OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1786 (XXXI-O/01)
5 June 2001
Original: Spanish
PROMOTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE
HEMISPHERE
(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on
June 5, 2001;
subject to review by the Style Committee)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on enhancing
probity in the Hemisphere and follow-up on the Inter-American
Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption (CP/doc.
/01);
RECALLING that, through resolution AG/RES. 1723 (XXX-O/00),
"Enhancement of Probity in the Hemisphere and Follow-up on
the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption," the General Assembly instructed the Permanent
Council, in following up on the Inter-American Program for
Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption, to "study
corporate social responsibility with a view to defining
precisely its scope and content in the inter-American context,
to examining and disseminating national and international
experiences undertaken to address the issue, and to promoting
the exchange of information and experiences among the member
states with international financial institutions, other
international organizations, the private sector, and civil
society organizations";
RECOGNIZING that businesses of all sizes and types 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 increasing access to opportunities,
including the reduction of inequality in the communities in
which they operate;
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the increasing expectations on the
part of our citizens and civil society organizations that
businesses will carry out their operations in a manner
consistent with their social responsibilities;
MINDFUL that attention given to the concept of
"corporate social responsibility" is increasing
worldwide, and that the concept is being addressed in various
multilateral forums; and
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 private sector
of principles of good conduct that will advance social
responsibility and support continued analysis and study of the
topic at the OAS,
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 for the benefit of the member
states.
2. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue examining
the topic of corporate social responsibility, in order to define
its scope and content in the inter-American context, ensuring
that civil society and the private sector are appropriately and
regularly consulted and that this process is enriched by the
experience of other international, national, and nongovernmental
organizations.
3. To urge the Permanent Council to convene a meeting as
early as feasible, in 2002, in accordance with the resources
allocated in the program-budget and other resources, and to seek
for that purpose the support of the Inter-American Development
Bank and other relevant inter-American organizations, with the
participation of representatives of governments and civil
society, including business and workers associations, to deepen
dialogue on corporate social responsibility in the Hemisphere
and raise awareness of key issues to be determined.
4. To instruct the Permanent Council to present a report to
the General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session on the
implementation of this resolution.
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