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Mexican farms employ kids illegally, U.N. says
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-13 3:33)
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About 300,000 youngsters...work illegally in Mexico's fields, the United Nations Children's Fund says. In some cases, child farm labor is used to produce goods that are exported to the USA. The practice persists despite harsh criticism from international groups, rules imposed by U.S. distributors and increasingly strident warnings from the Mexican government... The work they perform is often dangerous. In December, nine children were killed when a truck carrying coffee pickers flipped over in Mexico's central Puebla state. [refers to Agricola Buen Ano, Agricola Paredes (which sells produce under SPV, Chelita, Paris brands), Agricola Nieto, H.M. Distributors]
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[video] The Price Of Bananas
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-13 3:12)
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...[O]ver the past 25 years no place has been more perilous [for American corporations abroad] than Colombia... Chiquita...found out the hard way. It made millions growing bananas there, only to emerge with its reputation splattered in blood after acknowledging it had paid nearly $2 million in protection money to a murderous paramilitary group that has killed or massacred thousands of people. [also refers to Dole, Fresh Del Monte]
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Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-13 2:01)
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The Supreme Court said...that it can't intervene in an important dispute over the rights of apartheid victims to sue U.S. corporations in U.S. courts because four of the nine justices had to sit out the case over apparent conflicts. The court's hands were tied by federal laws that require at least six justices to hear any case before them. Short of the required number by one, the court took the only path available to it and upheld an appeals court ruling allowing the suit to proceed. The lawyers [for the South Africans bringing the complaint] said they plan to narrow their complaint, perhaps omitting some corporations and showing more clearly how the companies assisted the apartheid government. [refers to Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Colgate-Palmolive, Credit Suisse, ExxonMobil, HP, IBM, Isuzu, Nestle]
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Podcasts from Global Reporting Initiative conference 2008
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-13 1:34)
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[podcasts include: Special Event: Sustainability and Biofuels Management Hosted by PetrobrasSpecial Event: Human RightsSMEs and Supply Chain ReportingArena Debate I: Civil Society and Labor Unions' Views on Sustainability Reporting Today]
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Los internautas preguntan a Jeremy Scahill
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-13 1:04)
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Sin los mercenarios de las empresas de seguridad privada, Estados Unidos no podria seguir en Irak. Asilo cree Jeremy Scahill, que ha estudiado en profundidad el papel de estas empresas...[L]as empresas privadas han estado involucradas en los peores casos de abusos a derechos humanos, torturas y asesinatos desde el primer dia de la invasionEl uso de estas fuerzas se esta incrementando cada diaDesde mediados de los anos 90, las empresas de mercenarios americanas han operado en Latinoamerica...Actualmente, Blackwater esta intentando incorporarse al escenario de[la] supuesta"guerra contra el narcotrafico"[en Colombia] [se refiere tambien a DynCorp]
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Conversion des titres forestiers : les Ong invitent le gouvernement a la transparence [Rep. Dem. du
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-10 7:57)
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Les forets de la RDC representent une source de revenus pour 40 millions d'individus... Dans un memorandum adresse au ministre de l'Environnement, Jose Endundo Bononge, les Ong tant nationale qu'internationale exigent une transparence dans la gestion du processus de conversion des titres forestiers pour aider les populations locales a tirer profit de leurs ressources forestieres... [Ils] ont sollicite du gouvernement le maintien du moratoire decrete en mai 2002 sur les nouveaux titres d'exploitation industrielle
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Blackwater unlikely to face charges in Iraq shooting
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-10 7:55)
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Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected to face criminal charges all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats. Instead, the seven-month-old Justice Department investigation is focused on as few as three or four Blackwater guards who could be indicted in the Sept. 16 shootings, according to interviews with a half-dozen people close to the investigation. [also refers to Chiquita]
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Indonesia adopts stringent"green"palm oil standard
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-10 7:43)
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Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, plans to take firm measures aimed at ensuring palm oil firms meet stringent standards before labelling their products as eco-friendly, an industry watchdog said on Wednesday. The rapidly expanding palm oil industry in Southeast Asia has come under attack by green groups for destroying rainforests and wildlife, as well the emission of greenhouse gases. An industry-led initiative, the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), has launched a green labelling certification process that includes commitments to preserve rainforests and wildlife and avoiding conflicts with indigenous people. [refers to Unilever]
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Death of 'Shoe Town' could spell end to China's sweatshops
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-10 5:07)
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Chinese factory workers in Southern China are becoming more savvy about their rights, thanks to cellphones and the Internet. Factory owners are finding it harder to recruit migrant workers, so they have to offer more incentivesIn the past, workers would just swallow all the insults and humiliation. Now they resist, said Jenny Chan, chief coordinator of...[a] Hong Kong-based pressure group...which investigates factory conditions in southern ChinaThe prospect of an end to China's sweatshop culture is welcomed by labor groups, which look forward to the emergence of a politically influential labor movement
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Oil firms to pay $423 million to settle water lawsuit [USA]
from Business&Human Rights Resource Centre
(2008-5-10 3:30)
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Someoil companieshave agreed to pay about $423 million in cash to settle a lawsuit brought by more than a hundred public water providers, claiming water contamination from a popular gasoline additive[T]he companies also agreed to pay 70 percent of the future cleanup costs over the next 30 years. The defendants that agreed to the settlement included BP, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Marathon Oil, Valero Energy, Citgo and Sunoco. Six other companies named in the lawsuit, including Exxon Mobil, did not agree to the dealThe suit contended that the chemical was used by oil companies, even though they knew of the environmental and health risks that it posed[A] lawyer representing Exxonsaid[the company] would"vigorously defend"itself.
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はじめての方へ
