The Impact of the Business Sector on Children's Rights in Serbia

The potential impact of the ICT, Food and Agriculture and Finance sector on children in Serbia and opportunities for shared valued partnerships with organisations and institutions supporting children and their rights. The major impact area for all three examined business sectors is the marketplace, from ensuring that products and services are safe to children and seeking to support children’s rights through them, and in using marketing and advertising that respect and supports children and their rights. The mapped key impact area creates related risks, which are also associated with the use and availability of products and services, their responsible promotion, and environmental risks posed to the local community. The opportunities for shared value partnerships for all three sectors can be found in advocacy initiatives on raising awareness on perceived risks that children could be exposed to using companies’ product and services and agenda-setting through influential sectoral platforms. Besides, child rights consideration should be integrated into all appropriate corporate procedures and committed by management processes. When it comes to financing, it should be covered from a broader angle, from strategic grants and contribution in-kind to the engagement of employees in terms of their time and expertise, and customers around the cause of the support and promotion of children’s rights in Serbia. Finally, a clear untapped potential can be found in innovative products and services and the expertise of the leading companies in the sector, which would make their offer more inclusive and impact on the overall well-being of children, thereby creating a business contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.