(2) what the criteria are by which the UK National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises decides to include specific instance cases in the official OECD table of specific instances;
(3) what the criteria are by which the UK National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises decides to share relevant information with the complainant during the course of the specific instance procedure;
(4) to what extent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines on Multinational Enterprise cover the behaviour of UK companies in dealing with their suppliers; and if he will make a statement;
(5) when he will implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1457;
(6) if he will assess the extent to which his Department has implemented the recommendations made in the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; and if he will make a statement;
(7) in what ways the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises govern the operations of multinational companies in states where the national government is considered by the UK Government to be perpetrating humans rights abuses.
(8) how many complaints the national contact point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises has received under the specific instance mechanism relating to activities of UK companies in (a) Zimbabwe and (b) Nigeria in each of the last five years; and how many have been resolved;
(9) what the average time taken to conclude the specific instance procedure for complaints under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by the nation contact point located within his Department has been in each year since they were introduced;
(10) how he will ensure that complainants based in non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are able to use the specific instance procedure under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in relation to UK companies.
Governments adhering to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises encourage enterprises operating in or from their territories to observe the Guidelines wherever they operate. Chapter II—General Policies states that enterprises should
“respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host government's international obligations and commitments.”
Chapter II—General Policies also states that enterprises should
“encourage, where practicable, business partners, including suppliers and subcontractors, to apply principles of corporate conduct compatible with the Guidelines.”
As asserted m the September 2005 stakeholder consultation document on the UK national contact point's (NCP) promotion and implementation of the Guidelines, the NCP will follow its procedures where relevant and practicable if issues arise in non-adhering countries. Where information is not otherwise available, it may be able to obtain this through UK overseas posts. Where parties are unable to make their representations in the UK, it may undertake field visits, for which terms of reference will be established in advance.
The NCP has received no complaints relating to implementation of the Guidelines in specific instances by UK companies in Zimbabwe or Nigeria.
The NCP reports details of all complaints that it has decided justify consideration as a specific instance for inclusion in the OECD's annual report on the Guidelines.
Details of the number of meetings convened by the NCP between parties to a specific instance are not held centrally.
The procedural guidance that accompanies the Guidelines specifically provides that
“information and views provided during the proceedings by another party involved will remain confidential, unless that other party agrees to their disclosure.”
Accordingly, as asserted in the stakeholder consultation document, in the interests of transparency, the NCP will make available all documentation received from a party to other parties except in accordance with the exemptions provided for under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Details of the time taken to conclude specific instances by the NCP since it was set up following the decision of the OECD Council in June 2000 are as follows:
Company Complainant Filed Concluded National Grid Transco Citizens for a Better Environment July 2003 July 2005 De Beers n/a October 2003 May 2004 Avient n/a October 2003 September 2004 Oryx Natural Resources Rights and Accountability in Development October 2003 June 2005
Other specific instances have been dropped by the complainant or are ongoing.
The handling of UK companies listed in the final report of the United Nations Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of DR Congo referred to in Security Council Resolution 1457 as unresolved cases and referred to the NCP for investigation and updating was set out in the July 2005 Government response to a February 2005 report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region (APPG) report.
I have arranged for copies of the Government response to the APPG report and the stakeholder consultation document on the NCP's promotion and implementation of the Guidelines to be placed in the Libraries of the House. The Government will shortly publish its response to the stakeholder consultation.