<strong>to</strong> work. Forced labour affects <strong>the</strong> lives of children <strong>in</strong> that it h<strong>in</strong>ders <strong>the</strong>ir preparation forfuture labour markets, and, more immediately, families are prevented from maximis<strong>in</strong>g<strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>come, so that <strong>the</strong>y often f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong>mselves without adequate food, shelter and healthcare. Consequently, children may be forced <strong>to</strong> supplement family <strong>in</strong>come. It is suggestedthat bus<strong>in</strong>ess has a role design<strong>in</strong>g and implement<strong>in</strong>g community education programmes,provid<strong>in</strong>g vocational tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and offer<strong>in</strong>g counsell<strong>in</strong>g programmes for children.Although child labour is a k<strong>in</strong>d of forced labour, it is also <strong>the</strong> subject of pr<strong>in</strong>ciple five.<strong>Child</strong> labour <strong>in</strong>cludes economic exploitation and work that may be dangerous <strong>to</strong> a child’shealth or morals and that may h<strong>in</strong>der a child’s development. The Compact recognisesdifferent standards of acceptable and unacceptable work for different age groups <strong>in</strong> both<strong>the</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g and developed worlds. It is suggested that while bus<strong>in</strong>ess should not usechild labour <strong>in</strong> ways that are socially unacceptable or that lead <strong>to</strong> a child los<strong>in</strong>g his or hereducational opportunities, bus<strong>in</strong>ess must be careful not <strong>to</strong> take action which may forcework<strong>in</strong>g children <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> more exploitative forms of work. Bus<strong>in</strong>ess is encouraged <strong>to</strong>: abide by<strong>in</strong>ternational standards when national labour laws are <strong>in</strong>sufficient; develop and implementdetection mechanisms; and ensure adult workers are provided with decent wages, secureemployment and safe work<strong>in</strong>g conditions.S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> Compact is not a regula<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>in</strong>strument, nei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> UN agencies, nor <strong>the</strong>Global Compact Office, has <strong>the</strong> authority <strong>to</strong> moni<strong>to</strong>r or enforce adherence <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> tenpr<strong>in</strong>ciples. Early on, this attracted criticism, so <strong>the</strong> Secretary-General adopted several<strong>in</strong>tegrity measures. Two such measures are particularly worth not<strong>in</strong>g. The first concernsa participant’s annual communication on progress. If a company fails <strong>to</strong> complete thiscomponent for two consecutive years, it will be labelled “<strong>in</strong>active,” mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> companywill be barred from participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> events or us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Compact name and logo until <strong>the</strong>company complies. The second measure concerns <strong>the</strong> allegation of systemic or egregiousabuse. In such cases, <strong>the</strong> Global Compact Office plays a role, but will not <strong>in</strong>volve itself <strong>in</strong>legal claims brought aga<strong>in</strong>st a participat<strong>in</strong>g company. The Office will forward non-frivolouscompla<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>to</strong> participat<strong>in</strong>g companies and if asked, will help <strong>the</strong> company remedy <strong>the</strong>situation. Companies are asked <strong>to</strong> make written comments addressed <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> compla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gparty; if a company refuses <strong>to</strong> respond it is regarded as “<strong>in</strong>active” and will be so identifiedon <strong>the</strong> Global Compact website. Aside from <strong>the</strong>se roles, <strong>the</strong> Global Compact Office has<strong>the</strong> discretion <strong>to</strong> take o<strong>the</strong>r smaller actions. The “<strong>in</strong>tegrity measures” do not <strong>in</strong>clude directsanctions aga<strong>in</strong>st companies that violate <strong>the</strong> ten pr<strong>in</strong>ciples, but <strong>the</strong>re is some discussionabout us<strong>in</strong>g Compact participant-status <strong>to</strong> launch domestic lawsuits aga<strong>in</strong>st corporations.Criticisms of <strong>the</strong> Global Compact can be broken down <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> five categories: language andterm<strong>in</strong>ology; voluntary vs. regula<strong>to</strong>ry nature; “network model” characterisation; weak (or30|Private Sec<strong>to</strong>r Accountability <strong>in</strong> Combat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Commercial Sexual Exploitation of <strong>Child</strong>ren
