New UN expert body to promote respect for human rights among businesses has been established. It is inviting governments, companies and NGOs to submit ideas and proposals to help establish its work program for next year and beyond. The UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises will take businesses’ submissions into account during its first session in January, when the Group’s priorities and activities will be determined. New “Guiding Principles” Had Been Established by UN Human Rights Council: The group already started working by focusing on a set of internationally accepted guidelines and principles to prevent and address the risk of adverse human rights impacts linked to business activity. This Group is related to and will in part seek enforcement of a set of “Guiding Principles” developed by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights Mr. John Ruggie, who presented the guidelines to the UN Human Rights Council early this summer, June 2011. diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/global-criteria-for-business-to-respect-human-rights-un-official-by-ambassador-mo/28526 The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, endorsed in June by the UN Human Rights Council, outline what businesses need to do to ensure human rights are respected in their enterprises, and give access to effective remedies when those rights have been negatively affected. (READ – UN Human Rights Council Endorses New Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/un-human-rights-council-endorses-new-guiding-principles-on-business-and-human-rights-by-ambassador-mo/29772 Effecting “Guiding Principles”: The principles are the product of six years of research and consultations and involved governments, companies, business associations, civil society, affected individuals and groups, and others around the world. These new standards outline how States and businesses should implement the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework in order to better manage business and human rights challenges. ---Under the ‘State Duty to Protect,’ the Guiding Principles recommend how governments should provide greater clarity of expectations and consistency of rule for business in relation to human rights. ---The ‘Corporate Responsibility to Respect’ principles provide a blueprint for companies on how to know and show that they are respecting human rights. ---The ‘Access to Remedy’ principles focus on ensuring that where people are harmed by business activities, there is both adequate accountability and effective redress, judicial and non-judicial. The new Group will monitor the following of these principles by conducting country visits, promoting good practices, and organizing an international forum on businesses and human rights to discuss the challenges enterprises face when implementing the guidelines. By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook - Become Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX More Related Reports at “International Financial Crisis” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/international-financial-crisis