Good Governance, Good Jobs Declaration

The Government of the United States and the Partnership for Central America share the belief that open, responsive, and accountable democratic governance is the foundation of vibrant economies that generate good jobs and are vital for the people of Northern Central America to lead fulfilling, safe, and dignified lives.  We acknowledge the important role that the Call to Action, announced on May 27, 2021, can play in fostering an environment where rule of law and decent work flourish.  We declare our intent to strengthen our collective efforts to achieve this vision.

As part of our continued collaboration under Central America Forward, we intend to work together to promote business integrity, respect for human rights – in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), meaningful due diligence, adoption of good practices, including as related to meaningful stakeholder engagement, and compliance with domestic and international laws, including with respect to the elimination of corruption; the right of freedom of association and to  collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; the elimination of human trafficking; the elimination of unlawful discrimination, including based on gender, in respect of employment and occupation; and a safe and healthy working environment.

We encourage private sector entities to join us in this endeavor.  We intend to partner with entities that model business integrity and adhere to the following principles and actions:

• Not to engage in corrupt business practices, including bribery;
• Not to tolerate violations of internationally recognized labor rights;
• Not to tolerate sexual harassment or violence in the workplace;
• Develop policies and practices to identify and mitigate adverse human rights impacts in their operations, in line with the UNGPs, and to take timely action in response to indications of corrupt conduct or human rights abuses;
• To identify opportunities to strengthen and apply internal prevention, detection, and remediation mechanisms and to promote these principles in their value chains.

We hereby commit to collaborate on advancing these goals and identifying and promoting best practices, innovating, and advocating for good governance and good jobs.