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Children's Rights and Business
Business impact and responsibility towards human rights has long been a concern for NGOs, and since the development of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) considered an important factor in reaching rights compliance and development. Save the Children has been engaged in the issues for quite some time, an engagement that was formalized in 2012 with the publishing of the Children's Rights and Business Principles (CRBP).
The UNGP stands on the “Protect, Respect, Remedy”-framework that sets forth three fundamental principles when it comes to the fulfilment of rights;
- The state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business, through appropriate policies, regulation, and adjudication;
- The corporate responsibility to respect human rights, which means to act with due diligence to avoid infringing on the rights of others and to address adverse impacts that occur; and
- Greater access by victims to effective remedy, both judicial and non-judicial
The UNGPs are not singling out any rights or groups, but lays the ground for all rights of all individuals, and stating that extra concern should be given to those that run a higher risk of not enjoying ther rights.
Save the Children has developed several tools and guidelines offering the possibility to advocate for and reach change in terms of business impact on children’s rights. This goes through capacity building within civil society and children themselves, creating awareness on CR&B-related violations towards children’s rights, advocating change in policy towards the state and their duty of protect children’s rights, and influence business in changing their behavior in relation to impact on children’s rights. Besides the UNGP, the General Comment no. 16 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children's rights) and the CRBP offers more guidance on how change can be reached for children and their rights by addressing change in corporate behavior – on the one hand through state obligations and on the other through private sector acknowledging and understanding business responsibility.
Photo: Mark Kaye/Save the Children
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RecommendedChildren's Rights and Business Principles (CRBP)
Developed by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact and Save the Children – the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (the Principles) are the first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace,
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RecommendedChildren's Rights and Business Explained: A reader-friendly version of the Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No. 16 on state obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children's rights
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RecommendedBusiness and Children's Participation: How businesses can create opportunities for children's participation
This guide serves to inspire businesses and civil society organizations (CSOs) interested in respecting and supporting children’s rights and specifically, the child’s right to be heard as it relates to the ten Children’s Rights and Business Principles, wh
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RecommendedYou, your rights & business. A resource for young people and children about children's rights and business principles
What are your rights? What is Business? What should business be doing to respect your rights? The answers to these questions and much more can be found in the pages you are about to read. This booklet, developed by Save the Children, is a practical guide
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RecommendedThe Children's Rights and Business Principles in Context
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RecommendedVideo introduction and interviews on Children's Rights and Business
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RecommendedGeneral Comment No. 16 (2013) on State obligations regarding the impact of business on children’s rights
Adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in February 2013, General Comment No. 16 addresses the state obligations regarding the impact of businesses on children’s rights. It is one of the most recent pieces of international law available on
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RecommendedChildren's Rights in Policies and Codes of Conduct. A tool for companies
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