Human rights, human progress

December 18, 2008

Sixty years ago this month, the nations of the world agreed to a landmark document containing this simple yet powerful truth: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

These words are the cornerstone of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on Dec. 10, 1948.

Just as ExxonMobil is committed to meeting the world’s growing demand for energy to power economic progress, we are also committed to playing an important role in advancing human rights and opportunities.

ExxonMobil actively promotes respect for human rights and supports the spirit and intent of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our commitment begins with our Standards of Business Conduct, which provides a common set of ethical practices for all employees.

In addition, as part of our commitment, we have taken an active role in multi-stakeholder efforts — such as the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative — that seek to ensure the fair treatment of people and communities wherever corporations such as ours do business.

We also help advance human rights in communities by developing “national content” — providing jobs, building local capacity by training local employees and contractors, purchasing local goods and services, and investing in communities in areas such as education, health care and infrastructure.

The responsibility of transnational corporations to respect human rights is one of the core principles of a policy framework recently issued by John Ruggie, the U.N. Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, who was appointed to lead this effort by the U.N. Secretary General in 2005. It is a responsibility that the more than 80,000 ExxonMobil employees around the world work to uphold every day.

When it adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the United Nations envisioned a world in which all human beings could live in dignity and freedom. These goals were critically important 60 years ago, and they remain so today and for the future.