AG/RES. 1871 (XXXII-O/02)
PROMOTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE HEMISPHERE
(Adopted at the fourth plenary
session held on June 4, 2002)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING that, through resolution AG/RES. 1786 (XXXI-O/01),
“Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Hemisphere,” the
General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to continue examining the
topic of corporate social responsibility, in order to define its scope and
content, ensuring that this process is enriched by the experience of other
international, national, and nongovernmental organizations
;
BEARING IN MIND that the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the
Americas supported the discussion of “ways to promote the development,
adoption and implementation by the business community of principles of good
conduct that will advance corporate social and environmental responsibility”
and “support[ed] the continued analysis and consideration in the OAS of
corporate social responsibility”;
RECOGNIZING that businesses play a central role in the creation of
prosperity and the flow and maintenance of trade and investment in the
Hemisphere;
CONVINCED that businesses can make important contributions to
sustainable development and increase access to opportunities, which can
include reducing inequality in the communities in which they operate;
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the increasing expectations on the part of
our citizens that businesses will conduct their operations in a manner
consistent with their social responsibilities;
MINDFUL that attention to corporate social responsibility is increasing
worldwide, and that the concept is being addressed in various multilateral
forums;
RECOGNIZING the efforts made by several member states to pay attention
to corporate social responsibility activities carried out within those states;
and
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on strengthening
probity in the Hemisphere and on the follow-up to the Inter-American Program
for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption (CP/GT/PEC-121/01),
RESOLVES:
1.
To request the Permanent Council to continue to foster the exchange of
experience and information among the OAS, other multilateral organizations,
international financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society
organizations, among other pertinent bodies, in order to coordinate and
strengthen cooperation activities in the area of corporate social
responsibility.
[1]
2.
To congratulate the Permanent Council on the success of its special
meeting on practices in terms of corporate social responsibility in the
Hemisphere and the role of government in promoting them, which was attended by
public and private sector experts from various regions of the Hemisphere and
by international organizations.
3.
To instruct the Permanent Council to participate, with the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, and other appropriate
international organizations, in the organization of the Americas Conference on
Corporate Social Responsibility, convened by the IDB, to be held in Miami,
United States, from September 22 to 24, 2002, with the participation of
representatives of OAS member state governments and civil society, including
business and labor groups.
4.
To encourage OAS member states, insofar as possible, to inform their
private sectors, business associations, unions, and academic and civil society
organizations about the upcoming Americas Conference on Corporate Social
Responsibility, and to promote their participation and that of experts and
officials.
5.
To instruct the Permanent Council to provide support to the Americas
Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, within the resources allocated
in the program-budget and other sources, and to ensure that proper follow-up
is given to the Conference in the OAS context, in keeping with the spirit of
the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas.
6.
To instruct the Permanent Council to consider the possibility and
advisability of convening a special meeting on corporate social responsibility
to be held in the first half of 2003; and to encourage member states, should
they see fit, to appoint representatives to report on progress in this area
within their countries.
7.
To instruct the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at
its thirty-third regular session on the implementation of this resolution.
