Policy statement on human rights released
On December 10, 1948 – 75 years ago – the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Deutsche Telekom’s business activities are also founded on the values enshrined by this declaration. This International Human Rights Day, Deutsche Telekom is reiterating its firm commitment to these human rights with its revised Code of Human Rights and making clear how it will make sure they are protected.
“Human rights are a matter of course, but they can’t be taken for granted,” emphasized Birgit Bohle, Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Legal Affairs at Deutsche Telekom.
Deutsche Telekom has adapted the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 to its business contexts and anchored them in its policy statement on human rights. This comprises the Group-wide Code of Human Rights (pdf, 203.7 KB) and the annual reports on identified risks (pdf, 177.0 KB). The Code of Human Rights was amended this year within the framework of regular audits.
In this new Code of Human Rights, we’ve expanded our processes for implementing these policies and more, laying a foundation that will allow us to recognize risks. Preventing them is a job for each and every one of us. Truly protecting human rights requires all of us to make an effort, day in, day out,” affirmed Bohle.
“Deutsche Telekom procures goods and services from all over the world. We expect each one of our business partners to commit to upholding human rights, an understanding which then goes on to form the basis of our contracts. We put it to our suppliers in no uncertain terms: whoever wants to do business with us must adhere to human rights and environmental protection standards,” stressed Christian Illek, Member of the Board of Management for Finance at Deutsche Telekom.
Human rights are something that affects each and every one of us – in order to move away from abstract declarations of intent and legal clauses and make the subject more accessible to those interested, Deutsche Telekom has revised the corresponding information on its website. Those interested can find clearly structured information outlining how the Group works stands up for human rights and environmental concerns, as well as details on the rights and reporting channels available.
The revised and expanded version of the Code Of Human Rights will replace the former voluntary commitment of the “Code of Human Rights & Social Principles” as well as the “Employee Relations Policy.”
This code forms part of the policy statement that large companies are required to publish in accordance with the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains [Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – LkSG]. The code is supplemented by the annual “LkSG” report (pdf, 177.0 KB), which contains specific identified risks and measures and can be viewed at any time online.
