Children’s Rights in Business

The Charter on Children’s Rights in Business is a declaration in which the business community recognizes the rights of children and commits to protecting them. The document was prepared and signed by the Responsible Business Forum in cooperation with companies and social organizations.

The Charter of Children’s Rights in Business is a new initiative in Poland. It is intended to encourage companies to take concrete measures to protect children’s rights throughout the entire value chain of businesses. It was prepared by the Responsible Business Forum in cooperation with companies and social organizations.

On the occasion of the first companies to sign the Charter on Children’s Rights in Business, audio material was created with the youngest children telling what children’s rights mean to them. The material was created in cooperation with Katarzyna Stoparczyk, who created the radio program “Children Know Better” and also co-created the TV format “Big Children.”

Dzieci o Karcie – Forum Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu

The Charter on Children’s Rights in Business was written based on three areas:

1. obligations within the organization to those employed
2. obligations directed outside the organization, towards customers and clients, users and users of services and products
3. obligations directed outside the organization, in the value chain (both upstream and downstream), towards business and social partners and affiliates.

The Charter on Children’s Rights in Business addresses respect for children’s rights in the broad context of business impact. Among other things, it is intended to foster responsible hiring, creating a parent-friendly workplace and supporting parents in balancing their social roles. It also addresses responsible sales and promotion of products and services aimed at children. In addition, it emphasizes special care in the creation of communication materials that use the image of a child. The Charter obliges companies to introduce appropriate requirements for their suppliers, contractors and business and social partners.

Children’s rights are human rights

New EU regulations on sustainability management – the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and CSDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive) – are giving companies more attention to respecting human rights – including children’s rights – throughout the value chain. This means the emergence of specific requirements for companies to mitigate and take corrective action if violations occur.

The Charter has been created taking into account the provisions found in the following documents:

1. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
2. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
3. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct
4. “The Children’s Rights and Business Principles” developed under the aegis of UNICEF, UNGC and Save the Children

How can the Charter help organizations?

Through the Charter and its supporting activities (questionnaire for companies, good practices or other educational materials), we will suggest to companies how to approach this topic comprehensively – to maximize their positive impact and minimize the negative one. As a supplement to the Charter will serve as a compendium of knowledge on respecting children’s rights in business, along with good practices of companies that are already taking such measures.

How will compliance with the Charter be enforced?

The Charter on Children’s Rights in Business is a voluntary declaration, the symbolic and public signing of which will be a social commitment to stakeholders. The company undertakes to comply with the provisions contained in this document. Thus, we count on some social control.

1. UNICEF Poland,
2. The Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business,
3. The Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights,
4. The Orange Foundation,
5. The Dorastaj z Nami Foundation,
6. The Digital Citizenship Institute Foundation,
7. The Give Children Strength Foundation,
8. Diversity PL Foundation.

Our support for our initiative was also expressed by:

1. The Lewiatan Confederation,
2. The Janusz Korczak Institute for Children’s Rights,
3. The French-Polish Chamber of Commerce (CCIFP)
4. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
5. The Charter was presented at a meeting of the Parliamentary Group on the Rights of the Child acting under the chairmanship of MP Monica Rosa.

We want to promote the Charter widely among FOB partners and other companies for whom the idea of sustainable development and respect for human rights is important.