OTTAWA – April 30, 2008 – Export Development Canada (EDC) today issued a Statement on Human Rights that sets out the principles that guide its consideration of potential impacts on the human rights of individuals affected by the transactions it has been asked to support.
"Throughout the world there is growing interest in protecting human rights and we believe financial institutions should be considering human rights as part of their business processes," said Eric Siegel, President and CEO of EDC. "While EDC has a strong assessment process to consider social impacts, including human rights, today's Statement clearly sets out our responsibility to evaluate potential human rights issues in projects we are asked to consider."
The Statement defines EDC's current practices in considering human rights issues associated with potential business. Those practices dictate EDC's adherence to Canadian government policies and international obligations, such as the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. EDC also considers a country's general human rights conditions as part of its political risk assessment, and specific human rights issues at the transaction level through the assessment of a project's social and related economic impacts.
The Statement follows the recent recommendations by the United Nations' Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Those recommendations comprise three core principles: the State's duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and the need for more effective access to remedies. EDC participated in consultations hosted by the Special Representative in Geneva and Copenhagen, and will continue to monitor those discussions to guide its approach to assessing human rights.
"Our practices have, and will continue to evolve along with international discussion of these human rights issues as well as advancements in resources available to companies to best respond to the challenges of working in emerging markets," added Mr. Siegel.
EDC recognizes that the internal capacity of Canadian companies to manage Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues continues to grow while emerging markets become an increasing part of EDC's business and Canadian trade. As Canadian exporters and investors expand their international reach into these markets, EDC supports their efforts to incorporate human rights into their broader CSR practices. The recognition of the potential effect of their business activities on human rights in a host country is an important first step.
The EDC Statement also reflects input from the Corporation's Advisory Council on CSR that provides guidance to EDC on matters related to best-in-class CSR practices. The work of the Council and all corporate CSR activities are made public in EDC's annual CSR Report, which summarizes its progress and its increased accountability through transparency. The CSR Report is structured to provide information on all CSR-evaluated activities and the performance measures related to EDC's corporate values.
EDC is Canada's export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC's knowledge and partnerships are used by 7,000 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining and is a recognized leader in financial reporting, economic analysis and has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for seven consecutive years.
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Media contact:
Phil Taylor
Export Development Canada
Tel: (613) 598-2904
Blackberry: ptaylor@edc.ca
EDC Statement on Human Rights
EDC values human rights and provides its financing and insurance services with a view to the promotion and protection of internationally-recognized human rights.
Investment projects may have potentially significant impacts on the human rights of individuals. EDC recognizes that financial institutions must endeavour to assess the potential for adverse human rights outcomes for individuals directly affected by such projects.
Valuing and Promoting the Protection of Human Rights
EDC is a wholly-owned arm of the Government of Canada that operates in a manner consistent with the Canadian government's policies. EDC receives public policy guidance from the Government of Canada with respect to Canada's international obligations, such as those elaborated in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Further to a memorandum of understanding signed in 2002, the Government shares intelligence with EDC on the human rights situation for a wide range of countries.
Recognizing Factors that Impact Human Rights
EDC's Political Risk Assessment Department routinely conducts country- and project-level political risk assessments that include an analysis of factors that influence human rights conditions in host countries. An additional layer of due diligence will be undertaken for investment projects and countries assessed to have a higher potential for human rights issues. This supplementary analysis may include an examination of factors such as the country's socio-economic dynamics, history of conflict and site-specific issues such as security, location and relations with local communities. These assessments take into account a range of external indicators including the World Bank's Country Governance Indicators, Minority at Risk data, Freedom House's Freedom of the Press and Civil Liberties ratings and conflict data from the University of Maryland's Center for Development and Conflict Management, among others.
Identifying Best Practices for Financial Institutions
EDC recognises the evolutionary nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, and actively monitors the international discussion of human rights issues. EDC also draws on the collective experience of the distinguished Canadians who comprise its Advisory Council on CSR. In terms of the field of assessment of potential human rights impacts, EDC is committed to working with the Government of Canada and other stakeholders to identify emerging best practices and to incorporate into its due diligence those practices that are relevant to the mandate of a financial institution.
