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Presentation at the conference "Rights and Accountability. The Way Ahead for Business and Human Rights"

Dr. Brigitte Hamm gave a presentation on the topic of "Substantiation of the state duty to protect in the context of German export business assistance" at the conference "Rights and Accountability. The Way Ahead for Business and Human Rights". She was addressing the state duty to protect the people from human rights abuses and was focusing on export business assistance. The conference in Berlin on the 21st and 22nd of November was organized by Germanwatch, Misereor, Forum Human Rights, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Corporate Accountability (CoRA) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).

The program of the conference can be found here.

Adoption of the Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations of States in
the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

In September 2011, the "Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations of States (ETOs) in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" have been adopted. These principles contribute to the clarification of the human rights obligations of States beyond their own borders. The Principles cover all economic, social and cultural rights, including among others the right to just and favourable conditions of work, social security, an adequate standard of living, food, housing, water, sanitation, health, education and participation in cultural life. The Maastricht Principles constitute the outcome of the deliberations of a group of 40 distinguished experts in international law and human rights under the lead of the Maastricht Center for Human Rights of the University of Maastricht and the International Commission of Jurists. They have been supported by the ETO Consortium, a coalition of 70 institutions and experts from civil society and academia, which the INEF is part of.

The official document of the Maastricht Principles can be found here.

International Roundtable on „Corporate Social Responsibility in Vietnam"(September 15th, 2011)

On the 15th of September 2011 Dr Brigitte Hamm and Jonathan Menge in cooperation with the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) organized an international roundtable on "Corporate Social Responsibility in Vietnam" in Hanoi. The discussion focused on experiences of CSR-practitioners and their varying perspectives on CSR in Vietnam. A broad spectrum of actors presented their experiences, ranging from Vietnamese NGOs, represented by Ms Duong Thi Viet Anh from the Center for Development and Integration (CDI); the German development cooperation, represented by Mr. Fabian Schindler of GIZ; Ms Luu Thi Minh Huyen presentating UNIDO's CSR-project, and Dr Michael Meißner from the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA). Participants included researchers, representatives from the government, the business sector, Vietnamese NGOs, and international organizations.

The program of the roundtable can be found here.

PowerPoint presentations can be found here.

INEF Policy Brief: "Human Rights Protection and German Foreign Trade Promotion. A Plea for Systematic Reforms". (Brigitte Hamm, Christian Scheper and Maike Schölmerich)

In June 2011, the "Guiding Principles for the implementation of the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework" were adopted. They identify underline states' duties to protect and corporate responsibilites to respect human rights. On this occasion the authors elaborate on two major instruments of export and investment promotion. While the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation are currently in a reform process, the revision of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises has recently been completed.

The authors develop policy recommendations on how the German government can contribute better to the protection of human rights in the context of German foreign trade promotion.

The Policy Brief can be downloaded here (in German only).

Expert workshop "Gender equality and corporate responsibility in global production networks - Current approaches and practical challenges" on 29 March, 2011, in Berlin

The workshop addressed development agencies, civil society organizations, companies, trade unions and academia. It was based on the results of a research paper on „Gender equality and voluntary instruments of corporate responsibility in global production networks and supply chains" by Bettina Musiolek. It discussed policy recommendations for a better implementation of gender equality in global supply chains.

A summary of the workshop discussions can be downloaded here.

An English translation of Bettina Musiolek's policy recommendations can be foundhere.

Business Ethics in between Cultures. Principles, Values, and Norms in Intercultural Economic Processes

A Conference organized by the Institute of Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Cooperation with the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), University of Duisburg-Essen, 6/21/2011

Organization: Dr. Brigitte Hamm, Prof. Dr. Ludger Heidbrink, Imke Schmidt, Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Soeffner

In recent years, fundamental debates on the ethical principles of business as well as measures of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have gained importance worldwide. This is mainly based on the awareness that global problems such as climate change, poverty, as well as financial and economic crises cannot be adequately handled unless market actors live up to their social responsibility.

Against this background, values and norms have become crucial factors for the global economy, alongside with economic considerations of profitability and efficiency. What are the consequences if a global economy collides with culturally embedded values and norms? Intercultural research has found that different cultures are based on distinct systems of values and rules, which also influence economic styles. A well-known example of such cultural distinctiveness is the Islamic prohibition of interest rates. Moreover, country-specific ideas of justice and community contribute to the development of behavioral patterns. Often, these patterns can only be experienced in a subtle way; they may have an indirect impact on the character of business relations and the exchange with social stakeholders. These cultural differences may become factors relevant to the success of global enterprises which act in cross-cultural contexts and are confronted with specific values and norms in different countries. Accordingly, culturally diverging systems of values and norms are a great challenge to enterprises, which is also reflected in the way they are dealing with global guidelines such as the United Nations Global Compact and the newly-established standard ISO 26000.

The conference focused on the extent to which universal principles for global business activities can be justified and applied in practice. On which religious, political, and culturally determined norms are the self-conceptions of economic and societal actors based? Is there a common foundation of values that influences global guidelines? How are these guidelines interpreted and applied in culturally specific ways?

A conference program can be downloaded here.

A radio broadcast about the conference can be found here (in German only).

Vietnamese-German Research Cooperation: Social Market Economy - Potential for Poverty Reduction and Human Rights in Vietnam

The successful promotion of economic growth within the course of broad transformation in Vietnam gives rise to both social opportunities and challenges for the country. Presently Vietnam is confronted with the task to use economic growth for poverty reduction and the establishment of a socially fair and ecologically sustainable society - a dare which is addressed by the Vietnamese government.

Especially the development of human and labor rights in the textile and garment sector is essential, due to the sector's importance for the Vietnamese export economy. This industry is also characterised by serious challenges to human rights protection, especially with regard to wages, child labor, non-discrimination and lack of freedom of association. Furthermore, many supply firms are part of the informal economy and therefore the socio-economic situation of the predominantly female workers is unsatisfying and difficult to control. Challenges of complex value chains, the informal economy and lacking gender equality are often enhanced by special economic zones in which corporations' investment is encouraged through generous legal standards.

This project, which is funded by MISEREOR, aims to establish a Vietnamese-German research cooperation to explore the potential of a socially oriented market economy for poverty reduction and human rights development in Vietnam. A special research focus lies on the human rights situation of vulnerable groups, especially female workers in precarious employment relations in the garment and textile sector in Vietnam. The dialogue between experts of the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), as well as further relevant research institutes in Vietnam and Germany will allow the development of joint research questions and corresponding strategies. Against the background of today's globally interlinked economic relations, the project will use the intercultural and interdisciplinary research cooperation to identify the potentials of social market economies for poverty reduction and human rights development.

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