Web pages about "Business And Human Rights"

Breakthrough in Canadian Indigenous rights flashpoint

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:37:26 +0000

An Indigenous Canadian community’s longstanding campaign to stop clear-cut logging on its land has prompted a multinational paper company to stop buying wood fibre from the area.

On 27 February, Boise Inc announced that it would “stand in support of Amnesty International’s recommendation” and not buy any wood fibre from the traditional territory of Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwest Ontario until the community has given its consent to logging.

“Boise has done the right thing,” says Craig Benjamin, campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous peoples for Amnesty International’s Canadian section. “The company has set an example that we hope other companies and the Province of Ontario will follow.”

The Anishnaabe people of Grassy Narrows rely on the forest for hunting, trapping, harvesting food and other activities central to their culture and their livelihood. In 1873, they signed Treaty No 3 with the Government of Canada, recognizing that they had the right to pursue those activities throughout their traditional land use area.

Amnesty International’s ongoing research at Grassy Narrows has confirmed that the province of Ontario has allowed large-scale logging to proceed without adequate human rights protections and in violation of its own obligations under Canadian law.

On 2 December 2002, the youth of Grassy Narrows laid down in the path of industrial logging machines, blocking access to their traditional territory. Their action sparked the longest-standing Indigenous logging blockade in Canadian history.

In January 2007, Grassy Narrows community leaders declared a moratorium “on further industrial activity in our Traditional Territory until such time as the Governments of Canada and Ontario restore their honour and obtain the consent of our community in these decisions that will forever alter the future of our people.”

Courts have repeatedly ruled that governments in Canada have a clear legal obligation to carry out meaningful consultation in every instance when considering plans that could impact on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

The Supreme Court of Canada says that when the rights of Indigenous peoples are at stake, there is a duty to consult "in good faith and with the intention of substantially addressing the concerns of the aboriginal peoples whose lands are at issue."

Despite this, Ontario’s government has done little to protect the rights of the people of Grassy Narrows, who have had control over their traditional lands and territories taken from them before.

In the 1950s, the building of two hydro-electric dams flooded large areas of land. Wild rice beds central to their culture were wiped out. Sacred sites and the local fishery were also disrupted.

In the 1970s, a pulp and paper mill contaminated their rivers with an estimated ten tonnes of mercury. This has caused long-term health problems.

Today, about half of their traditional territory has been logged to supply mills run by the transnational corporations Abitibi Consolidated and Weyerhaeuser.

In September 2007, an Amnesty International paper detailed Grassy Narrow’s history of disastrous social and economic upheaval as a consequence of government decisions. The paper called on the province “to respect the moratorium declared by the people of Grassy Narrows and to halt all clear-cut logging and other industrial development in the traditional territory until free, prior and informed consent has been given.”

Rape: ever present danger for Darfur's women

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:14:09 +0000

"All around the camps there is not enough wood. But the Arab Jammala dominate the area and we daren’t go far out. If you are a man you will be beaten, if you are a woman you will be raped." – Internally displaced man living in a camp, 2007.

At least 2.3 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Darfur. Most of those driven from their homes and communities are now living in more than 65 camps dotted around Darfur.

Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their home in 2003-4 in attacks that were accompanied not only by killing, but also by rape of women on an unprecedented scale.

Janjawid militias used rape as a weapon to humiliate and punish the communities they attacked. They often carried out assaults in public and abducting some women, taking them to militia camps to live for months in sexual slavery.

There are more women living in camps than men and the threat of rape remains rife for those who venture outside the camps. Many of the camps are surrounded by belts of deserted land with hardly a tree standing. Rapes are carried out on women who leave the camps to go to market or collect firewood. They are carried out by Janjawid militia, government soldiers, armed opposition groups and even by other displaced people.

One girl displaced during the conflict told of being raped by a group of men from the Sudanese army while collecting fire wood. When her brother took her to report this to the local police, the policeman refused to report the case and detained her brother when he questioned the procedure.

"The images of that day occupied my mind. I can’t say I have completely recovered. The shock is still terrible. I don’t trust the police and I never will trust them," said the girl to Amnesty International.

Most women raped in Darfur never report what has happened because it’s so unlikely that the perpetrator will be brought to justice that there’s little point in a woman harming her reputation and prospects of marriage.

Police rarely investigate cases of rape reported to them, while if the alleged rapists are members of the Sudanese Armed Forces, justice appears to be impossible. In some instances, it is the person who makes the complaint who is detained.

Why is Amnesty International in Davos?

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:03:45 +0000

An Amnesty International delegation, led by Secretary General Irene Khan, arrived in Davos on for the World Economic Forum 2008, this year entitled The Power of Collaborative Innovation.

Among the sessions Irene Khan will be attending are: The Role of Women in the Business Environment of the 21st Century, Political Islam and Democracy and Tackling Global Issues through Corporate Global Citizenship.

