http://127.0.0.1:8000 Tracking the positive and negative impact of over 3000 companies worldwide. en-gb Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:32:01 +0000 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:32:01 +0000 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Haggis avery@business-humanrights.org avery@business-humanrights.org http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/790490 Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) CONFERENCE™ is the largest comprehensive learning and networking event on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investment on a yearly basis in Asia and Europe. We are now accepting presentation proposals and sponsorship commitments for TBLI CONFERENCE™ ASIA 2010 on May 27-28, at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so, Tokyo, Japan. Your proposal must be received on January 31, 2010 to be considered... Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/790490 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/146073 On 7 April 2010, the Responsible Sourcing Network (a new project of As You Sow) and the Institute for Human Rights and Business, in partnership with Anti-Slavery International and Boston Common Asset Management, will convene a meeting in Brussels to address forced child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector. The meeting will bring together brands, retailers, civil society organizations, investors, trade unions, industry associations and others... Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/146073 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000039 The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) took part in a panel on the role of non-state actors at the Second Regional Forum on the Prevention of Genocide in Arusha, Tanzania, on March 3-5, 2010. The forum, organised by the governments of Tanzania, Switzerland, and Argentina, brought together over 90 participants to strengthen regional efforts aimed at preventing genocide and other mass atrocities. IHRB Director of Policy, Salil Tripathi, spoke at the forum about the roles and responsibilities of business operating in zones of conflict, as well as what states must do to ensure that non-state actors are not directly or indirectly involved in extreme situations such as genocide. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000039 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000040 Join us in either Hong Kong or Tokyo for an interactive workshop on business and human rights...Speakers: Christine Bader, Advisor to the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Business and Human Rights; Faris Natour, Director, Research & Innovation, BSR; Jeremy Prepscius, Managing Director, Asia, BSR Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000040 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000030 A government team said…a unit of mining giant Vedanta Resources, violated environmental guidelines at its planned mining site in the Niyamgiri Hills. India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh said he will seek "follow-up action" with the Orissa state government after a ministry panel sent to the region submitted three reports saying Vedanta started work on its mining project before receiving final clearances. The minister also said the project…may have violated rights of the 8,000-member Dongria Kondh tribe…Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer of Vedanta's Lanjigarh refinery, said the company hasn't violated any government guidelines or tribal rights. He said there was "some confusion" in the interpretation of laws regarding the work Vedanta has done around the mine on land leased from the Orissa government. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000030 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000021 Hundreds of workers at an Olimpstroi-funded construction site in Sochi have not been paid in months, with some complaining that they are going hungry after giving up their passports as collateral to get food at grocery stores. The scandal is the latest to hit Russia’s $13 billion effort to ready the Black Sea resort for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Residents displaced by construction…complained…they are not being adequately compensated, while environmental activists say the work is blighting the region…Sergei Dykhalov, who was hired by general contractor Moskonversprom…said he hadn’t [received] his salary since December…Moskonversprom blames its subcontractors for the working conditions and delayed wages, but the subcontractors say they have not been paid. Workers for both the general contractor and the main subcontractor told…they were not being paid…Moskonversprom...denied...[it] had failed to pay any salaries and accused Solnechny Dom of stealing 1.5 million rubles… Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000021 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000010 Vanilla from [Madagascar] flavours everything from Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s to Marks & Spencer desserts and numerous items on the shelves of supermarkets…According to the UN’s International Labour Organisation and the US Department of Labour, nearly 2m children are at work on the island…Unicef, which is working in Madagascar to promote children’s rights [said] “Many of these children are being denied their right to an education and are losing their childhoods..” But although leading retailers and manufacturers impose strict ethical standards on their suppliers, many…believe they cannot monitor the work of farmers further down the chain…An M&S spokeswoman said the supply chain was highly complex but would be investigated…Spokesmen for Waitrose, Sainsbury and Tesco also promised to investigate, insisting that their suppliers guaranteed not to rely on children…A spokeswoman for Unilever, which uses Madagascan vanilla pods for both Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s…said it had no direct responsibility for auditing vanilla production on the island but child labour was unacceptable… Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000010 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000011 Thousands of workers in Britain's lucrative food industry are being subjected to widespread mistreatment and exploitation…according to an inquiry…[by] the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)…Workers…reported being pushed, kicked or having things thrown at them...had experienced or witnessed verbal abuse…[had been forced] to do double shifts… agency workers were treated worse than directly employed staff…Neil Kinghan, the EHRC director general, said: "We have heard stories of workers subjected to bullying, violence…being denied toilet breaks. Some…put up with these conditions out of economic necessity. Others lack the language skills to understand and assert their rights”…Mark Boleat, chairman of the Association of Labour Providers, questioned the commission's methodology and suggested it had sought out workers who were experiencing abuse. