Business & Human Rights : Complicity

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Main Content: Complicity

For an introduction to the subject of complicity, see:

1. "Principle Two: Businesses should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses", United Nations Global Compact

2. [PDF] "Complicity - Assessing corporate responsibility for violations committed by political authorities", chapter VII (page 121) of "Beyond Voluntarism: Human rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies" [full report], International Council on Human Rights Policy, Jan 2002

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Title: [video] Report on Anvil Mining partnership with UK Department for Intl. Development in Dem. Rep. of Congo [begins at 33:00]

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Visit: [video] Report on Anvil Mining partnership with UK Department for Intl. Development in Dem. Rep. of Congo [begins at 33:00]

Author: BBC Newsnight
Dated: 15 May 2008

[Report on development projects by Anvil Mining in partnership with UK Department for Intl. Development (DFID), seen as "groundbreaking" by DFID. Includes criticism of DFID partnership due to concerns about Anvil's alleged complicity with Congolese military in human rights abuses at Kilwa, with eyewitness testimony regarding killings. Also includes statements by Anvil Mining.]

List item: 1

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Visit: Dept for International Development [UK] statement

Author: UK Department for Intl. Development
Dated: 15 May 2008

Title: [PDF] UN Global Compact called upon to influence PetroChina to help Darfur - over 80 organizations and individuals ask UN Global Compact to uphold its principles

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Visit: [PDF] UN Global Compact called upon to influence PetroChina to help Darfur - over 80 organizations and individuals ask UN Global Compact to uphold its principles

Author: Investors Against Genocide, SOMO
Dated: 13 May 2008

Three days before PetroChina’s annual meeting of shareholders, over 80 civil society organizations including human rights, corporate accountability, religious and anti-genocide groups from 17 countries have signed an open letter to the United Nations Global Compact. The letter calls upon the UN Global Compact to use its influence with PetroChina, a compact participant, to help bring an end to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Sudan's largest oil industry partner, is indisputably linked to the regime perpetuating the five-year humanitarian crisis in Darfur which many consider to be genocide.

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Visit: [PDF] [Letter to Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact]

Author: [Letter signed by 80 individuals & organizations]
Dated: 12 May 2008

Title: [PDF] [Letter to Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact]

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Visit: [PDF] [Letter to Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact]

Author: [Letter signed by 80 individuals & organizations]
Dated: 12 May 2008

Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact, CC: Dr. John Ruggie, United Nations Secretary General‟s Special Representative on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises; Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights...We write to urge the United Nations Global Compact (GC) to use its leverage and the privilege and prestige of membership in the GC to engage with PetroChina Co Ltd. (PetroChina), a GC participant, on behalf of the people of Sudan.

List item: 1

Author: Investors Against Genocide, SOMO
Dated: 13 May 2008

Title: Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims

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Visit: Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims

Author: Mark Sherman, Associated Press
Dated: 12 May 2008

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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Visit: Une méga-plainte liée à l'apartheid avalisée par la Cour suprême [Etats-Unis]

Author: Agence France-Presse
Dated: 12 mai 2008

Title: "Todas las bananeras de Urabá le pagaron a las Auc', asegura Salvatore Mancuso a CBS

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Visit: "Todas las bananeras de Urabá le pagaron a las Auc', asegura Salvatore Mancuso a CBS

Author: El Tiempo [Colombia]
Dated: 12 mayo 2008

Aparte de Chiquita Brands, también habrían pagado Del Monte y Dole, dos de las empresas más reconocidas en el campo de los alimentos, aseguró en el programa 60 minutos de esa cadena..."Nos parecíamos a un Estado. Los proveíamos de protección, lo que les permitió seguir haciendo inversiones y obtener beneficios financieros", dijo Mancuso a los periodistas. De acuerdo con su testimonio, no hubo necesidad de ejercer presiones, chantajes o amenazas a las empresas bananeras para que desembolsaran esos porcentajes...Al preguntarle los reporteros de la CBS si los empresarios tenían la opción de no pagar, Mancuso respondió que sí...el presidente de Chiquita Brands, Fernando Aguirre...justificó el pago a las autodefensas por la capacidad de intimidación de estas.

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Visit: [video] The Price Of Bananas

Author: Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS News [USA]
Dated: 11 May 2008

Title: Une méga-plainte liée à l'apartheid avalisée par la Cour suprême [Etats-Unis]

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Visit: Une méga-plainte liée à l'apartheid avalisée par la Cour suprême [Etats-Unis]

Author: Agence France-Presse
Dated: 12 mai 2008

La Cour suprême des États-Unis a avalisé lundi la recevabilité d'une série de plaintes réclamant plusieurs milliards de dollars à une cinquantaine de multinationales accusées d'avoir aidé le gouvernement sud-africain pendant la période de l'apartheid... [La] Cour...précise que le quorum n'a pas été atteint dans ce cas, quatre des neuf juges s'étant récusés en raison de possibles conflits d'intérêt avec les entreprises incriminées... La procédure vise une cinquantaine de sociétés dont Shell, Citigroup, Barclays, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil, Ford, Fujitsu...IBM...

