Emerging Market Multinational Home States, Extractive Industries, and the Inside/Outside Problem

Authors

Sara SeckFollow

Document Type

Editorial

Publication Date

7-2-2015

Keywords

Business and Human Rights Law, Emerging Market Multinationals (EM MNEs), Transnational Corporations

Abstract

In his concluding remarks to the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in December 2014, John Ruggie highlighted the need to pay attention to the global importance of emerging market multinationals (EM MNEs). In a recently posted paper of mine in the journal Transnational Corporations entitled “Emerging Market Multinationals, Sustainable Development, and Human Rights: Lessons from the Canadian Experience”, I examined whether Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for Canadian Extractive Companies Operating Internationally could serve as a role model for EM MNE home states. Canada’s CSR Strategy was first introduced in 2009, and revised in November 2014. (My paper refers to the 2009 version of the strategy.) The Strategy promotes a series of international CSR standards to companies operating internationally including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the International Finance Corporation’s Sustainability Performance Standards, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the Global Reporting Initiative. In addition to the soft compliance mechanism of the OECD National Contact Point, a CSR Counsellor for the International Extractive Sector was established, although the position was highly criticized in part due to the fact that companies were under no obligation to participate.

Comments

Blog Post, Law at the End of the Day.

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