The results of the peer review conducted on the operation of the Hungarian National Contact Point are now officially available
The peer review on the operation of the OECD Hungarian National Contact Point (HNCP) took place in Budapest in October 2023, jointly organized by the OECD Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance.
The report summarizing the main results of the evaluation was officially presented in March 2024 at the meeting of the OECD Working Group for Responsible Business Conduct. The report concludes the most significant findings and recommendations made by the peer review team. Both the peer review and the summary report proved to be very useful for the HNCP. Mostly positive feedback was received from the experts of the peer review team, also the OECD Secretariat and the other NCPs supplemented additional stimulating ideas and advice, which can greatly contribute to a further development of the HNCP.
The report provides a comprehensive picture about the institutional framework of the HNCP, also about the promotional activities it carries out to raise awareness to the guidelines for multinational companies (Guidelines), its process of handling complaints, and increase the cooperation in the area of RBC (responsible business conduct) that supports governmental policy coherence. The report emphasizes that the HNCP must strengthen its visibility and accessibility, moreover, it must establish a structured dialogue with individual civil organizations and implement closer cooperation with the National Contact Points of other participating member states.
Introduction of the Guidelines among business actors and increasing visibility of the HNCP is expected to result more specific instances submitted to the HNCP which is also a decisive objective in the report. The mediation procedure that can be conducted by the HNCP is a kind of "charity activity", with the purpose to enable a natural or legal person affected by the violation of the Guidelines to turn to the HNCP for help in order to protect their rights guaranteed by the Guidelines.
In addition to all the above mentioned, the HNCP Secretariat has started preparing the adoption of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which also promotes the realization of governmental coherence and the promotion of the Guidelines among government actors. The HNCP strives to participate in events organized by stakeholders experienced in RBC, to update its existing brochures and information documents, and also to translate the sectorial recommendations into Hungarian.
The full report published by the OECD Secretariat is available on our website (CLICK HERE).