AFD_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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Information on commitments to promote sustainable development

2.3.5 Initiatives to promote human rights The question of enforcing international standards in the area of human rights is asked and included in the implementation of the projects financed. Consistent with its exclusion list, AFD Group avoids financing the “production or sale of any illegal product or unlawful activity under the laws of the host country or France or under international regulations, agreements and/or conventions” as well as “products or activities that use forced labour (1) or child labour (2) ”. Mandatory operations-related work takes account of all the risks which arise from respect for the fundamental rights of man, and which are referred to in the recognised international standards, texts and conventions: human trafficking, sex tourism, population movements, forced labour, child labour, working conditions, equity for disadvantaged or excluded social groups (particularly women) and non-compliance with cultural diversity. These risks are formally set out in financing agreements signed with partners and recipients that must also mention adherence to the fundamental principles of the ILO. To ensure human rights are respected in all operations, to raise awareness amongst employees and more generally reinforce internal capacities, a range of training courses is offered at the head office and in the local offices. In this way, 1,909 hours of training dedicated to human rights were provided to head office employees in 2017. Following transfer of the governance of the financing of bilateral cooperation mandate in 2016, AFD has expanded its consideration for human rights in its operations, in support of the institutions. Proposals for ways to incorporate this dimension in the Agency’s operations are in the process of being identified. In addition, the “NGO Initiatives” programme, as a financing instrument, was the precursor of governance issues within AFD and human rights in particular. One of the three aims of the civil society organisation (CSO) cross-functional intervention framework (CIF) 2013-2016 was to support the work of French players in the areas of development cooperation, the promotion of democratic governance and fundamental rights, including human rights. This strategic approach has been reaffirmed in the next CIF-CSO covering the period 2017-2022.

Civil society organisations’ initiatives on human rights are integrated and recognised as part of governance-related initiatives. The share of financing allocated to governance projects was quite stable over the 2013-2017 period, varying between 14% and 23% each year, with an average of 19%. As a result, 63bprojects were supported over the period involving total subsidies of €42.2M. In 2017, 22bgovernance-related projects received support amounting to €9.8M with a total project amount of €20.8M. These projects target a wide range of issues and cover both civil and political rights (combating human trafficking, torture and the death penalty, ending impunity, the detention conditions of prisoners, asylum, defending press freedom, access to justice, etc.) and economic and social rights (decent employment, freedom of association, sexual and reproductive health rights, combating sexual tourism, etc.). They often target specific groups: the rights of women, children, migrants, people under arrest, disabled people or people defending human rights. Many other projects on the ground led by civil society organisations, which are not recorded here, incorporate a rights-based approach, particularly economic and social rights. For example, FIACAT’s project aiming to restrict excessive pre-trial detention in order to prevent torture in prisons in the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar; the Reporters sans Frontières project defending the freedom of information in more than 30bcountries; Cimade’s project defending the rights of migrants in West Africa and the Maghreb; and the Ensemble project opposing the death penalty through human rights education in France and internationally. Awareness raising initiatives are conducted internally and externally. For example in September 2017, AFD organised a seminar on the theme “which prison policies for which societies in the 21st-century”.

(1) “Forced labour” refers to any work or service, performed involuntarily and exacted from an individual by threat of force or punishment as defined in the conventions of the ILO. (2) Employees must be at least 14byears of age as defined in the ILO’s Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (C138 –bMinimum Age Convention, Articleb2), unless local laws require compulsory school attendance or a minimum working age. In such circumstances, the highest age requirement must be used.

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REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2017

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