2022 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles developed jointly by UNICEF, UN Global Compact and Save the Children in consultation with children, businesses, investors, governments, civil society, trade unions, national human rights institutions and United Nations entities.

The organizations also recently released the joint report: Charting the Course: Embedding Children’s Rights in Responsible Business Conduct and an executive summary. This report outlines key achievements and themes that need to be addressed to accelerate the impact on children through business actions and policy decisions.

Roundtable in the Netherlands

The Alliance partners UNICEF and Save the Children in the Netherlands invited a group of stakeholders from various sectors, including private businesses, government, academia, youth leaders, international organizations, and others committed to protecting children’s rights for a roundtable discussion ‘Mapping businesses’ influence on children’s rights’.

The invitees were given three themes on children’s rights: international value chains, the digital environment, and the platform economy. What followed was a lively conversation in which concerns were expressed about, among other things, the – often complex – approach to child labour. Furthermore, the working conditions of young employees of delivery services were also discussed as was the need for education for children, parents, and teachers within schools and education around digital literacy.

Conclusions

The main conclusions that emerged from the discussion were the following.

The government should take a pioneering role in:
– Protecting children’s rights
– Hold companies accountable for their responsibility (and take measures if necessary);
– Making consumers more aware of the ‘true price’ of products and services;
– Raising prices of certain products and services to ensure fair production and trade.

Companies need to:
– Respect and protect children’s rights in all links of the chain;
– Make known what is needed to the government;
– Dare to be a forerunner in the field of fair and sustainable business;
– Including the rights of children in the design of products and services, and also involving children and young people themselves in the designs to prevent possible harm.

And for all parties:
– Make it known that children’s rights are still violated on a daily basis;
– Keep discussing it and….

Keep working together!