Child’s Rights and the Business Sector: Urging States and Private Companies to meet their obligations

Background 

The focus of this international seminar is to raise awareness and discuss ways and means to enhance the protection of the rights of the child in a business environment. It will primarily address the obligation of the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a protective framework, and remedy possible violations committed through the activities of companies. This will be done from the perspective of the rights of the child.

It is well known that business activities affect different aspects of children's lives, and can have both a positive and negative impact on children, communities, governments and may impinge on the enjoyment of the rights recognised by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its two Protocols. They can cause, or significantly contribute to, a wide range of violations of child rights, but they can also be an essential catalyst for societies and economies to strengthen and advance child rights through employment creation, technological innovation, educational improvement, and socially mindful investment.

Children are not a single homogenous constituency and they are impacted in various and different ways by businesses. Indeed, in relation to business, they might be employees, consumers, beneficiaries of services, directly or indirectly affected by their parents’ employers, or victims of rights violations caused by trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, environmental pollution or land acquisition. All rights enumerated in the CRC and its Protocols are relevant in this context, but certain provisions are more directly related to the activities of the business sector, for instance, art. 3 par. 1 (best interests of the child), art. 18, par. 3 (provision of child care for working parents), art. 24 (right to health), art 28-29 (right to education), and art. 32 (economic exploitation). 

Companies and corporations are highly diverse with regard to their nature, size, structure, operational context, location, ownership and relationship with the State. In many instances, a State can own or control businesses or can delegate powers and specific tasks to private companies (e.g., privatisation or providing services and goods). In other cases, entities within the business world operate independently from the State, albeit within a framework of taxes, labour and other laws, and frequently enjoy export credits and investment insurance provided by the State.

The Sion seminar will deal with the complex issue of how States, businesses and child rights interact and the possible impacts of business activities on the enjoyment by the children of their rights. The seminar will host well known international specialists and will close with a high level debate involving professionals from a variety of backgrounds.

In addition to plenary presentations, workshops will also allow participants to discuss concrete issues, cases and examples, as well as the issue of the responsibility of States to protect child rights from violations committed by companies outside of the country of residence, in their global operations (or extra-territorial jurisdiction).

The seminar will also constitute an important contribution to the discussions around the drafting of a General Comment on "Child Rights and the Business Sector" by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Recommendations of the seminar will be taken into consideration by the Committee. 

For more information, or to register for the event, click here.