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Article

1 Jul 2013

Author:
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Comments on Shift and Mazars' discussion paper “Developing Global Standards for the reporting and Assurance of Company Alignment with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), an international organization gathering 178 human rights organizations around the world, welcomes the opportunity to comment on the creation of a global standard for companies to assess and report on their human rights impact. Shift and Mazars’ Discussion Paper advances that discussion by focusing on the need for establishing a credible framework by which companies can certify their compliance with human rights standards. Nevertheless, the plan as currently proposed raises several areas of concern, including: (1) the timing and UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights endorsement of the proposal; (2) the lack of an underlying legal framework; and (3) an overly narrow focus on process...FIDH supports the view that the underlying principles for developing public, global standards for reporting and assuring companies’ alignment with the UN Guiding Principles should thoroughly be debated before any drafting process is launched.