The OECD has come out with a Risk Awareness Tool to help multinationals operating in zones with "weak governance". The guidance was requested by participants at the 2005 Gleneagles G8 summit.
The Risk Awareness Tool is non-prescriptive but sets out a range of questions for companies to consider in such areas as: 1) obeying the law and observing international instruments; 2) heightened care in managing investments, 3) knowing business partners and clients; 4) dealing with public sector officials; and 5) speaking out about wrongdoing.
A number of resources exist for multinationals hoping to answer these questions, such as International Alert's Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Guidance for Extractive Industries (also in Spanish) and guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights has a more comprehensive tool, the Human Rights Compliance Assessment, that allows companies to self-assess risks specific to human rights violations. A quick assessment is free, but the full one is expensive at 4,000 euro. Or check out the (free) executive summaries of various country risk assessments, including China, Brazil and India.
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