Judit Arenas, advisor to the Secretary General gives an insight into the real conversations happening in Davos, which occur outside the meetings, in coffee shops and corridors:

"The World Economic Forum in Davos is by now well underway and the key question Amnesty International keeps getting is 'why are you here?'

"The answer is simple: we firmly believe in talking to those that can take steps to improve human rights. And in today's world this means not just governments, but also companies.

"But, while we may be 'inside' Davos, let's also be clear that this in no way means we compromise on our principles to speak truth to power and to seek change.

"So far, the discussions and input has been varied – of course, there's a lot of interest in Pakistan (including some very interesting 'advice' from President Musharraf to Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed), the Middle East and the global economy.

"But, sadly, the World Economic Forum is far from being a multi-stakeholder initiative where all the stakeholders are equal and many of the global issues are still sorely lacking in representation on the formal agenda."

On the side: the USA, UK and France discuss Myanmar yet arrests continue
"Everyone knows that it's the side meetings that count in Davos, and government leaders are not exempt.

"The US Secretary of State and the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and France issued a statement on democracy and human rights in Burma (now known as Myanmar).

"One can only welcome such a statement by three permanent members of the UN Security Council, in particular the statement's categorical assertion – sadly, all too true – that '[s]everal months on, however, we find the regime has met none' of the demands of the UN Security Council.

"One such demand is the early release of all political prisoners. Amnesty International just today made public research showing that at least 96 new arrests related to the demonstrations of last autumn have taken place in Myanmar since 1 November 2007. At least 15 such prisoners of conscience have been sentenced to prison during the same three-month period, and over 80 persons remain unaccounted for, likely the victims of enforced disappearance.

"These facts flatly contradict Myanmar's claims that it would cooperate fully with the UN and would stop its politically-motivated arrests and trials.

"While we welcome and support the call made for the early release of all political prisoners, we still think it's not enough: nothing short of the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, at least 700 of whom are in prison on account of last autumn's crackdown on peaceful political dissent is enough.

"Amnesty International also welcomes and strongly echoes the statement's support for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Prof. Pinheiro, who has requested an opportunity to conduct a full-fledged fact-finding mission in Myanmar. This mission would include not only last autumn's crackdown, but also the crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses perpetrated against ethnic minorities. We can only hope that the international community will fully support Prof. Pinheiro's efforts.

"The joint statement claims that '[w]e cannot afford to forget' the people of Myanmar, revealing yet again that the situation in Myanmar is indeed a threat to international stability and security, especially pertaining to other countries in the region.

"And these words are very true: we cannot forget and we have not done so; the longstanding and widespread suppression of human rights in Myanmar affects us all."

World leaders urged to tackle Musharraf at World Economic Forum

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:57:03 +0000

Irene Khan has written to world political and business leaders, calling on them to raise the issue of Pakistan's human rights situation with President Musharraf at the World Economic Forum (WEF). In the letter, Amnesty International's Secretary General urges them to make human rights and rule of law in Pakistan a central theme in their discussions with the President.

President Musharraf is due to travel Davos, Switzerland, today for the WEF Annual Meeting and is expected to stay until the meeting ends on Sunday. He is expected to meet with many of the 2,500 political, economic and media leaders from 88 countries at the annual five-day meeting.

The letter urges the members of the international community present at Davos to use their utmost influence on the Pakistan government to immediately agree to uphold human rights and maintain rule of law in Pakistan. In particular, Ms Khan calls for the return to service of judges removed during emergency rule and the guarantee of an independent judiciary, as enshrined in its constitution and international law.

In addition, Ms. Khan urges them to appeal to President Musharraf that his government puts an end to the range of human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International, which include arbitary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearance and ill-treatment of those in custody, as well as all persecution of government critics and opposition. These measures can help build confidence and hope among the people to establish stability and prosperity in the country."

Amnesty International has conducted research in Pakistan over the past month to assess the human rights situation in the country, following the lifting of the state of emergency on 15 December 2007.

"We collected a wealth of evidence on human rights violations and the breakdown of rule of law, which are sowing the seeds of a political catastrophe, with devastating consequences for ordinary people," Ms. Khan writes.

Irene Khan will also attend the WEF where she will seek to raise a range of human rights issues with the participants, including, but not limited to, the situation in Pakistan.

Blood Diamonds are still a reality

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:49:29 +0000

Conflict or blood diamonds fuel conflict, civil wars and human rights abuses. They have been responsible for funding recent conflicts in Africa which resulted in the death and displacement of millions of people. During these conflicts, profits from the illegal trade in diamonds, worth billions of dollars, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms.

An estimated 3.7 million people have died in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Sierra Leone in conflicts fuelled by diamonds.

While the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away.

Despite the fact that an international diamond certification scheme called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was launched in 2003, conflict diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire are finding their way through Ghana into the legitimate diamond market. As the brutal conflict in Sierra Leone has shown, even a small amount of conflict diamonds can wreak enormous havoc in a country.

