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| CHILD PROTECTION - INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE CHARTER |
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 INVITATION TO ALL BCCT MEMBERS TO SUPPORT
BCCT members are invited to join the following companies in signing up to support the BCCT/CEOP International Corporate Charter for Child Protection:-
Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) pcl
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd
HSBC
Mazars Double Impact Ltd
MBMG International Inc
Manpower Thailand
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
European Safety Concepts Thailand Co Ltd
Jones Lang LaSalle (Thailand) Ltd
Sutlet Group (Thailand) Co Ltd
During March 2010 the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), in order to promote the work of CEOP's International Child Protection Network. Further detailed information on CEOP which is a part of UK police and its relationship with BCCT may be found on the BCCT website at:-
members.bccthai.com/bcct/asp/general.asp?MenuCatID=1&MenuItemID=164&SponsorID=0
This charter is designed to support the BCCT membership in the development of their child protection strategy. This is an ongoing process therefore members are invited to sign-up at any time. There is no deadline. |
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What are the general challenges in promoting child protection?
1. Children are at risk of abuse and exploitation where there is poverty and deprivation
2. There is often little understanding of child protection issues - or acknowledgement of the need for a specific response to children which separate to the response to adults and is based on an understanding of their needs and vulnerabilities
3. Underlying systems of protection are often weak which leaves professionals and members of the public facing complex child protection dilemmas even where they do seek to become involved.
4. These cut across and are further challenged by the different legal, social, cultural contexts in which agencies work.
A child's right to protection
Children and young people have a right to be protected and to be safe from harm from others. We will work to promote the safety and wellbeing of children in all the ways that we can. We will be guided by the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that:
'States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical and mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of a child.'
Article 19 - UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
We therefore agree to the following principles:
. All children have equal rights to protection from exploitation and abuse
. All children should be encouraged to fulfill their potential and inequalities should be challenged
. Everybody has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children
. Every organisation (including businesses) have a duty of care to any children with whom they come into contact or with whom their representatives or partners come into contact |
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Our pledge
Our pledge to children and young people who are suffering, or at risk of suffering abuse or neglect is that we will:
. Listen to and respect children in our communities
. Put them in touch with people who can help them
. Use our own power to help them and advocate on their behalf
. Promote services that can help them and other children in a similar situation
. Try to ensure that other adults and professionals understand their needs and do what they can to help
What we will do
In signing up to this charter we agree that where it is possible for us to do so we will do the following:
1. Support awareness raising activity and help our employees and others to understand, identify and report child protection issues to those that can help.
2. Challenge individuals, organizations or institutions who are seeking to exploit children or those that are allowing this to happen
3. Support services promoting child protection as well as those working towards improved legal and social protections for children
4. Consider the nature of our business and its contacts with children (including employee's families and other points of influence in children's lives). Ensure that we promote and support child protection policy and practice.
5. Make child protection a key aspect of CSR initiatives, including engaging with communities where children are at risk and promote child protection through engagement and advocacy with key relevant stakeholders. |
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Corporate Charter for Child Protection:
Context and Strategy Setting Document
The context of the CP Charter
This document accompanies the charter and explains its aims and purpose. It is intended to both set the context for the charter as well as to explain the future strategy for taking it forward. In particular it considers ways of ensuring that the pledge to children is more than simply a personal commitment by individual employees of companies but reflects a corporate commitment that businesses can deliver to in Thailand. It also reflects the reality that a 'Corporate Charter for Child Protection' needs to be meaningful, and will only become so where it is successfully driven forward through clear leadership as well as support and guidance around concrete actions and activities that businesses can take forward.
It is hoped that once the broad overarching principles of the Charter (above) are agreed to this draft strategy setting document will provide the beginning of a dialogue with businesses and others about ways to move forward and what the specific needs are e.g. training tools and resources, as well as identified leaders or champions.
The value and purpose of a Charter has to be clear for businesses and it is important to acknowledge the complex and wide ranging ways in which businesses can and will impact on children and the potential extent of their influence. It is important to acknowledge that children's rights to protection is undermined not only by the lack of systems to identify, report and deal with specific acts of abuse but also more broadly their protection is jeopardized by poverty and hardship which compromises their basic rights to survival and development. |
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The Charter has been drafted so that it can encompass the commitment to a range of ways in which businesses can potentially support children and young people. This includes providing concrete opportunities for children through their education and employment as well as improving the circumstances in which their families live (which might be influenced by the conditions and circumstances of employees) as well as in specifically embedding the mechanisms to identify, challenge and report when children are found in circumstances of exploitation and abuse. Whilst acknowledging that all of these are powerful influences in the lives of children, this strategy document focuses on the immediate role of protection from acts of exploitation and abuse as a starting point - though wider projects or corporate schemes that impact on children may be enhanced through the development of a child protection network and the shared principles of a charter.
Different levels and contributions
The Charter outlines the basic principles of child protection that should be upheld and the different contributions that businesses can aspire to in promoting and improving child protection. The Charter has been drafted to engage an agreement about principles but this strategy document recognizes the different levels and potential contributions that businesses can make depending on their size and sphere of influence. For businesses that employ small numbers of people and work in very challenging contexts it may be difficult to deliver these immediately in terms of providing wider social support or advocacy for children, or to have an employee that directly provides a child protection lead. In this sense the charter should be viewed as a set of aims and principles that businesses can work towards, rather than a finished or closed and completed agreement. |
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However, all businesses should try to work towards a point where child abuse and exploitation are clearly understood and challenged by those working for their company. Larger businesses or corporate groups should seek to explore all of the relevant ways they can influence child protection outcomes including influencing their corporate partners and others.
It also recognizes that in a number of contexts in which businesses work the circumstances will be outside of their control. However, it outlines what businesses should do 'where it is possible' for them to do so, and so outlines a series of principles or aspirations in relation to the protection of children that we hope that the business community can work towards. |
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Key steps to work towards
The following represent some of the key steps in developing a system of support and challenge for businesses in Thailand. These cover some key steps that businesses may aspire to.
. Developing a written policy on child protection that explains what abuse and exploitation is
. Training of staff so that they have an understanding of abuse and exploitation of children
. Identification of a named person who will lead on that policy and to whom reports or concerns can be reported. They will have contact details for local protective services.
. Ensuring that staff working closely and directly with children are adequately checked and supervised.
. Ensuring that the behaviour of staff towards children is positive and non-discriminatory
Monitoring progress
Individual businesses should agree to a process of self assessment. This would involve exploring whether they are doing all that they can to promote the standards outlined in the charter, and to document the progress that they have made. This would then form part of their statements around CSR. Ideally it would be possible to work together to agree and develop a standardized monitoring procedure for all companies which would allow for flexibility based on differences in size and fields of activity of different businesses.
Identifying needs
This strategy document identifies that the following is needed:
. Local businesses to have a clear understanding of the local reporting mechanisms (and mapping of key contacts)
. Relevant child protection awareness materials and training tools (CEOP to develop)
. Guidance and leadership to drive these principles and practices forwards (potentially though the BCCT) |