BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS / Šturma, Mozetic (eds)

governments to multinational enterprises and they clarify the shared expectations for business conduct of the governments adhering to them. 5 Countries adhering to the Guidelines include all OECD member countries and several non-member countries. The overall number of countries that currently adhere to the Guidelines is 48. 6 Indeed, with such broad governmental participation, the Guidelines have since their creation brought attention to and raised expectations in context of promoting CSR. In the new millennium, this belief has dimmed and the instrument is under criticism, predominantly coming from academia and civil society. 7 The OECD itself admits some weaknesses of the system. Already, the 2013 Annual Report on the Guidelines highlighted in particular the rise in the number of new adhering countries in the recent years; the growing number and increased complexity of specific instances; the new provisions of the Guidelines on human rights, risk-based due diligence, and supply chains; and the higher concentration of complaints in non- adhering countries and the expanding proactive agenda. Moreover, new developments such as the Rana Plaza tragedy and the reopening of Myanmar to international investment have highlighted the need for National Contact Points (NCPs) to work more. 8 This contribution takes a more positive view: the Guidelines are an important tool in the field of responsible business conduct (RBC) and CSR and in their prospects. For this purpose, this article examines firstly the significant developments to date and explores the role of the Guidelines. It is divided into the next four parts, starting with the outline of the nature and content of the Guidelines. Further follows an examination of the structure and functioning of NCPs. The next chapter explores NCPs “in practice”, providing readers with two case studies of recent disputes under the Guidelines handled by the Swiss and Dutch NCPs. This part is intended to prove the growing relevance of the system in mitigation of business activities. Finally, the article offers some concluding remarks about the Guidelines and their increasing relevance in the protection of societal values and human rights today. 5 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011), Preface, para 1. 6 The 35 OECD member countries: Australia (adherence in 1976), Austria (1976), Belgium (1976), Canada (1976), Chile (1997), Czech Republic (1995), Denmark (1976), Estonia (2001), Finland (1976), France (1976), Germany (1976), Greece (1976), Hungary (1994), Iceland (1976), Ireland (1976), Israel (2002), Italy (1976), Japan (1976), Korea (1996), Latvia (2004), Luxembourg (1976), Mexico (1994), Netherlands (1976), New Zealand (1976), Norway (1976), Poland (1996), Portugal (1976), Slovak Republic (2000), Slovenia (2002), Spain (1976), Sweden (1976), Switzerland (1976), Turkey (1981), United Kingdom (1976), United States (1976); and the 13 non-member countries: Argentina (1997), Brazil (1997), Colombia (2011), Costa Rica (2013), Egypt (2007), Jordan (2013), Kazakhstan (2017), Lithuania (2001), Morocco (2009), Peru (2008), Romania (2005), Tunisia (2012), Ukraine (2017). 7 E.g. ROBINSON, S.: International Obligations, State Responsibility and Judicial Review Under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises Regime, 30 Utrecht Journal of International and European Law , 2014, p. 72. 8 OECD. Annual Report on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 2013: Responsible Business Conduct in Action . OECD Publishing, 2014, p. 9-11.

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