Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperEffectiveness criteria for non‐judicial grievance mechanisms 5In order to ensure their effectiveness, non‐judicial grievance mechanisms, both State‐based and non‐State‐based, should be:(a) Legitimate: enabling trust from the stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and being accountable for thefair conduct of grievance processes;(b) Accessible: being known to all stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and providing adequate assistancefor those who may face particular barriers to access;(c) Predictable: providing a clear and known procedure with an indicative timeframe for each stage, and clarity on the typesof process and outcome available and means of monitoring implementation;(d) Equitable: seeking to ensure that aggrieved parties have reasonable access to sources of information, advice andexpertise necessary to engage in a grievance process on fair, informed and respectful terms;(e) Transparent: keeping parties to a grievance informed about its progress, and providing sufficient information about themechanism’s performance to build confidence in its effectiveness and meet any public interest at stake;(f) Rights‐compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies accord with internationally recognized human rights;(g) A source of continuous learning: drawing on relevant measures to identify lessons for improving the mechanism andpreventing future grievances and harms.However, any voluntary mechanisms such as Article 10 should not detract from the duty ofgovernments to protect human rights. Governments must also provide access to redress forvictims through robust regulatory frameworks and judicial mechanisms that ensure theprotection of civilians, including against human rights abuses committed by third parties. Thisincludes transnational corporations and business enterprises operating extraterritorially, andthus relates to many private sector tourism stakeholders. Where states have failed to adoptlegislation that would impose extraterritorial liability on multinational corporations for thebreach of human rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises provide apotential alternative tool for holding companies accountable for human rights abuses. Theyare applicable to all companies from OECD countries.Mechanisms of CSO involvementA number of key documents, including the Stakeholder Empowerment Project (2009) 65 , theCardoso Report 66 and the Aarhus Convention 67 provide examples of key documentation oncivil society empowerment and the need for meaningful engagement of civil society in all UNprocesses at the decision making level.The UNWTO should consider its positioning within the wider UN system. For example, acloser alignment with treaty-monitoring bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee, couldfoster new lines of communication, support and intra-UN agency understanding on issues oftourism development, human rights and civil society engagement.Almost all UN agencies have a civil society "focal point" whose role is to ensure mainstreamingof civil society into agency processes and effective communication with CSOs in this regard.The CSO Focal Point is usually a staff member of the particular agency, programme or fund.65The Stakeholder Forum (2009), The Stakeholder Empowerment Project: Stakeholder Forum for a sustainable future,www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Thepercent20Stakeholderpercent20Empowermentpercent20Project.pdf66The Cardoso Report (2004), A/58/817, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/376/41/PDF/N0437641.pdf?OpenElement67Aarhus Convention (1998), www.unece.org/env/pp/documents/cep43e.pdf92