want to learn more about OECD Watch’s work on this issue? Get in touch with us to find out more about our advocacy and resources, or to discuss how the OECD Guidelines can support your work. Reach out directly.
Related resources
Human rights factsheet
Get a practical overview of what the OECD Guidelines say about human rights. Available in:
English
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Thai
Stakeholder engagement and marginalised groups
OECD Watch is calling for stronger guidance to ensure companies meaningfully engage stakeholders – especially affected rightsholders and marginalised groups.
Read about past work here
Related NCP complaints
See complaints in which human rights concerns have been raised by civil society.
Review complaints here
How to use the Guidelines
The OECD Guidelines provide civil society with a framework for engaging companies, governments and other decision-makers on responsible business conduct. You can use the Guidelines to:
Help communities and other affected people understand the standards companies are expected to meet and the rights and protections they can demand.
Use the Guidelines to talk to companies about their impacts and demand that they prevent, address and remedy harm.
Use the Guidelines to advocate for strong laws, policies and corporate practices that protect people and the planet and hold companies accountable.
When a company falls below the standards in the Guidelines, you can bring a complaint to an NCP and seek accountability and remedy.
Connected issues
Gender
How companies should use a gender lens to identify and address the distinct impacts of their activities on women and LGBTQI+ people.
Human rights defenders
How companies should respect human rights defenders and prevent and remedy reprisals against those who speak out.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights
How companies should respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including collective rights to culture, self-determination, and free, prior and informed consent.
Land rights
How companies should prevent harm to people’s land, housing and tenure rights and respect legitimate land rights.
Stakeholder engagement
How meaningfulengagement can ensure affected people have a voice in decisions that impact them.
Workers’ rights
How companies should respect workers’ rights across their operations and value chains, including freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Related news and publications
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Short guide to the Guidelines for civil society
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Brazil’s OECD Accession: Human Rights recommendations
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