Latest news with #UNGuidingPrinciples
Muscat Daily
08-07-2025
- Business
- Muscat Daily
Oman launches initiative to boost jobs for persons with disabilities
Muscat – A national initiative was launched on Tuesday to enhance employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the private sector, reinforcing the sultanate's commitment to social inclusion and economic empowerment. The announcement was made during the opening of the Business and Human Rights Forum, organised by Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in cooperation with the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights. The initiative aims to promote equal opportunity and non-discrimination by ensuring fair access to employment across diverse private sector environments. It also seeks to implement the forum's outcomes through practical measures aligned with national employment targets and the broader objectives of justice, inclusion and sustainability. Held under the patronage of H E Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, the two-day forum which opened on Tuesday has the participation of government institutions, private sector representatives, civil society, academia, UN agencies and international human rights experts. Dr Rashid bin Hamad al Balushi, Chairman of OHRC, said Oman has long adopted a balanced approach to development by linking economic freedom with social responsibility. He cited the Basic Law of the State and Oman Vision 2040 as key frameworks that uphold principles of good governance, sustainability and respect for human rights. Dr Rashid bin Hamad al Balushi 'Promoting human rights in the workplace is a strategic imperative,' Balushi said. 'It supports sustainable development and builds trust between employees, employers, investors and consumers.' Dr Damilola Olawuyi, a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, commended Oman's new initiative, calling it an important step in aligning trade and employment policies with international human rights standards. He noted that more than 30 countries have adopted national action plans on business and human rights since 2011 and stressed the importance of responsible corporate conduct in advancing development goals. Dr Damilola Olawuyi The forum's opening day featured two thematic sessions. The first explored national and international frameworks for protecting human rights in business, including the UN Guiding Principles, legal protections in Oman, the role of Oman Vision 2040, and the contribution of higher education institutions in building awareness. The second session focused on shared responsibilities across institutions. Participants included representatives from the judiciary, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Protection Authority, and Ooredoo, which presented a case study on its workplace inclusion practices for persons with disabilities. The forum will continue on Wednesday with discussions on developing institutional policies to safeguard human rights. Representatives from the public, private and civil society sectors will examine strategies to enhance cross-sector collaboration and ensure effective implementation of rights-based practices. The forum supports Oman's broader efforts to integrate human rights into the business ecosystem, in line with Vision 2040 priorities and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It also aims to encourage dialogue, share experiences and address challenges in aligning domestic legislation with global standards.
The Wire
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Wire
The Hoax of Decline in Poverty in India
Rangarajan and S. Mahendra Dev have estimated poverty in India using the all India Consumption Expenditure Survey data from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 surveys. Their concept of poverty was the one recommended by the Rangarajan Committee on Estimating Poverty in India. Their paper shows that extreme poverty in India has declined significantly from 29.5% in 2011-12 to 9.5% in 2022-23 and to 4.9% in 2023-24. The decline is fairly rapid: 2.05 percentage point decline per year between the year 2011-12 and 2023-24. The World Bank also shows in its recent paper that at the poverty line of USD 2.15 (at 2017 PPP) per day, India's extreme poverty has declined from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23. That means about 170 million people have been lifted above the extreme poverty line in India during this period. The depth of poverty analysis by Rangarajan and Dev's paper also show that 50% of the poor lie between the 3rd and 4th quarter of the poverty line, both in 2011-12 and 2023-24. This means, most of the poor are concentrated around the poverty line. As regards the causes of this decline, the paper observes that this is due to rapid economic growth and safety nets, including free food grains to 81.35 crore people. However, they also observe that economic growth is important in this decline in poverty between 2022-23 (9.5%) and 2023-24 (4.9%) as there is no significant change in the welfare expenditure of the government during this period. It is too early to call this last decline a trend, with data for only two years. Concepts of poverty line The concepts of poverty used by both the sources are different. The Rangarajan Committee has defined the poverty line as simultaneous satisfaction of all three nutrient-norms, namely, a full range of policies and programmes for child nutrition support, public provisioning of a range of public goods and services aimed at the amelioration of the disease environment facing the population. The committee also preferred NSSO's estimates and decided not to use the NAS estimates and price relatives derived from the Consumer Price Indices. According to the committee (2014), the poverty line was Rs 972 for rural areas and Rs 1,407 for urban areas. The poverty lines computed as per capita monthly consumption expenditure for 2023-24 are Rs 1,940 for rural areas and Rs 2,736 for urban areas. This comes to Rs 64.66 per capita per day consumption expenditure for rural areas and Rs. 91.2 for urban areas. The concept of extreme poverty of the World Bank is defined slightly differently. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as 'deprivation in wellbeing'. The poor is one who does not have enough income or consumption, or who is below some adequate minimum threshold. According to the UN Guiding Principles on 'extreme poverty', extreme poverty is characterised by social exclusion and by an accumulation of insecurities in many areas of life, such as lack of identity papers, unsafe housing, insufficient food and lack of access to health care and to education. However, the World Bank also adds that it is extremely difficult to measure poverty in a rigorous way, and every country sets its own standards for what is necessary for basic living. This definition is translated into different amounts at different levels of development. For low income countries, the World Bank sets the extreme poverty line at USD 2.15 PPP, while it is USD 3.65 PPP for lower middle income level countries and USD 6.85 PPP for upper middle income countries. Some critical questions The World Bank has used USD 2.15 PPP while computing the extreme poverty in India, and based on it, it observed that 170 million people have crossed the poverty line. This is surprising because India is a lower middle income country, and its extreme poverty line is USD 3.65 PPP. If this poverty line was used, the number of people crossing it would be much less. Again, the poverty line of Rs. 64.4 (rural areas) and 91.1 (urban areas) computed by the Rangarajan-Dev paper also appears to be too low. No poverty can be measured by such low poverty lines. How