The OECD National Contact Point (NCP) Norway decides to handle a complaint that the Norwegian company Sjovik AS fishes and operates a fish processing plant in the Non-Self-Governing territory of Western Sahara.
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The complaint has been filed by the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara (NSCWS) to the OECD NCP Norway. NSCWS claims that Sjovik AS, through their activities, undermine the Sahrawi right to self-determination and thus violate the human rights provisions of the OECD Guidelines for responsible business conduct.
– Accepting the case does not mean that the company has violated the OECD Guidelines, emphasizes Head of Secretariat to OECD NCP Norway, Hege Rottingen.
The OECD NCP Norway received the complaint on 5 December 2011 and has found that the complaint is substantiated and linked to the OECD Guidelines.
Provides dialogue
NSCWS and Sjovik AS will be invited to a meeting to explore opportunities for further dialogue or mediation. If dialogue or mediation is rejected or unsuccessful, the NCP will publish a final statement on whether or not the company has violated the Guidelines.
OECD National Contact Points
As a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Norway is obliged to have a national contact point to assess complaints against companies for violations of the OECD Guidelines for responsible business. National Contact Points are not legal bodies, but facilitate dialogue and examine complaints on ethical grounds.
The Norwegian NCP belongs administratively to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but is in substance independent of the government and led by Professor and Dean Hans Petter Graver of the University of Oslo.
Contact:
Head of Secretariat, Hege Rottingen
+47 95 40 94 93
her@mfa.no