PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G
ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN STATES CP/CG-1518/03
rev. 3
15
May 2003
GENERAL COMMITTEE Original: English
DRAFT RESOLUTION
PROMOTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE
HEMISPHERE
(Approved by the General
Committee at its meeting of May 15, 2003)
DRAFT RESOLUTION
PROMOTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE
HEMISPHERE
(Approved by the General Committee at its meeting of
May 15, 2003)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING that, through resolution AG/RES. 1871
(XXXII-O/02), “Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Hemisphere,”
the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to “continue to foster
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
responsibilities”;
BEARING IN MIND that the Plan of
Action of the Third Summit of the Americas supported “the continued analysis
and consideration in the OAS of corporate social responsibility” and 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”;
RECOGNIZING that businesses play a central role in the
creation of prosperity and the flow and maintenance of trade and investment in the
Hemisphere and that they 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 business will conduct their operations in a
manner consistent with their social responsibilities;
MINDFUL that attention to corporate social responsibility
is increasing worldwide, and in particular in the Hemisphere and that the
concept is being addressed in various multilateral forums;
RECOGNIZING the cross-cutting nature of corporate social
responsibility and its ties with issues under the responsibility of a variety
of organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS; and
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on
promotion of corporate social responsibility in the Hemisphere (CP/CG-1521/03
rev. 2),
RESOLVES:
1. To
congratulate the organizers, sponsors, and participants on the success of the
“Americas Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, Alliances for
Development”, hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World
Bank, and the Organization of American States (OAS), with the support of the
Government of Canada and of the Government of the United States of America
through its Inter-American Foundation (IAF), which was held in Miami, USA, from
September 22 to 24, 2002, with the participation of over 500 representatives of
OAS member state governments and civil society, including business and labor
groups, compliant with the mandate assigned to them by the Heads of State and
Government in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas.
2. To
welcome the sponsorship by the Government of Panama, with the support of the
IDB, of the “Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Americas, as
a Tool for Competitiveness,” to be held in Panama City, October 26 to 28, 2003.
3. To
request the Permanent Council and the Permanent Executive Committee of the
Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) to:
a.
Ensure that
proper follow-up is given to the above-mentioned conferences in the OAS
context, in keeping with the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas.
b.
Convene a
joint session to discuss the complementarities between corporate social
responsibility and economic development to maximize the benefits from corporate
social responsibility; and to encourage member states, should they see fit, to
report on progress in this area within their countries at this opportunity.
c.
Undertake
jointly to foster the exchange of experience and information among member
states and the different organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS, in close
collaboration with the OAS Trade Unit, the Secretariat for the Summit Process,
and the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD), in order
to coordinate and strengthen cooperation activities in the area of corporate
social responsibility.
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 “Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility
in the Americas, as a Tool for Competitiveness”, in Panama, and to promote
their participation and that of experts and officials.
5. To
instruct the General Secretariat to carry out the activities mentioned in this
resolution within the resources allocated in the program-budget and other
resources.
CP11471E04
6. To
instruct the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its
thirty-fourth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.