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8.5 Children’s Rights and Business Principles
As stated in the introduction, the development of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles
means that tour operators have the possibility of taking an integrative approach to ensuring
that children’s rights are respected in their operations. Save the Children, the UN Global
Compact and Unicef have developed these principles in consultation with children, business,
investors, trade unions, national human rights institutions, civil society, governments, academics,
United Nations entities, child rights experts and business experts. They are not legally
binding, but “businesses of all sizes and from all sectors and geographies are encouraged to
use the Principles to guide their efforts to respect and support children’s rights.” 222
It is vital to take into account the effects of tourism in Thailand, Cambodia and South Africa
in considering how these principles can be put into practice. The principles are stated below
and further elaborated by Save the Children Sweden (Rädda Barnen) on the role of businesses
in implementing the principles.
All businesses should:
1. Meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting
the human rights of children
2. Contribute to the elimination of child labour, including all business activities
and business relationships
3. Provide decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers
4. Ensure protection and safety of children in all business activities and facilities
5. Ensure that products and services are safe, and seek to support children’s
rights through them
6. Use marketing and advertising that respect and support children’s rights
7. Respect and support children’s rights in relation to the environment and to
land acquisition and use
8. Respect and support children’s rights in security arrangements
9. Help protect children affected by emergencies
10. Reinforce community and government efforts to protect and fulfil children’s rights
The Children’s Rights and Business Principles are the first comprehensive set of principles
to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace
and community to respect and support children’s rights. The principles are built on existing
standards, initiatives and best practices related to business and children, and aim at filling
gaps so as to present a coherent vision for businesses wishing to maximize positive impacts
and minimize negative impacts on children. The principles help to elaborate both expectations
of and opportunities for business in relation to children – a frequently overlooked
stakeholder in the business community.
Ten principles identify how businesses can respect and support children’s rights through
core business activities; strategic social investments; advocacy and public policy engagement;
and partnerships.
The first principle outlines the actions to be taken in the form of policy commitments, due
diligence and remediation, and encourages all businesses to go beyond basic respect for
children’s rights to the next steps of supporting and promoting these rights.
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