can anyone live on these poverty lines at these consumption expenditures? Despite more than 806 million people getting free food grains, India's rank in global hunger index is at 105 out of 127 countries and the value of the hunger index is 27.3. This is declared as an 'alarming condition' by the Global Hunger Report, 2024. Again, when about 13.7% of the population in India is clearly undernourished and not getting minimum nourishment, how can the incidence of poverty be just 4.9, as suggested by the Rangarajan-Dev paper? How can 35.5% children under 5 years be stunted and 18.7% wasted if the poverty is just 4.9%? The latest NFHS survey-5 (National Health and Family Survey) also supports this data. Again, as per the latest data (PLFS 2023-24), about 20% of the Indian population is illiterate, and about 45% of the population has studied barely up to the Class 5, and here, there are serious problems about the quality of education. Consequently, more than 90% of the labour force is found in the informal economy getting low wages and poor social protection. To conclude, though India's GDP is growing at a 6-7% rate, people's vulnerability is declining extremely slowly. The incidence of poverty at 4.9% just does not match with the vulnerability of the Indian population. It appears that India should now totally discard this concept of '(extreme) poverty line' presented by the earlier committee. Indira Hirway is Director and Professor of Economics, Centre for Development Alternatives (CFDA), Ahmedabad. 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See - Sada Elbalad
03-07-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
The European Union calls for international accountability for violations in Palestine
Amir haggag The European Union expressed its deep concern on Thursday over the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, stressing the need for accountability for violations of international law and calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all detainees. In a statement delivered by the European Union mission during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the EU affirmed, as published on the official website of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Commission, its continued cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to promote the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles in this area. The European Union emphasized its commitment to respecting international law and implementing its legislation on products from settlements, in accordance with relevant bilateral technical arrangements. It emphasized that all agreements concluded with Israel must explicitly stipulate that they do not apply to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, without this constituting a boycott of the Israeli state, which the European Union strongly opposes. The EU also called for the removal of all restrictions on the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, in accordance with humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law. It reiterated its condemnation of the escalation of violence in the West Bank, due to settler violence, settlement expansion, the Israeli military operation, and the increase in attacks against Israel. The statement concluded by reaffirming the EU's call on all parties to fully cooperate with the Human Rights Council mechanisms and respect their mandates. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence"
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU urged to align sustainability due diligence with global standards
While the coalition acknowledges the European Commission's initiative to simplify due diligence for businesses, it cautions against any oversimplification that might dilute due diligence efforts. It also argues that the current proposal could inadvertently complicate risk management, increase unpredictability, and inflate corporate expenses. This alliance, comprising amfori, Cascale, Ethical Trade Norway, ETI Sweden, Fair Labor Association, Fair Wear, and the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), represents a collective of over 6,000 member companies and affiliates across ethical supply chain management. The joint statement comes against the backdrop of the EU's Omnibus proposal, designed to streamline regulations to enhance competitiveness and spur investment. The coalition's recommendations to EU policymakers include: 1. Preservation of a proportionate and risk-based approach: The present Omnibus proposal diminishes due diligence obligations by limiting them to direct suppliers, unless a company possesses credible information regarding indirect partners. This shift towards a reactive approach—where comprehensive assessments are conducted only after a potential harm is identified—may result in increased remediation costs. In contrast, a proactive, prevention-oriented risk-based approach, aligned with the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines, would be more effective in mitigating risks. 2. Effective risk management for sound business operations: Significant risks within global supply chains frequently extend beyond immediate suppliers. Continuous due diligence is crucial; it should not be limited to occasional assessments of a few suppliers. Imposing arbitrary restrictions can heighten business risks and expenses, while a comprehensive understanding of the supply chain, coupled with robust risk management practices, enhances preparedness and resilience. 3. The importance of stakeholder engagement: Excluding national human rights and environmental bodies along with civil society organisations from mandatory engagement could impair companies' ability to devise effective prevention and remediation strategies. Their exclusion would result in a loss of crucial expertise. 4. Harmonised enforcement for legal certainty: Implementing EU-wide mandatory due diligence legislation is expected to provide clearer expectations and greater legal certainty for businesses. This harmonisation should extend beyond the due diligence standards to include the associated enforcement mechanisms. The current proposal, however, risks creating a fragmented litigation landscape. 5. Certainty for invested businesses under CSRD: Invested businesses require a stable and predictable environment. Narrowing the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) would exclude 80% of the companies currently subject to its requirements. This change could undermine the efforts of those organisations that have been preparing for compliance, leaving them to grapple with legal uncertainties and internal challenges. Additionally, the Omnibus proposal aims to reduce the "trickle-down effects" on non-reporting companies. However, this strategy risks disrupting alignment with other EU regulations that necessitate engagement with suppliers and the collection of value chain data. The coalition is confident that it is possible to simplify due diligence and reporting requirements while still adhering to the essence of international standards. It urged co-legislators to collaborate with them in order to ensure that the simplification process is both effective and impactful. Earlier this month, European fashion and textile sector trade bodies welcomed the EC's plans to delay sustainability reporting, noting it allows companies sufficient time to understand and implement guidance effectively. The coalition states that narrowing the scope of the CSRD under the Omnibus proposal would exclude 80% of the companies currently subject to its requirements. Credit: Garmentsphotos/Shutterstock. "EU urged to align sustainability due diligence with global standards" was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
