Human rights and animal husbandry

The consideration of human rights is a high priority in foreign trade promotion. The German government expects environmental, social and human rights standards to be observed, particularly in projects that are supported by German foreign trade promotion instruments. The Federal Government expects companies to observe the established canon of human rights in their business activities. Companies are required to act in accordance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) and to comply with their human rights due diligence obligations as formulated in the German National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles).

The German government therefore sets high standards for project appraisals when issuing export credit guarantees.

As part of the assessment of environmental, social and human rights aspects, topics such as occupational safety, health and safety of the population, legality of land acquisition and resettlement, protection of indigenous peoples, protection of cultural heritage, consultation opportunities for those affected, workers' rights (including freedom of assembly, right to trade union membership, right to freedom of movement, etc.), the protection of minorities and particularly vulnerable groups and the existence of a complaints mechanism are examined.

In this context, in accordance with the OECD Common Approaches, the published reports of the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines (NCP) must be included in the review. The Federal Government goes beyond these requirements by considering complaints already received by the NCP as well as certain related events and problems (e.g. the non-participation of a company) in the project appraisal. Organizations and individuals can contact the NCP if they are of the opinion that the OECD Guidelines have been violated.

Animal welfare is a high priority for projects in the area of animal husbandry and transportation. The German government has therefore campaigned within the OECD and the World Bank Group for stricter animal welfare standards in the area of foreign trade promotion.

The World Bank Operational Safeguard Policies and the IFC Performance Standards as well as the relevant Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines (Poultry Production, Poultry Processing, Mammalian Livestock Production etc.) of the World Bank Group are applied to livestock projects within the scope of the OECD Common Approaches. The IFC Good Practice Note on Animal Welfare in Livestock Operations (including the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare) is also used as a guide to ensure compliance with animal welfare aspects.

The majority of deliveries for livestock facilities from Germany already comply with EU standards. However, the Federal Government does not consider it expedient to base foreign trade promotion for livestock facilities entirely on German/EU standards. If Germany alone were to take EU standards into account, suppliers from other countries would generally be used, which would probably not make a positive contribution to animal welfare and could also be detrimental to the German export industry.

In the case of transactions relating to animal husbandry outside the scope of the Common Approaches, a risk assessment of the animal welfare aspects is usually carried out.