The Draft OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises

The OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE Guidelines) were adopted in 2005 as an internationally-agreed standard on how governments should exercise ownership of SOEs.

In early 2014 the OECD launched a consultation process to update and revise the SOE Guidelines.

IHRB welcomes the reference in the revised draft SOE Guidelines to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and in this submission highlights how the Guiding Principles have innovatively introduced operational considerations for Governments and SOEs.

IHRB commends the OECD on the initiative to open the SOE Guidelines for public comment. This contrasts with the process for the 2014 review of the OECD Corporate Governance Principles, which have not been open to public comment to date. Given the interlinkages and the importance of the OECD Corporate Governance Principles, it is important that these Principles are opened for public comment as well.

In June 2014, at the invitation of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, IHRB participated in a panel discussion on both sets of OECD corporate governance principles and their implications for the rights of stakeholders. The panel was filmed and can be viewed below.