France : NGOs call for indictment of the company Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity
"Submission from SHERPA and ECCHR on an indictment of Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity", 15 may 2018
Sherpa and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), initiators of a criminal complaint against the cement-manufacturer Lafarge filed in conjunction with 11 former employees, argue, in a Memorandum to the investigative judges, that at this stage of the proceedings, it is necessary to indict the company Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity...The organizations explain that the crimes committed by the Islamic State (IS) in northeastern Syria between 2012 and 2015 must be considered as crimes against humanity. They argue that Lafarge acted as an accomplice to these crimes by maintaining its business activities there, by neglectfully managing its employees' security, and by financing IS in various ways with up to several million euro...The charge of complicity for crimes against humanity is of fundamental importance as it further frames this case in the context of multinational companies' involvement in grave human rights violations, particularly in armed conflicts.