Among the stories covered, the UN Norms on Human Rights are a “distraction” which should be sidelined in efforts to develop a better framework of human rights responsibilities for business, says an interim report from UN Special Representative John Ruggie.
Break from the norms
The UN Norms on Human Rights are a “distraction” which should be sidelined in efforts to develop a better framework of human rights responsibilities for business, says an interim report from UN Special Representative John Ruggie, published on March 3. Ruggie writes that the Norms, which were developed by a UN Sub-Commission but opposed by many companies, are marked by “exaggerated legal claims and conceptual ambiguities.” They assert that firms are already subject to a large body of international human rights law, but Ruggie concludes that this has no sound legal basis.
The report finds that extractive industries “utterly dominate” the pattern of alleged corporate involvement in human rights abuses across the world, followed by the food industry and IT industry. The next stages in making business more friendly to human rights include investigating how home country laws might become more applicable to abuses committed abroad; developing human rights impact assessment tools; and building collaborative arrangements based on innovations by groups of leading companies, following such models as the Kimberley Process and the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security. Contact Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government www.ksg.edu
Rights and wrongs
People in developing countries are exposed to human rights abuses, environmental degradation and economic loss because the UK is failing to effectively implement its flagship CSR scheme for corporate behaviour overseas, a new report alleges. Flagship or failure?, published by Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid and Amnesty International finds that the UK has done little to enforce the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, despite trumpeting their importance. The report highlights the government’s failure to adequately investigate complaints made under the guidelines and its unwillingness to declare companies in breach of the guidelines. Not a single company has as yet been found in violation of the guidelines. The report has been submitted as a response to the government’s consultation on the promotion and implementation of the guidelines,which closed on January 6. Contact FoE www.foe.org.uk; DTI www.dti.gov.uk
Business supports calls for legislation on human rights
International companies have responded favourably to calls for binding human rights standards in the corporate sector, as evidence mounts that voluntary guidelines are unfair and bad for business, Human Rights Watch representatives said at the launch of the group’s latest annual report.
According to HRW, multinational executives are privately starting to question the whether self-regulation and codes of conduct are sufficient. Companies have responded favourably to its campaign for a level playing-field of enforceable global standards. The group has recommended that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) follow up the treaty that outlaws bribery by making its corporate social responsibility guidelines binding. It also suggested that the UN Global Compact’s non-binding norms on corporate conduct could provide a forum for a universally applicable treaty. Contact HRW www.hrw.org
Low down on the dirty
The Burma Campaign has added 26 new companies to its Dirty List, which now totals 101 companies. According to campaigners, the companies, which include Daewoo, DHL and Rolls-Royce, are directly or indirectly helping to finance Burma’s military dictatorship. Britain is the second largest investor in Burma’s economy, with investments channelled into the country through the British Virgin Islands.
37 companies on the list are in the tourism sector – either operating tours to Burma or promoting tourism through guides.
18 companies on the list are in the timber sector.
23 companies on the list are in the oil & gas sector.
According to the Burma Campaign, Rolls-Royce has a contract to supply and service aircraft engines through its Singaporean subsidiary, for at least one Burmese airline. All airlines in Burma are owned by the regime or their cronies. Rolls-Royce have told the BBC that that their activities in Burma comply with all existing national and international regulations. Contact Burma Campaign www.burmacampaign.org.uk
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