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Corporate Accountability
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LCHR Co-Signs Letter
to UN on the Global Compact,
April 2003
United Nations Global Compact website
LCHR
letter to the UN Global Compact, October 2001
LCHR
letter to the UN Global Compact, November 2001
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United
Nations Global Compact on Corporate Accountability
The United Nations Global Compact,
launched on July 26 2000, offers an opportunity for UN bodies, corporations,
unions and non-governmental organizations with a variety of interests
to come together and reinforce ongoing efforts around the world
to promote greater corporate accountability. UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has challenged world business leaders to "embrace
and enact" the Global Compact, both in their individual corporate
practices and by supporting appropriate public policies. The Global
Compact encompasses principles relating to human rights, labor and
the environment.
In order for the Global Compact to be an effective
tool, however, the UN must ensure transparency and accountability
in the operation of this initiative. The standards which the parties
have agreed to protect and promote must be clarified and the methods
through which they intend to enforce those standards must be openly
scrutinized. Companies should be encouraged to do more than ‘support’
the principles and provide the UN with best practice case studies.
The UN should take the lead and work with all parties involved to
develop methods of verifying these principles are being put into
practice and that they are translating into real benefits for local
communities. As one of several NGOs involved in the UN Global Compact,
we will be watching developments closely.
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International
Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency
(1/24/03)
LCHR Background
Briefing on IRTK (1/16/03)
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International
Right to Know Campaign
The Lawyers Committee is working with a broad coalition of labor,
environmental and human rights groups to build support for an
International
Right to Know (IRTK) legislative proposal. Modeled on
domestic U.S. Right to Know laws, IRTK would require U.S. companies
to report on the key environmental, labor and human rights practices
of their overseas operations. This information would be reported
to U.S. government agencies and then be publicly available.
For example, corporations would be required to provide information
about the number of workers injured or killed in work-related
accidents, workers' exposure to hazardous substances, child
labor, forced labor and discrimination in the workplace. Corporations
would also be obligated to disclose security arrangements with
military, paramilitary or private security forces, as well as
human rights complaints brought by local communities.
In all areas, the IRTK would require corporations to report
the practices of their subsidiaries, suppliers and contractors
- a provision the Lawyers Committee considers central to the
effectiveness of the legislation. The Lawyers Committee believes
that the greater transparency engendered by the IRTK will
empower both consumers and local communities to demand that
American corporations act responsibly both abroad and at home.
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Workers Rights
in Indonesia
Text
of US-UK Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights
BP
Statement on Security and Human Rights
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US-UK Voluntary Principles on Security and
Human Rights
Throughout 2000, representatives from the U.S.
Department of State and the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth
Office met with oil, mining and energy companies, together
with human rights, labor and corporate responsibility groups,
to develop a set of Voluntary Principles on Security and Human
Rights. These principles are designed to provide practical
guidance that will strengthen human rights safeguards in company
security arrangements in the extractive sector. They are the
basis of a global standard for the extractive sector. The
Principles are the first set of guidelines of their sort for
this sector. They address three areas of mutual concern to
both companies and NGOs:
- Engagement with private security
- Engagement with public security
- Risk assessment supporting security arrangements
consistent with human rights
Participants involved in this initiative
are: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch,
Amnesty International, International Alert, Chevron, Texaco,
Freeport McMoran, Conoco, Shell, BP, Rio Tinto, Fund for Peace,
Council on Economic Priorities, Business for Social Responsibility,
the International Business Leaders Forum and the International
Federation of Chemical, Mine and General Workers’ Unions.
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LCHR joins other groups
to welcome new UN Human Rights Norms for transnational business (08/13/03)
LCHR Statements to the UN on Working Methods and Activities of Transnational Corporations
Responsibilities
of Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights (08/03)
Workers Rights |
United Nations Adopts International Human Rights Norms on Transnational Business
On August 13th, 2003, a Sub-commission of the United
Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva adopted the first set
of comprehensive international human rights norms specifically applying
to companies. As endorsed by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights, these are “Norms on Responsibilities
of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with
Regard to Human Rights.” The Lawyers Committee and other nongovernmental
organizations participated in drafting these guidelines, which seek
to constructively involve relevant business communities, governments,
and NGOs in clarifying the human rights obligations of companies.
Although historically, international human rights law has focused
on state responsibilities, the UN has recognized that as global
businesses expand their scope, there has also developed a need to
clarify the role of businesses with regard to human rights. LCHR
supports the establishment of these clear international standards
that hold companies accountable for protecting and promoting workers
rights and other human rights around the world.
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