Advancing the promotion of the MNE Declaration at the national level through national focal points

On 11 December 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) facilitated a first-ever exchange between national focal points appointed in ILO Member States to promote the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) at the national level. The webinar brought together 77 live participants and 138 registered attendees, highlighting the strong interest from governments, employers and workers in promoting sustainable and responsible business practices and investments that advance inclusive growth and decent work. Participants included besides the national focal points, also constituents from other ILO member States interested in further promoting the MNE Declaration at the national level as well as ILO specialists who provide support to these processes.

Recognizing that enhancing the impact and contribution of the principles of the MNE Declaration to inclusive growth and decent work at the country level requires firm commitment from the tripartite constituents, governments, employers and workers are encouraged to appoint national focal points on a tripartite basis to promote the use of the MNE Declaration and its principles at the national level. Following the ILO Governing Body’s call for the Office to support the appointment and functioning of such national focal points, 23 ILO member States have now appointed such national focal points to advance the application of the MNE Declaration’s principles in line with national priorities. Given that these national focal points have different structures and activities in line with the national context and priorities, the webinar allowed for an exchange of experiences, sharing of good practices and lessons learned, and a discussion on opportunities for a stronger collaboration.

The webinar comprised two interactive sessions:

• In the first session, “Exploring different structures of national focal points”, the national focal points of Nigeria and Madagascar presented their respective approaches to organizing and structuring focal points, highlighting the flexibility of these arrangements and their adaptability to national contexts.
• The second session “Initiatives and achievements in promoting and implementing the MNE Declaration”, featured presentations from the focal points of Pakistan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cape Verde, showcasing concrete initiatives and achievements.

Other participants shared their experiences, fostering a rich peer-to-peer dialogue and offering insights that could inspire action in other countries.

The ILO also presented a draft “Question and Answer” document on the national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration, developed in response to questions received and clarifying the mandate, profile, appointment process of national focal points as well as their specific activities – including their role in promoting synergies with follow-up mechanisms of other international RBC instruments such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on RBC. Participants provided their feedback on the draft Q&A based both on the guidance in the MNE Declaration itself and their concrete experiences so that the Q&A can be shared more broadly.

The webinar underscored the importance of peer learning, cross-regional collaboration, and active engagement of governments, employers, and workers. It particularly highlighted the added value of including a broader range of actors within national focal points structures –beyond the tripartite constituents – such as investment promotion agencies, social dialogue institutions, local content agencies, civil society, and national human rights institutions as this allows for greater policy coherence and coordinated action at the national level and more coherent guidance to enterprises. The active participation of national focal points demonstrated a strong global commitment to translating the principles of the MNE Declaration into tangible outcomes for decent work at the country level.