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Article

18 Sep 2005

Author:
debate between Andrew Kuper, Managing Director for Global Academy, Ashoka & Peter Singer, professor of ethics, Princeton University, sponsored by Carnegie Council on Ethics & Intl. Affairs, New York

Global Responsibilities: How Can Multinational Corporations Deliver on Human Rights?

[Peter Singer:] ...the key to [multinational corporations' responsibility for human rights] is still going to be individuals in developed societies. If the consumers who are buying from multinationals show no interest in the performance of multinationals in these areas..., I think it is asking a lot of multinational corporations to simply, unilaterally, take up the task themselves and say, "This is what we ought to be doing."... I see [the solution]...as providing mechanisms whereby consumers can be aware of the records of the multinational corporations that they are purchasing from... [Andrew Kuper:] ...[If] you are a corporation that has a certain level of ethics and standards across your supply chain, if you are clear on those underlying values and on how values add value, then you are able to lower transaction costs and align your stakeholders behind the vision... [refers to De Beers, Grameen Phone, Grameen Telecom, Taco Bell (part of YUM!), Wal-Mart, BHP Billiton, Shell, Cemex]