lack of ) moni<strong>to</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g and enforcement procedures; and decision-maker accountability.As a voluntary <strong>in</strong>itiative designed <strong>to</strong> encourage responsible corporate citizenship, <strong>the</strong>Global Compact states that corporations should adhere <strong>to</strong> specific pr<strong>in</strong>ciples, ra<strong>the</strong>r thanus<strong>in</strong>g stronger language, such as shall. This permissive language may not necessarily giverise <strong>to</strong> a positive obligation on bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>to</strong> prevent human rights violations. The generalityof terms may also prove problematic; specifically, corporations can embrace, support andenact without tak<strong>in</strong>g concrete action <strong>to</strong> promote human rights. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, pr<strong>in</strong>cipleone refers <strong>to</strong> rights <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> UDHR, but <strong>the</strong> Compact does not highlight specific rights <strong>to</strong>embrace, support and enact. Ano<strong>the</strong>r concern may exist with <strong>the</strong> phrase sphere of <strong>in</strong>fluence; <strong>in</strong>particular, assum<strong>in</strong>g one of its subsidiaries does not support and respect human rights, acorporation may simply claim <strong>the</strong> particular subsidiary is not with<strong>in</strong> its sphere of <strong>in</strong>fluenceand escape responsibility. 88 Not only is <strong>the</strong> choice of language problematic, but so is <strong>the</strong>mean<strong>in</strong>g given <strong>to</strong> particular terms. For example, even though many participat<strong>in</strong>g firmsare not from <strong>the</strong> US, <strong>the</strong>re is concern that <strong>the</strong> Compact promotes a Western version ofcorporate social responsibility. This is problematic because sometimes <strong>the</strong> western view is notcongruent with national values of non-western states.As a voluntary <strong>in</strong>itiative, only those companies who choose <strong>to</strong> participate <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Compactare expected <strong>to</strong> embrace, support and enact <strong>the</strong> ten pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. Although <strong>the</strong> Compactreports that over 2,500 bus<strong>in</strong>esses participate, this represents only a fraction of globalcorporations. A regula<strong>to</strong>ry model b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g on all companies would <strong>the</strong>oretically holdmore corporations liable. With this <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, bus<strong>in</strong>ess may use <strong>the</strong> Compact <strong>to</strong> avoid <strong>the</strong><strong>in</strong>troduction of <strong>in</strong>ternational and domestic regula<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>in</strong>struments. Of <strong>the</strong> participat<strong>in</strong>gcompanies, <strong>the</strong>re is also concern about <strong>the</strong> ‘k<strong>in</strong>ds’ of firms that participate. 89 A corporation’smotivations may play a fac<strong>to</strong>r <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> extent <strong>to</strong> which <strong>the</strong>y participate. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong>reare those who believe that <strong>the</strong> corporations most likely <strong>to</strong> volunteer are those that leastneed <strong>to</strong> change.An essential <strong>in</strong>gredient of <strong>the</strong> network model is partnership between corporations, civilsociety, governments and o<strong>the</strong>r stakeholders. Some are of <strong>the</strong> view that <strong>the</strong> UN shouldnot allow corporations with poor human rights records <strong>to</strong> participate <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Compact. Arelated criticism is that <strong>the</strong> network model gives corporations <strong>to</strong>o much <strong>in</strong>fluence over <strong>the</strong><strong>in</strong>itiative, its pr<strong>in</strong>ciples and direction.The importance of an effective moni<strong>to</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g and enforcement procedure cannot be overstated.Although <strong>the</strong> Compact is not an endorsement for participat<strong>in</strong>g companies, for UN agencies(as well as o<strong>the</strong>r stakeholders) participation is an <strong>in</strong>dication that <strong>the</strong> company is suitablefor partnership projects. The argument might be made that o<strong>the</strong>r sec<strong>to</strong>rs and stakeholdersPrivate Sec<strong>to</strong>r Accountability <strong>in</strong> Combat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Commercial Sexual Exploitation of <strong>Child</strong>ren|31
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- Page 9 and 10: Executive SummarySince the First an
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high-profile case in the US where a
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child actors have gone on in adulth
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5. New Technologies Sub-Sector5.1 C
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North American cases illustrate how
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up to $US 500 if they violate the c
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As the genre is so new, there have
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law enforcement agencies, but equal
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6. Financial Sub-SectorIt has been
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law enforcement is having trouble u
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Another important objective of the
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Endnotes1 Mark Erik Hecht is an aca
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35Canada. Industry Canada. Corporat
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84On 31 Jan. 1999, UN Secretary-Gen
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110Norms, D.111Norms, point 5. (Rea
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143Ibid., “General Policies.” P
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179Ibid., Annex, III: Global Report
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of the Guidelines).212Ibid., Part I
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258Ibid.259UNWTO Report to the UN G
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310Ibid., 12.311Council of Europe,
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Germany and South Africa, ISPs are
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The World Congress III against Sexu