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Visit: Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims

Author: Mark Sherman, Associated Press
Dated: 12 May 2008

Title: [video] The Price Of Bananas

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Visit: [video] The Price Of Bananas

Author: Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS News [USA]
Dated: 11 May 2008

...[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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link status: ok (opens outside this page)
Visit: "Todas las bananeras de Urabá le pagaron a las Auc', asegura Salvatore Mancuso a CBS

Author: El Tiempo [Colombia]
Dated: 12 mayo 2008

Title: Time for multinationals to step up to the mark in Burma

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Visit: Time for multinationals to step up to the mark in Burma

Author: Andrew Crane & Dirk Matten, Professors at York Univ. School of Business [Canada]
Dated: 06 May 2008

...[With Burma] suddenly in the midst of a huge natural disaster that has already claimed some 22,000 lives, now is clearly the time to go beyond debate [over companies' trade & investment with Burma] and for any companies still doing business there to start rolling up their sleeves... [Is] Cyclone Nargis going to be the catalyst for any of the hundreds of multinationals doing business with Burma to demonstrate some concrete proof that their business links can bring positive social benefits to the Burmese people? After all, the common argument used by companies involved in Burma is that they can benefit ordinary people more by investing there than divesting. So this is a real opportunity to finally show the world that this whole argument is more than just a lame excuse for profiting from human rights abuses. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) latest list of companies doing business with Burma includes Caterpillar..., China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), Daewoo International..., Siemens..., Gas Authority of India (GAIL), GlaxoSmithKline ..., Hyundai..., and Total....

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Visit: Business offering support to Burma

Author: Stephen Frost, CSR Asia
Dated: 07 May 2008

Title: Dos tragedias por agroquímicos... y negligencia [México]

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Visit: Dos tragedias por agroquímicos... y negligencia [México]

Author: Iván Restrepo, La Jornada [México]
Dated: 5 mayo 2008

…[S]e cumplió el 17 aniversario del incendio en las instalaciones de la empresa Agricultura Nacional Veracruzana, mejor conocida por Anaversa…Ninguno de los responsables pisó la cárcel, mientras muchos inocentes han muerto y muchos más padecen las secuelas de la exposición a las sustancias que consumió el fuego…Nunca sabremos tampoco el número de víctimas ocasionadas por otra empresa: Cromatos de México, que…dejó abandonada una herencia mortal:…toneladas de residuos muy tóxicos capaces de ocasionar hasta cáncer y deteriorar el ambiente, en especial el agua…Al recordar estas dos tragedias, esperamos que la negligencia no desencadene otra en la nucleoeléctrica de Laguna Verde.

Title: Dream for Darfur - second Olympic Corporate Sponsor Darfur Report Card

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Visit: Dream for Darfur - second Olympic Corporate Sponsor Darfur Report Card

Author: report by Dream for Darfur; additional materials compiled by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Dated: May 2008

In April 2008, Dream for Darfur issued a..."report card" grading 19 Olympic corporate sponsors on the steps they had taken "to help bring security to war-torn Darfur", including asking companies "to call for indicted Sudanese war criminals to be banned from the Games, contact the Chinese government about the genocide, work with the IOC [Intl. Olympic Committee] and each other to craft a meaningful action or urge the UN to deploy the full protection force without further delay." Sixteen of the 19 companies graded received a "D" or "F". Of the 19, "Adidas, Kodak and McDonald’s alone urged the UN and international community to address the genocide, or took other actions" according to Dream for Darfur... Section II of the full report includes each company's response to the actions that Dream for Darfur urged.
[16 sponsors that received Ds or Fs:
Anheuser-Busch, Atos Origin, BHP Billiton, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Lenovo, Manulife/John Hancock, Microsoft, Panasonic/Matsushita, Samsung, Staples, Swatch/Omega, Visa, Volkswagen]

List item: 1

link status: ok (opens outside this page)
Visit: Companies Return Criticism From Darfur Group

Author: Stephanie Clifford, New York Times
Dated: 25 Apr 2008

List item: 2

link status: ok (opens outside this page)
Visit: We help Darfur but do not harm the Olympics

Author: Neville Isdell, chairman & CEO of Coca-Cola, in Financial Times
Dated: 17 Apr 2008

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Complicity

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Title: [video] Report on Anvil Mining partnership with UK Department for Intl. Development in Dem. Rep. of Congo [begins at 33:00]

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Title: [PDF] UN Global Compact called upon to influence PetroChina to help Darfur - over 80 organizations and individuals ask UN Global Compact to uphold its principles

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Title: [PDF] [Letter to Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact]

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Title: Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims

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Title: "Todas las bananeras de Urabá le pagaron a las Auc', asegura Salvatore Mancuso a CBS

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Title: Une méga-plainte liée à l'apartheid avalisée par la Cour suprême [Etats-Unis]

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Title: [video] The Price Of Bananas

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Title: Time for multinationals to step up to the mark in Burma

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Title: Dos tragedias por agroquímicos... y negligencia [México]

Title: Dream for Darfur - second Olympic Corporate Sponsor Darfur Report Card

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Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Complicity

Page Content Navigation

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Main Content: Complicity

Search Summary

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Link Results

Title: [video] Report on Anvil Mining partnership with UK Department for Intl. Development in Dem. Rep. of Congo [begins at 33:00]

List item: 1

Title: [PDF] UN Global Compact called upon to influence PetroChina to help Darfur - over 80 organizations and individuals ask UN Global Compact to uphold its principles

List item: 1

Title: [PDF] [Letter to Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact]

List item: 1

Title: Court won't block US lawsuit by apartheid victims

List item: 1

Title: "Todas las bananeras de Urabá le pagaron a las Auc', asegura Salvatore Mancuso a CBS

List item: 1

Title: Une méga-plainte liée à l'apartheid avalisée par la Cour suprême [Etats-Unis]

List item: 1

Title: [video] The Price Of Bananas

List item: 1

Title: Time for multinationals to step up to the mark in Burma

List item: 1

Title: Dos tragedias por agroquímicos... y negligencia [México]

Title: Dream for Darfur - second Olympic Corporate Sponsor Darfur Report Card

List item: 1

List item: 2

See also: Categories

Send us comments & suggested additions

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Library Navigation

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