National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct exist in all 51 countries adhering to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the Guidelines). NCPs are the Guidelines’ implementation mechanisms and have three key functions:

• they raise awareness and promote the uptake of the Guidelines
• they act as a non-judicial grievance mechanism for alleged breaches of the Guidelines by companies (known as ‘specific instances’)
• they may support their government’s policy efforts to promote RBC.

Governments have flexibility on how to set up their NCP. Some NCPs are government-based and operated by civil servants, some are multistakeholder bodies, while others are composed of independent experts. However, all NCPs must operate in accordance with the core effectiveness criteria set out by the OECD: they must be visible, accessible, transparent, accountable, equitable and impartial, predictable, and compatible with the Guidelines.

To ensure they live up to these criteria, all NCPs are subject to regular oversight by the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct and the OECD Investment Committee, including periodic mandatory peer reviews.

Promotion: NCPs are responsible for raising awareness and uptake of the Guidelines and OECD due diligence guidance. They do so by maintaining websites and providing translations of OECD standards and tools on responsible business conduct in national languages, organizing events and trainings for business and other stakeholders, and by developing promotional materials.

Grievance mechanism: Any person with a legitimate interest in reporting an alleged non-observance of the Guidelines by a company operating in or from an Adherent country may file a case to the appropriate NCP. If the NCP decides that the issues merit further examination, it will offer mediation to the parties to facilitate agreement. In all cases received, NCPs will issue a public statement, which can contain recommendations to the company. NCPs generally follow up on agreements and recommendations.

Support to policy: An enabling policy environment is key to responsible business conduct. Governments therefore increasingly intervene through policy and regulation to promote RBC, according to the principles laid out in the OECD Recommendation on the role of governments in promoting RBC. For example, the majority of countries that have adopted a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights are adherents to the Guidelines. NCPs may support their government’s policy efforts, for example by providing their expertise, leading stakeholder consultation processes, or having a role in policy implementation.

In all these functions, NCPs operate as a network: they cooperate on promoting the Guidelines and their promotional actions reinforce each other. They coordinate on handling grievances where necessary, for example when issues raised span several countries. The NCP network meets regularly to exchange good practices.

The OECD plays a supporting, coordinating and knowledge-sharing role to strengthen the effectiveness and visibility of the NCP network. We provide this support in a number of ways: