http://127.0.0.1:8000 Tracking the positive and negative impact of over 3000 companies worldwide. en-gb Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:22:55 +0000 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:22:55 +0000 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Haggis avery@business-humanrights.org avery@business-humanrights.org http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002182 In 2002 victims of the South African Apartheid filed a claim for compensation in the United States of America against...Daimler, Ford, IBM, General Motors and Rheinmetall are accused of consciously supporting decades the racial system of Apartheid in South Africa...Together with Marjorie Jobson, the director of Khulumani, Charles Abrahams, the victims’ lawyer and further guests we would like to inform about the claim’s background and possibilities of implementing international human rights. In addition we would like to discuss legal options concerning this...The seminar will be held in German and English Language (with simultaneous translation)...[Contributors include: Hein Moellers, Marjorie Jobson, Johanna Kusch, Miriam Saage-Maass, Charles Abrahams] Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002182 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002179 In the aftermath of the Pakistan floods and the mudslides in China, the climate change debate is front and center…In the short term, the relief efforts in Pakistan will focus on providing clean water, minimizing the incidence of diarrhoea, and the spread of disease...However, the long-term relief effort will require rebuilding vital infrastructure, restoring agricultural subsistence…Companies in Pakistan have mainly been involved in immediate relief efforts. These are often more strategic than mere donations…But do companies have a role elsewhere? In Pakistan greater resilience would include developing better emergency monitoring…and better flood protection…Companies have been slow to invest in community adaptation to climate variation, in conjunction with disaster resilience building…[Refers to Procter & Gamble] Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002179 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002164 India’s Supreme Court today allowed a government petition that seeks harsher punishment against officials of Union Carbide Corp.’s local unit convicted of negligence in a 1984 toxic gas leak. A three-judge bench…sought a response from…the former chairman of Union Carbide India Ltd., and six senior employees of the firm, on why they couldn’t face more serious charges of culpable homicide…Reviewing the case may pave the way for the Supreme Court to quash its own September 1996 order that diluted charges to death caused by a rash and negligent acts not amounting to culpable homicide. [also refers to Dow Chemical] Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002164 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002168 Indonesia is seeking $2.4bn in damages from a Thai drilling company alleging it is responsible for an oil spill in the Timor Sea that has severely hit the livelihoods of fishing communities along its southeast coast. The claim was handed to the Australian subsidiary of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PCL…It is unclear how Jakarta arrived at the $2.4bn figure but local officials have cited the severe impact on the marine habitat and the long-term damage to the fishing communities. Anon Sirisaengtaksin, PTTEP’s chief executive, said the “long” claims process was in its early stages, but the company would listen to arguments backed with scientific proof…But the company’s post-disaster monitoring programme indicated there was “minimal” long-term impact on the environment, Mr Sirisaengtaksin said. Oil began flowing into the sea after a blowout at the Montara wellhead in August 2009 in a unique marine habitat in the Coral Triangle . Within weeks, Indonesian fishermen saw drifting clumps of oil and dead fish. The leak, just off the northern coast of Australia, was capped after 74 days…An Australian government commissioned inquiry into the spill was completed more than two months ago, but its findings are yet to be made public…The platform, owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan offshore drilling company Seadrill, was operated by PTTEP Australasia, the Thai company’s subsidiary… Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002168 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002170 Awards issued by international arbitrators against states have in numerous cases incorporated...interpretations [that] have prioritized the protection of the...interests of transnational corporations over the right to regulate of states and the right to self-determination of peoples....The award of damages as a remedy of first resort in investment arbitration poses a serious threat to democratic choice and the capacity of governments to act in the public interest.. There is a strong moral as well as policy case for governments to withdraw from investment treaties and to oppose investor-state arbitration, including by refusal to pay arbitration awards against them where an award for compensation has followed from a good faith measure that was introduced for a legitimate purpose....Private citizens, local communities and civil society organizations should be afforded a right to participate in decision-making that affects their rights and interests... Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002170 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002181 Entre 2009 et 2010, la proportion de femmes dans les conseils d'administration des 40 sociétés les mieux cotées en bourse est passée de 10,5% à 15,3%...[L]es conseils d'administration des entreprises du CAC 40 se féminisent…Cette féminisation résulte de la politique menée par ces entreprises en faveur de la diversité et de la parité hommes-femmes depuis la loi de 2006…Les bonnes élèves sont toutefois peu représentatives des entreprises françaises. A l'heure actuelle, seules une dizaine de sociétés du CAC 40 ont dépassé le premier seuil de 20% de femmes…Ces grandes entreprises sont toutefois censées montrer l'exemple, surtout auprès des petites sociétés qui restent encore à la traîne. Sur la totalité des entreprises, la gent féminine ne représente, en effet, que 8,8% des administrateurs [fait aussi référence à Alstom, Capitalcom, Crédit Agricole, EADS, Groupe Axa, LVMH, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, STMicroelectronics, Technip, Vivendi] Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002181 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002167 The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined a ship-breaking yard at Sonaichhari...for ignoring workers' safety and environmental pollution.... This is the first time a ship-breaking yard was penalized...