Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

attracting reputable companies 333Local civil society organizations may play an important role in monitoringboth public and private projects and identifying serious problemsat an early stage. If they are to play this role effectively, they may needtraining to build up their expertise.Promote Government and Public Understanding of BusinessOne by-product of greater transparency may be a greater public understandingof business risk. Companies frequently complain that governmentofficials do not understand the principles of business. Bothgovernments and companies have a role to play in explaining why andhow companies make decisions.Support the Refinement of Laws on HumanRights and BusinessMany nongovernmental organizations and other observers point tothe apparent contradiction that the legal principles covering transnationalcorruption are now well covered in international law, whereasthere is much less clarity on the arguably more important (and diffuse)topic of business responsibility for human rights. Developing aninternational legal consensus is a complex process, but the draft UNdocument “Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and OtherBusiness Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights” is an importantstep.Companies tend to resist new regulation. Trade ministries andbusiness associations need to put greater emphasis on the argumentthat clear legal regulation strengthens rather than impedes goodcompanies.Work with Industry GroupsIndustry associations and chambers of commerce have an importantrole in disseminating best practice. One disadvantage is a tendency—like armies—to proceed at the pace of their slowest members in thehope of achieving consensus.An alternative approach is to set up ad hoc self-selected groups ofbest-of-class companies in the hope that they will pave the way forother companies in their sector. This kind of approach has had somesuccess in international banks’ development of the Wolfsberg principlesagainst money laundering as well as the U.S.-U.K. voluntary principles.It would be helpful to set up a similar group, involving Southerncompanies from the start, to look at other conflict-related issues.