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.