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000011 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000029 Imagínate que después de una revisión médica en el trabajo no te renuevan. Imagínate que no puedes contratar una hipoteca porque ninguna compañía te hace un seguro de vida...Todo esto les ha pasado en 2009 y les sigue pasando en 2010 a personas que ven sus derechos vulnerados por el hecho de tener el VIH. Así lo constata el informe de consultas 2009 del Observatorio de Derechos Humanos y VIH/sida de RED2002...La discriminación en el ámbito del trabajo sigue siendo, como en años anteriores, la principal fuente de consulta (32%) en el Estado español...los motivos más habituales han sido: cambios en las condiciones de trabajo (horario, ubicación física, responsabilidades, salario), vulneración de la confidencialidad de datos médicos, solicitud de la prueba del VIH sin tener relevancia para el puesto, exclusión de oposiciones, dificultades para encontrar trabajo o despidos. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000029 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000012 This Follow Up Statement reflects the parties’ responses on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Final Statement…on the complaint from Survival International against Vedanta Resources under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises…Survival International’s update…can be summarised as follows...Access to the area affected by the project was obstructed by people allegedly paid by Vedanta…Vedanta has declined to alter its conduct in any way…Vedanta has not yet commissioned a human and indigenous rights impact assessment and has made no attempt to engage with the Dongria Kondh…Vedanta's response….can be summarized as follows…there will be no displacement from the proposed mining project as there is no inhabitation at the proposed mining site…the company has in place a policy for engaging with local communities and is already engaging with the Dongria Kondh…its consultation processes…are already in line with the UK NCP’s recommendations…Vedanta denied that it has paid local villagers to obstruct Survival International’s activities. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000012 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000008 The government of Ecuador had asked Manhattan federal court…to prevent Chevron from taking the 17-year-old case to arbitration under the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty. U.S. courts had previously sent the litigation to be heard in Ecuador, where Chevron said…that it had uncovered a $3 million bribery plot linked to the case. A lawyer for the government said Thursday's ruling does not halt the litigation in the South American country…Chevron has complained of government interference in the case, in which indigenous communities accused Texaco, bought by Chevron in 2001, of damaging their health and the Amazon rain forest and causing river pollution while operating petroleum facilities in the region. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/1000008 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/629993 The United Nations is launching a set of Women’s Empowerment Principles…to mark International Women’s Day 2010. The principles – an initiative of the UN Global Compact and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) – are a code of conduct for companies on gender equality…The principles are rooted in human rights and recognise the fundamental importance of equality and non-discrimination within the international human rights framework…Launch of the Women’s Empowerment Principles is a welcome step in ensuring that gender considerations sit squarely within the broader business and human rights framework…Gender is not an add-on to this debate; it is of fundamental importance and needs to be a strong component of any accountability framework for business and human rights. [refers to Rio Tinto] Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/629993 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/808382 GI-NET seeks to fill an Analyst position in its Conflict Risk Network (CRN) program. CRN coordinates a network of institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders interested in addressing the role corporate actors…play in areas affected by genocide and severe conflict…The successful candidate will…[c]onduct…research and compile key financial data on companies materially involved in select GI-NET Areas of Concern…[T]ailor corporate responsibility standards and recommendations for responsible corporate behavior in select GI-NET Areas of Concern. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/808382 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/889573 I read your…article on Media misreporting and Apple’s CSR and would like to offer a comment. .. Firstly, hats off to Apple for a very transparent and readable report...For those of us in major brands who…have had to deal with the media, it comes as no surprise that bad news sells papers…Efforts by companies to manage the complexities of workplace conditions which are impacted by…thread-bare industrial relations… and a host of other factors is often left at the door when an emotional touchstone is available for a headline about “child labour”. However, your stated concern that the apple story will reinforce the conservatism of many Asian companies who are “cautious about being transparent…” perhaps misstates the risk…I am therefore hopeful that the Asian companies that subscribe to your newsletter see that the merit of transparency far outweighs the risks of media exposure… it lifts their standing, rather than diminishes it. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.business-humanrights.org:8001/Links/Repository/889573