[O]ne worker was killed and four others were injured in a fire on July 12 while cutting an oil tanker of a ship at the ship-breaking yard... Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002167 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002125 The Center for the Study of Violence (NEV/USP) would like to invite researchers, professors, students, NGOs, human rights activists and the general public to take part in this forum of discussion, which is going to take place on August 30th and 31st of 2010. In this website, you will be able to register for the event, as well as find other information on the Conference…The event seeks to shed lights on the roles of States and pharmaceutical transnational companies (PTNCs) to respect, protect and fulfill the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002125 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002165 Two members of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries Amada Benavides de Pérez...and José-Luis Gomez del Prado...concluded a five day visit to Equatorial Guinea...to investigate activities of mercenaries in the country and their impact on human rights. The Group focused in particular on the investigations and prosecutions related to the armed attack on the presidential palace by alleged mercenaries on 17 February 2009 as well as on the 2004 coup attempt and its aftermath...the Group also inquired about the activities of private military and security companies...The experts also visited Punta Europa, the port facility of oil companies on the island of Bioko, to get information on the security arrangements of oil companies in this area...In relation to the attempted coup of 2004, the Working Group considers that this is a clear example of the link between the phenomenon of mercenaries and private military and security companies as a means of violating the sovereignty of the State. In this case, the mercenaries involved were mostly former personnel of private military and security companies and some were still employed by a private military and security companies as the case of two employees of the company Meteoric Tactical Systems providing security to diplomats of Western Embassies in Baghdad-among which to the Ambassador of Switzerland. Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002165 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002175 A group of UK pension funds has slammed Vedanta Resources...for ignoring shareholder lobbying on ESG issues after the company’s share price slid by 10% last week – wiping £300m off its market capitalisation – following an Indian government body ruling against a controversial mining project. The UK’s Local Authority Pension Fund Forum...said the share price plunge demonstrated the financial risk of poor management of ESG issues. On August 24, an Indian government enquiry rejected Vedanta’s plans for a bauxite mine in the Orissa province. It said the mine would destroy the way of life of local tribes...LAPFF said it had been lobbying Vedanta along with other shareholders since 2008. Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002175 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002156 At least three people were killed and seven injured as a result of mine explosion near Tkibuli, Georgia...There were 11 workers in the mine during the explosion. Five seriously injured workers were placed to intensive care unit of the Tbilisi Burn Centre. Two others were taken to the Tbilisi Clinic. Interior Minister of Georgia...promised to investigate the incident...According to the preliminary reports, the explosion was caused by methane ignition. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002156 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002177 Uzbekistan's authoritarian government insists that it has banned child labor but Nishanova, now 15, hasn't heard about it. She and her siblings, aged 9 to 17, think it's perfectly natural to be helping their father grow silkworms, as well as cotton and wheat...[The] modern-day incarnation [of the Uzbek silk industry] as a state monopoly has a dark side...The use of child labor in Uzbek cotton-picking has been widely documented, and Walmart and several other U.S. chain stores won't stock it...Uzbek Ipagi, the state–run monopoly, exports Uzbek silk to China, India, South Korea and Western Europe. Some stays in Uzbekistan to be woven into scarves or rugs at small factories and mainly sold to tourists...Rustam Zakhidov, director general of Silver Silk, an Uzbek-British joint venture, said his company sells silk ribbons and thread worth $1.5 million a year to India, Vietnam, China and Turkey. He would not identify his British partners. [also refers to Wal-Mart] Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002177 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002180 You will find attached the proposed International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers. This code in its current form is the product of the Nyon Initiative, a process launched in June 2009 by industry associations, corporations and individual business leaders with the assistance of the Government of Switzerland and in consultation with the [UK] and the [USA] and other stakeholders and relevant experts. The final goals for this initiative are both to set high standards for the industry worldwide and to support the establishment of an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with such standards. The finalization of this code marks an important step in the process towards better accountability...The Swiss Government will host a multi-stakeholder conference from September 29 – October 1, 2010, inviting representatives of industry, governments, clients and other stakeholders...to endorse the Code... Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002180 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002160 Brazilian President Lula da Silva signed Thursday the contracts for the Norte Energia consortium to start construction of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the Amazon basin...Environmental and social organizations oppose the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant, which they believe will have disastrous consequences...in the Amazonian state of Para...Demonstrators issued a letter [addressed at the government] signed by 56 religious, social and environmental organizations including the Roman Catholic Church. The text says the plant will be a “death sentence” for the Xingu River and will displace “thousands of people from their homes.” “International agreements are being violated, like Convention 169 of the World Labour Organization, the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on Biological Diversity,” the letter charges. Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1002160