"Report praising companies on human rights criticised as whitewash", 21 Oct 2016

[C]ontroversial new report published by the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)...seeks to make the case for companies as a “force for good” in defending human rights and has angered human rights organisations. Thulsi Narayanasamy from campaign group War on Want said the report was a “tool to whitewash the exploitative nature of many private sector industries, from the extractive companies through to fashion and electronics brands”...While CAF accepts that not all corporations are saints, it maintains that responsible companies can and do make meaningful contributions to the promotion of human rights and the defence of civil society organisations being oppressed by states...“We have a responsibility to promote these good examples because that hopefully will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and … will encourage more companies to engage in defending civil society activists,” says Adam Pickering, international policy manager at CAF...London Mining Network...believes asking companies to take a more proactive stand in defending human rights merely reinforces corporations’ growing dominance...