Between 1991 and 2002 over 50,000 people were killed, over 2 million displaced within the country or made refugees, and thousands mutilated, raped and tortured. Today, the country is still recovering from the consequences of the conflict.

The launch of the film Blood Diamond is a timely reminder that governments and the diamond industry must ensure that no conflict diamonds find their way into the consumer market.

About the film Blood Diamond, by Warner Brothers:

Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a South African mercenary, and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories and their circumstances are as different as any can be - until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives.

While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory.

More than a search for a valuable diamond, the journey could give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have and help Salomon retrieve his most precious posession: his son, who has been abducted by rebel forces and forced into the life of a child soldier.

Blood Diamond stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly and is directed by Edward Zwick. The screenplay was written by Charles Leavitt (The Mighty), from a story by Leavitt and C. Gaby Mitchell. Blood Diamond is produced by Paula Weinstein, Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick, Graham King and Gillian Gorfil. The executive producers are Len Amato and Benjamin Waisbren, with Kevin De La Noy co-producing.

Business and Human Rights

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:48:42 +0000

Globalization has significantly changed the world we live in, presenting new and complex challenges for the protection of human rights.

Economic players, especially companies that operate across national boundaries (trans-national companies), have gained unprecedented power and influence across the world economy.

This has not always benefited the societies in which they operate.

Amnesty International's research has highlighted the negative impact companies can have on the human rights of the individuals and communities affected by their operations.

Companies cause harm by directly abusing human rights, or by colluding with others who violate human rights. Despite this potential to cause significant harm, there are few effective mechanisms at national or international level to prevent corporate human rights abuses or to hold companies to account.

This means those affected by their operations – often already marginalized and vulnerable - are left powerless, without the protection to which they are entitled, or meaningful access to justice.

Global standards on business and human rights

Governments have the primary obligation to secure universal enjoyment of human rights and this includes an obligation to protect all individuals from the harmful actions of others, including companies.

However, frequently governments fail to regulate the human rights impact of business or ensure access to justice for victims of human rights abuses involving business.

Until now most companies’ engagement with human rights responsibilities has been through voluntary codes and initiatives. While some voluntary initiatives have a role to play, such voluntarism can never be a substitute for global standards on businesses' mandatory compliance with human rights.

These global standards should address the human rights responsibilities and obligations of both states and companies. As a minimum requirement, all companies should respect all human rights, regardless of the sector, country or context in which they operate.

What is Amnesty International doing?

Amnesty International’s work on economic players, including trans-national companies and international financial organizations, has developed in recognition of the power and influence they exert over states and international institutions, and the impact they have on human rights.

Through research and analysis, Amnesty International aims to highlight human rights abuses in which companies are implicated and how governments fail to prevent these abuses or hold companies to account when they occur.

The organization is campaigning for global standards on business and human rights and stronger legal frameworks at both national and international level to hold companies to account for their human rights impact.

Amnesty International asks companies to promote respect for human rights, including by:

Using their influence in support of human rights,
Including a specific commitment to human rights in their statements of business principles and codes of conduct,
Producing explicit human rights policies and ensuring that they are integrated, monitored and audited across their operations and beyond borders,
Putting in place the necessary internal management systems to ensure that human rights policies are acted upon.

Amnesty International also calls on companies to make respect for human rights an integral component of their business operations, including through their dealings with other companies, partners, associates, subsidiaries, suppliers and government officials.

At the heart of Amnesty International’s concerns is the individual whose human rights may come under threat from the actions or inactions of economic players.

We strive to bring their voice to the debate in the hope that meaningful long-term solutions are firmly rooted in the real-life experience of those who fall victim to human rights abuses by corporate actors.

Give one reason Amnesty International should be working on this?

More than 7,000 people died when toxic gas leaked from a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, in 1984, and a further 15,000 people died in the following years.

Around 100,000 people continue to suffer from chronic and debilitating illnesses caused by the gas leak. Stockpiles of toxic waste were left in the abandoned site and neither the company nor the Indian government have, even to this day, cleaned up the site to prevent further contamination.

Despite the devastating impact on people’s lives, no-one has been held to account for the gas leak and the ensuing contamination.

The lack of effective regulation and accountability systems has meant court cases drag on and corporations and their leaders continue to evade accountability for thousands of deaths, widespread ill-health and ongoing damage to livelihoods.

With no effective national or supra-national legal options, more than two decades on, the survivors of Bhopal are still waiting for meaningful justice.

Unless effective regulation of companies’ impact on human rights is secured nationally and beyond borders, and a system that guarantees accountability for human rights abuses and allows victims effective access to justice is established, the serious failures of justice witnessed in the Bhopal case and elsewhere will continue to occur.

Key facts

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every individual and every organ of society – which includes companies – to protect and promote human rights.
In August 2003, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights approved the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Trans-national Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (also known as the UN Norms). This document represents the most authoritative and comprehensive set of standards on business and human rights issued to date.
In August 2005, the UN Secretary General appointed Professor John Ruggie to be Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on business and human rights.