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Article

2 Aug 2012

Author:
Joanne Bauer, CSRwire

What Does Corporate Responsibility In Burma Look Like?

What does it mean to invest in Burma so as to be a force for good and not bad?...Aung San Suu Kyi defined bad as fueling corruption and inequality, and good as creating jobs and training workers...[T]he onus is on companies to act responsibly, reduce risks, avoid complicity in rights abuses...Here is what corporate responsibility in Burma looks like: “Enhanced due diligence” particularly with respect to land acquisition...The UN Guiding Principles specify that certain contexts – weak governance or armed conflict - call for “enhanced due diligence”...Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for jobs means creating decent work opportunities with labor rights protections, including ensuring non-discrimination towards ethnic minorities...Companies need to invest in ways that genuinely enhance the lives of the Burmese people...Tax avoidance, paying diminished or no taxes even if allowed by law, denies the government of revenue to deliver services and infrastructure that can improve the lives of ordinary Burmese...