Advancing and Strengthening the OECD National Contact Point Peer Review Process

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), Accountability Counsel, and OECD Watch are pleased to announce the launch of a new project: Advancing and Strengthening the OECD NCP Peer Review Process.

As part of the 2011 update of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, National Contact Points (NCPs) agreed to engage in peer learning activities, including voluntary peer reviews. In June 2015, the G7 Leaders’ Summit called on the OECD to promote peer reviews and peer learning more broadly. The purpose of the peer review process is to acknowledge the strengths and achievements of the NCP under review, but also to identify areas for improvement.

The peer review process provides an important opportunity for NCPs to take stock of their achievements, acknowledge weaknesses, and implement strategies to strengthen their effectiveness and performance. Furthermore, the process provides a platform for NCPs to learn positive practices from peers and enables stakeholders to reflect on the efficacy of the NCP system. With an increasing number of NCPs participating in the peer review process, it is an opportune time to examine the reviews conducted to date, analyze their quality and outcomes, and develop recommendations to ensure a more robust process moving forward.

Recognizing not only the present value, but also the potential of the NCP peer review process to improve implementation of the OECD Guidelines and enhance access to remedy for victims of corporate misconduct, this Project seeks to examine the NCP peer review process and identify opportunities to strengthen its effectiveness and performance. By analyzing peer review practices and experiences, we hope to provide insight into the NCP peer review process and generate lessons for NCPs, the OECD, and relevant stakeholders moving forward.

Ultimately, this Project aims to enhance the effectiveness and performance of the NCP review process to strengthen the NCP system overall and advance access to remedy for the communities, civil society organizations, and workers who file complaints against corporate breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. By focusing on the NCP system, the lessons highlighted by this Project could be informative for non-judicial grievance mechanisms more broadly, addressing corporate human rights, labor, and environmental harms. The methodology will include extensive desk-based research and consultations with NCPs, civil society, labor groups, business, and others that have been involved in the peer reviews to date.

The final report will be launched at the 2017 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights.