A new OECD Watch report examining complaints against multinational companies has found that access to remedy through the OECD’s National Contact Point system remained limited and uneven in 2025. State of Remedy 2025, published in July 2026, reviews 20 complaints brought by communities and civil-society organisations and concluded during the year. While most were accepted for consideration, only two resulted in agreements, one achieved the specific outcome sought by the complainant, and four produced findings that companies had failed to comply with the OECD Guidelines. Two complaints were rejected.
Iran featured prominently in the report, accounting for three cases—one of the highest numbers associated with any country. The complaints concerned the alleged role of foreign surveillance and security technologies, as well as water-cannon vehicles, in facilitating human-rights violations and the suppression of protests by the Iranian authorities.
Two of these cases were jointly brought by Justice for Iran and Justice Beyond Borders. Their complaint against Sweden’s Axis Communications alleged that CCTV technology had been used to identify protesters, particularly women defying compulsory-hijab laws. It concluded with an agreement to continue dialogue on technology and human rights under the supervision of Sweden’s National Contact Point. A separate complaint against South Korea’s Jino Motors concerned the alleged use of its water-cannon vehicles to suppress protests. That case was rejected after the company said it had stopped selling vehicles to Iran in 2010 and had no plans to resume sales.
The report also highlighted a related complaint by Justice Beyond Borders against Canadian security-technology company Genetec over the alleged use in Iran of a platform integrating video surveillance, access control and automatic licence-plate recognition. The Canadian National Contact Point facilitated an exchange of documents and recommended that Genetec publish clearer information about its human-rights commitments and due-diligence procedures. In March 2026, it concluded that the company had acted on both recommendations.
