http://www.business-humanrights.org Tracking the positive and negative impact of over 4000 companies worldwide. en-gb Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:03:21 +0100 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:03:21 +0100 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Webfactory avery@business-humanrights.org avery@business-humanrights.org http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/327690 De manera etica y moral fueron condenadas 30 multinacionales que operan en Colombia por el Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos, organismo de opinion creado para juzgar los crimenes que atentan contra los derechos humanos. Las multinacionales, entre las que se encuentran reconocidas marcas...fueron condenadas "por los delitos de desplazamiento forzado, contaminacion al medio ambiente, genocidio, entre otros delitos de lesa humanidad". El fallo de la Asamblea Permanente del Tribunal de los Pueblos fue leido por uno de sus maximos representantes y premio Nobel de Paz en 1980, Adolfo Perez Esquivel...El fallo sera presentado ante instancias internacionales como la Corte Penal Internacional...Segun los delegados...ninguna de las multinacionales presento sus alegatos... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:20:04 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/327690 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/864831 Employed at the time as a bioinformatics associate with the Vancouver-based Kinexus Bioinformatics Corp., the decision paints a damming picture of the alleged behavior of Asad's coworkers and management team, claiming he was alienated and the subject of racial profiling following the terrorist attacks...In the end, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal found Kinexus discriminated against Asad but that the discrimination was not related to his termination because the employers were able to establish cause. He was awarded approximately $11,000. [Kinexus CEO] Pelech said Kinexus will likely appeal the decision. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:00:02 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/864831 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/598980 Desde hace algunos meses, la Organizacion de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), a traves del Comite para la Eliminacion de la Discriminacion Racial, expreso su preocupacion al gobierno peruano por el alto nivel de contaminacion y degradacion ambiental, producto de las actividades industriales en los territorios de los pueblos indigenas. Por ello, esa comision demando que el Ejecutivo informe sobre el derecho a la consulta y participacion de los pueblos indigenas y el monitoreo del impacto ambiental en el Peru. Asimismo, critico en su oportunidad la lentitud de la empresa petrolera Pluspetrol para enfrentar la grave contaminacion que afecta a los indigenas de las Pueblos ashuar, quichua y urarina que habitan en las riberas del rio Corrientes... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:52:03 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/598980 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/172971 UGT [Union General de Trabajadores] ha presentado dos denuncias contra la empresa SAT BONNY SA de Mutxamel por incumplimiento de la Ley de Igualdad y de Prevencion de Riesgos Laborales en el cambio de uniforme a las trabajadoras, compuesto por pantalon y camisa, por una bata "incomoda que deja ver la ropa interior de las mujeres"Con esta medida, apunta la UGT-PV, se "vulnera la Ley de Igualdad Efectiva de mujeres y hombres en cuanto al principio de no discriminacion por razon de sexo y la Ley de Prevencion de Riesgos Laborales, al suponer la medida un posible riesgo para la seguridad de las trabajadoras". Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:00:36 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/172971 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/468854 There is obviously much more to expect for CSR in an MBA [Masters of Business Administration] [in the Asia-Pacific region]MBA students[here] are facing much more complicated and drastic challenges than their European counterpartsThese suggest great challenges for business schools across the region too Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:54:04 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/468854 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/246541 A total of 36 people in southwest China's Guizhou Province have either been sacked or demoted after a gas leak killed 35 people in November, the country's work safety watchdog said on MondayA total of 35 miners were killed in the gas leak at Qunli Colliery in Nayong County of Guizhou Province on Nov. 8. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:29:30 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/246541 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/614475 The efforts of [Huawei]to terminate employment contracts with more than 7,000 workers before a new labor contract law comes into effect may face an invalidation ruling by the courts, according to local media[A] new set of regulations jointly issued by the higher people's court of Guangdong province and the Guangdong arbitration committee of labor disputesstipulate that employers who force workers to quit and sign new labor contracts with the intention to erase their employment history with the company could be subject to invalidation of the new contractsHuawei did not comment on the China Youth Daily report yesterday. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:47:01 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/614475 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/362977 Dans la zone ou elle est installeedans le district de l'Ituri, AngloGold Ashanti fait un travail de vulgarisation progressiveComme c'est une zone post-conflit, les actions sociales de AG sont realisees avec le soutien de l'Ong Pact. Le defi leve par AngloGold, est l'ouverture de deux routes depuis 2006La prochaine etape sera donc de mettre une barge au niveau de la riviere IturiAngloGold a une approche de developpement participative et non paternaliste. En effet, elle a mis en place un forum communautaire compose de 23 groupes (confessionnels, ethniques, d'interet, culturel, etc.) qui font eux-memes le choix des infrastructures a rehabiliter. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:17:52 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/362977 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/608594 El presente Informe Colectivo sobre las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos tiene por objetivo llamar la atencion sobre situaciones en las que empresas han afectado el goce de los derechos humanos. Preparado con la colaboracion de 40 organizaciones de la sociedad civil de todo el mundo, este informe revisa una serie de acusaciones de abusos perpetrados por empresas, o en los que se vieron involucrados empresas, de 66 paises y basados en una gran variedad de situaciones documentadas, a fin de aclarar el alcance de tales incidentes y de identificar las modalidades a traves de las cuales las empresas afectan negativamente el goce de los derechos humanos. Asimismo, el informe...ofrece recomendaciones... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:52:18 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/608594 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/753862 La legislacion europea sobre igualdad de trato en el empleo prohibe discriminar a un trabajador por tener a su cargo un hijo discapacitadosegun dictamino hoy el Tribunal de Justicia de la Union Europea (TUE). La sentencia se refiere al caso de una mujer britanica que trabajabaen un bufete de abogados en Londres [Attridge Law][la cual] presento una demanda contra un tribunal laboralen la que sostenia que habia sido victima de un despido encubierto y de un trato menos favorable que el que obtuvieron los restantes empleados debido al hecho de tener a su cargo un hijo discapacitado. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:56 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/753862 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/823092 A Chinese office manager has been jailed for five months for sexually harassing a subordinate - the first time anyone has been punished for the offence under new laws designed to protect womenThe maninvited a new female colleague to "discuss work matters" in his office but then told her he wanted to be her boyfriendWhen she turned him down, he held her by the neck and kissed herAsurveyby the Chinese Academy of Social Sciencesfound harassment was twice as prevalent in foreign or private enterprises as in state-owned enterprises, with 40% of private employees reporting problems. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:20:32 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/823092 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/582593 Tierramerica dedica este numero especial a cuatro experiencias productivas, cada una con un enfasis distinto en los principios del desarrollo sustentableLa basura de la mineria acumulada por siglos en las laderas del Cerro Rico de Potosi, en Bolivia, es blanco de un proyecto de remediacion ambiental acometido por la Empresa Minera Manquiri SA. Se trata de limpiarcontaminantes dispersos en la zonapor 470 anos de explotacion minera[p]ara extraer de ellos lingotes de plata en un circuito cerrado y sin nuevos danos ambientales. [se refiere tambien a Coeur d'Alene Mines] Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:30:53 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/582593 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/230996 The government and the mining industry are not doing enough to help migrant labourers from Lesotho who have contracted tuberculosis while working on the mines. This is one of the conclusions of a report by the Aids Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. What's happening is clear, said the report's author, Paula Akugizibwe. Mining companies and government health departments haven't done everything they could....Lesotho, which has the fourth-highest TB infection rate in the world, contributes more than 50,000 migrant workers to the South African mining industry, the report said. About 90 percent of occupation-related lung disease reported in South Africa occurs in the mining industry. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:25:15 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/230996 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/609151 Las PMSC [empresas privadas de seguridad y militares] en America Latina y el Caribe.1. La contratacion de personal de paises Latinoamericanos para trabajar como guardias de seguridad en zonas de conflicto armado2. El incremento del uso de guardias privados de seguridad a nivel interno y los riesgos sobre el control del uso de la fuerza y/o la autoridad por parte del Estado3. Guardias Privados de Seguridad en la represion de movimientos sociales4. Acuerdos gubernamentales por los que se confiere inmunidad a las empresas privadas militares y de seguridad y a sus empleados Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:34:16 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/609151 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/530793 L'association Sherpa...entame une action en justice au nom des victimes de la tragedie du Probo Koala. Le 19 aout 2006,...charge de dechets hautement toxiques..., un petrolier, le Probo Koala, accoste au port d'Abidjan. Sa cargaison necessite...une depollution onereuse dont l'affreteur - TRAFIGURA - fera l'economie : il mandatera une compagnie locale - TOMMY - qualifiee de societe ecran par les autorites ivoiriennes, pour l'en debarrasser... Les consequences seront desastreuses : 16 morts, 75 hospitalisations et plus de 100 000 victimes. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:08:04 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/530793 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/744909 L'ancien president americain Bill Clinton affirme que six compagnies pharmaceutiques indiennes et chinoises ont accepte de reduire le prix d'un des principaux traitements contre la malaria. L'accord a ete facilite par la fondation caritative de M. Clinton, qui est basee a New York... [L]e nouvel accord signifie que les prix des medicaments ACT devraient nettement baisser dans 69 pays d'Afrique, d'Asie, d'Amerique du Sud et de la mer des Caraibes. Il implique Holleypharm et PIDI Standard, deux compagnies pharmaceutiques chinoises... Les quatre autres societes qui ont accepte de participer au projet fabriquent le medicament, et sont basees en Inde. Il s'agit de Cipla, IPCA Laboratories, Calyx et Mangalam Drugs. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:07:59 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/744909 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/339364 The Carter Center is deeply concerned by the recent announcement that the Democratic Republic of the Congo will begin renegotiating critical mining contracts in mid-July[i] without policy or procedures to guide this process or indication of whether requisite expertise will be secured. "We support the need for renegotiations wholeheartedly," said John Stremlau, vice president for peace programs at The Carter Center. "But not without publicly disclosed measures to ensure the integrity of the process." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:16:50 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/339364 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/620757 The understanding of CSR (corporate social responsibility) in Denmark has evolved from emphasising the promotion of 'the inclusive labour market' to the current emphasis on an international approach to CSR and strategic CSR, key concepts in the Government Strategy to Promote Corporate Social Responsibility launched May 2008... The Government stresses that CSR shall be approached using the framework provided by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), appreciating also the UNGC's proposed 'principle-based approach'. The Government explicitly refers to the application of internationally recognised conventions as the basis for CSR... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/620757 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/269119 This Collective Report on Business and Human Rights aims to bring light to situations in which companies have harmed the enjoyment of human rights. Prepared with the collaboration of 40 civil society organizations around the world, this report surveys cases of alleged human rights abuses by, or involving, companies from a wide range of documented situations in order to illuminate the scope of these incidents...Further, the report analyzes existing gaps in the protection of human rights in the context of business... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:40:03 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/269119 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/324009 The Human Rights Council...Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises for a period of three years, and requests the Special Representative:(a) To provide views and concrete and practical recommendations on ways to strengthen the fulfilment of the duty of the State to protect all human rights from abuses by or involving transnational corporations and other business enterprises, including through international cooperation;(b) To elaborate further on the scope and content of the corporate responsibility to respect all human rights and to provide concrete guidance to business and other stakeholders;(c) To explore options and make recommendations, at the national, regional and international level, for enhancing access to effective remedies available to those whose human rights are impacted by corporate activities;(d) To integrate a gender perspective throughout his work and to give special attention to persons belonging to vulnerable groups, in particular children;(e) Identify, exchange and promote best practices and lessons learned on the issue of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, in coordination with the efforts of the human rights working group of the Global Compact;(f) To work in close coordination with United Nations and other relevant international bodies, offices, departments and specialized agencies, and in particular with other special procedures of the Council;(g) To promote the framework and to continue to consult on the issues covered by the mandate on an ongoing basis with all stakeholders, including States, national human rights institutions, international and regional organizations, transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and civil society, including academics, employers' organizations, workers' organizations, indigenous and other affected communities and non-governmental organizations, including through joint meetings;(h) To report annually to the Council and the General Assembly; Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:59:11 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/324009 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/657693 Hitting the ground with enough force to lift a worker off the ground, one of the nation's largest mobile cranes collapsed at a Houston oil refinery, killing four workers and injuring seven others. As federal officials prepared to investigate the latest in a string of fatal accidents involving cranes, the Louisiana company that owns the [crane, Deep South Crane & Rigging ] said it would pursue its own probe of Friday's incident... The 30-story-tall crane...fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m., said Jim Roecker, the company's vice president for refining. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:17:56 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/657693 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/308737 The Government is examining investments by the State's pension-fund body in companies operating in Zimbabwe...National Pension Reserve Fund...investment director John Corrigan said recent media reports were incorrect in claiming that 578 million - or 3 per cent - of the pension fund is invested in Zimbabwe on the basis that the NPRF holds shares in 14 firms which operate in Zimbabwe including Nestle, BP and Barclays Bank. "[In the fund's]...global equity portfolio...are multinational companies with a presence in dozens of countries around the world including, in some cases, Zimbabwe..." Mr Corrigan said... In light of recent events in Zimbabwe, Mr Corrigan told the committee, the NPRF has approached the companies to raise concerns expressed relating to their involvement in the country. But Emmet Bergin, of development organisation Progressio, said raising concerns with the firms was not enough. He called on the Government...to request that companies...with "proven links to the Mugabe regime" pull out of Zimbabwe... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:02:48 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/308737 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/902019 A survey of 759 graduating MBAs at 11 top business schools reveals that the future business leaders rank corporate social responsibility high on their list of values, and they are willing to sacrifice a significant part of their salaries to find an employer whose thinking is in synch with their own. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:46:17 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/902019 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/152425 European court judges have ruled that a woman who claimed she was forced to resign from her job after having a disabled child, was discriminated against by her employer, in a landmark decision that will give carers more rights in the workplaceSharon Coleman launched a court battle against her firmAttridge Law, amid claims she was refused the flexible working hours offered to other mothers after her son was born with serious respiratory problemsAn employment tribunal hearing the case referred it to the European Court of Justice for a ruling on whether EU laws banning employment discrimination on the grounds of disability cover those caring for the disabled, as well as the sufferers themselves[J]udges ruled "Community (EU) law protects an employee who has suffered discrimination on grounds of his child's disability"The court's decision will also apply to other areas of discrimination, such as sexuality and religion. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:48:47 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/152425 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/202576 Information available to the Public Agenda indicate that an over flow of a cyanide containment pond of Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine has led to a cyanide leakage into nearby rivers and forests. The company has however, refuted the allegation, arguing that the change in colour of the water in the rivers was due to the use of laterite by the company's workers to fortify the existing structures to prevent an overflow of the dams. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:03:21 +0100 http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/202576