Improving human rights practices in RMG sector in Bangladesh

More than 40 participants from Bangladeshi businesses, government agencies, trade unions and civil society organisations came together in Dhaka early this month to identify concrete actions to improve human rights conditions in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector.
The multi-stakeholder forum was organised as part of the Pillars in Practice programme, a joint initiative of the CSR Centre (Bangladesh), Social Accountability International (USA) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark).  
The objective of the project is to help companies, government agencies and civil society organisations implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The Pillars in Practice project has been ongoing since October 2012, and has conducted wide consultation toward identifying human rights challenges in the RMG sector and devising actions to address them.
Aroma Dutta, Honorary Member of National Human Rights Commission, attended the forum as special guest and appreciated the initiative taken up by the CSR Centre, in partnership with SAI and DIHR, in order to improve the working condition in Bangladesh's RMG industry by implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Participants in the multi-stakeholder forum recommended actions for companies, civil society organisations and government agencies to improve sustainability in the RMG sector under five major themes: Environmental sustainability, discrimination, working conditions, occupational health and safety and trade unions. These priorities were identified through earlier multi-stakeholder engagements.
Recommendations for government stakeholders included updating trade union regulations and passing all environmental legislation currently in draft form. RMG companies were encouraged to establish platforms for information sharing and capacity building, and to raise awareness among their suppliers and employees of the human rights impacts of their sector. Recommendations of the civil society organisation included monitoring that company and government commitments to preventing human rights abuses in the RMG sector are enacted.
Stakeholders also suggested concrete actions to improve their own performance and that of other sectors.
All of the information gathered through the Pillars in Practice project will be made publicly available through the CSR Centre, Social Accountability International and the Human Rights and Business Country Guide (HRBCountryGuide.org), a free website hosted by the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
ABOUT PILLARS IN PRACTICE: Pillars in Practice is an international initiative to build the capacity of civil society organisations in Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe to advance the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The programme targets three industrial sectors over a 18-month period: agriculture in Nicaragua, garment manufacturing in Bangladesh, and mining in Zimbabwe.
ABOUT THE CSR CENTRE: The CSR Centre is an organisation in Bangladesh, initiated and established by the private sector; it aims to contribute to the achievement of the human development targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through private sector development. As a joint focal point of the United Nations Global Compact and the lead promoter of the Global Compact Network Bangladesh, the Centre has worked in the readymade garment sector (RMG) to promote the UNGC principles including labour standards, health & safety, women empowerment, social compliance, and sustainable business practices. The Centre fosters a network and cooperation between existing CSOs and state actors and bringing in new players to create sustainable development models for the RMG industry.
ABOUT SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY INTERNATIONAL (SAI): SAI is a 15-year-old multi-stakeholder NGO whose mission is to advance the human rights of workers around the world. Itpartners to advance its mission by promoting ethical working conditions, labour rights, corporate social responsibility and social dialogue. Its advisory board includes trade unions, companies and NGOs from 10 countries and five industries.
SAI has widely demonstrated its ability to design and deliver training programmes that disseminate key information and educate stakeholders from civil society organizations, governments, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and transnational corporations on the implementation of social standards. It developed the SA8000® workplace standard, a widely used tool for implementing ILO conventions. SAI is one of the world's leading social compliance training organizations, having provided training to over 50,000 men and women, including factory and farm managers, national and migrant workers, brand compliance officers, auditors, labour inspectors, trade union representatives and other worker rights advocates.
ABOUT THE DANISH INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) is a National Human Rights Institution accredited under the UN Paris Principles, and carries out research, education and rule of law programmes in Denmark and around the world. Since 1999, the Danish Institute has worked closely with the business and human rights communities to develop tools and standards for better business practice.
The Human Rights and Business Country Guide (HRBCountry Guide.org) is a project carried out by DIHR, in collaboration with local partners, to help companies prevent their negative impacts and contribute to development wherever they operate. Through local engagement with civil society, government and businesses, the Country Guide will expand to cover 40 countries by 2016.   
farhana.csrcentre@gmail.com