Christopher L. Avery          

361 Lauderdale Tower,  Barbican,  London EC2Y 8NA,  United Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected]                 __________________________________________________________________________________________

November 1997

CHINA: Recommendations to a company doing business in China

The following recommendations suggest some practical steps a company doing business in China could take to promote the rule of law and human rights. The recommendations, assembled by me in my personal capacity, are drawn in part from recommendations put forward by various international human rights organizations. This is an informal draft, intended to encourage discussion.

 

1. Ensure that the company's working practices in China set an example to others by respecting the fundamental human rights of employees and those with whom you do business.

 

2. Ban the purchase of goods made with child labour, forced labour or prison labour.

 

3. Ensure that your security personnel adhere to international standards on the use of force and respect the rights of the local community.

 

4. Require your contractors and partners to observe the same human rights standards that you do.

 

5. If an employee of the company is arbitrarily arrested, strong protests should be made to the highest levels of government, and the company should actively pursue the employee's release.

 

6. Discuss whenever possible with the Chinese authorities at local, provincial and national levels:

a) specific cases of human rights violations;

b) the need to introduce safeguards to protect human rights;

c) the need to end the arbitrary exercise of power by officials.

 

7. Engage in dialogue about the rule of law and human rights issues.

 

8. Raise awareness about internationally-accepted human rights standards.

 

9. Maintain regular dialogue with international human rights organizations working on China, so that views can be shared and concerns can be freely discussed.

 

10. Adopt and enforce a company policy on human rights.

 

11. Train your company's managers and staff about international human rights standards and about how to apply the company's policy on human rights.

 

12. Your company's senior managers in China and at international headquarters should regularly review:

a) the human rights record of all your operations in China;

b) concerns about respect for the rule of law and human rights in China.