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See also the following sections of this website:

• Lawsuits & regulatory action against companies
• Business complicity in human rights abuses
• Report on human rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies
• UN Draft Human Rights Principles for Business / UN Working Group on Transnational Corporations

Websites:

Other materials:

2003:

In the green dock: corporate targets [sub-section of article entitled "Asda 'exploiting loophole' for store space"] - FoE [Friends of the Earth] is also targeting some of Britain's largest listed firms, which it claims are putting profits before people and the environment; it has bought shares in 18 publicly quoted firms and has been questioning boards about the impact their businesses are having on the environment. The campaign, to run through the summer, started this week when FoE accused Rio Tinto of human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Indonesia at its AGM. FoE is also pushing for UK law changes requiring firms to take account of their wider responsibilities and offer affected communities redress or compensation when they fail to do so. The 18 firms targeted...: British American Tobacco (Activities in Burma and use of pesticides in Brazil); Associated British Ports; Rio Tinto (Destructive mining activities in Indonesia); Shell (Environmental damage in the Philippines; South Africa, Nigeria and US); Barclays (Rainforest destruction in Indonesia); BP (Impact of the Baku to Ceyan Russian pipeline); Anglo American (Mining in South America and Africa); BAE Systems; Amec (Subsidiary Spie has a construction contract for BP's Baku-Ceyan pipeline); Premier Oil; Balfour Beatty; P&O; HSBC (Oil industry involvement in Sudan); Tesco; British Airways; Sainsbury; Safeway; BAA. (Julia Finch & Neil Hume, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2003)

Investors barrack Rio Tinto bosses -...Rio Tinto was barracked by small shareholders and special interest groups at an annual meeting that marked a bad-tempered send-off for chairman Sir Robert...The mining group was attacked over pension issues, alleged safety problems in Utah and for not making provisions for a number of legal cases being taken out against it..."The government must change company law to ensure the directors of irresponsible companies like Rio Tinto are made fully liable and accountable for their destructive impact overseas," said Friends of the Earth campaigner Ed Matthew. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 18 Apr. 2003)

• Rio Tinto exposed for mining impacts in Indonesia - Rio Tinto, the world's biggest mining company, will come under attack at its annual general meeting today for human rights abuses and environmental destruction linked to its operations in Indonesia. The allegations are outlined in a new report from Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI), "Undermining Indonesia", launched today, which investigates the impacts of four of Rio Tinto's most controversial mining operations. (Friends of the Earth, 17 Apr. 2003)

Bosses 'must not be untouchable' [UK] - The widow of a shipyard worker killed doing the job he loved yesterday backed calls for negligent company bosses to go to prison. (James Reed, The Journal [UK], 5 Apr. 2003)

Legal case for doing the right thing -...As a wave of legal actions - such as a case alleging that Unocal, the US oil company, used forced labour in Burma - put business responsibility on trial, the voluntary versus mandatory debate is increasingly being overtaken by the law. Many question whether a law passed in 1789 - the Alien Tort Claims Act, through which some US courts have allowed lawsuits that allege US companies have violated international laws abroad - should be used in this way. But whatever the outcome of such cases (no company has yet made any payment) and the result of the debate, the potential liability of multinational companies in relation to corporate responsibility is becoming harder to ignore...Laws on misrepresentation or false advertising can come to bear on what companies voluntarily disclose about themselves. Currently under the spotlight is Nike, which was sued by Marc Kasky, an activist who alleged the company made false statements in press releases about its labour practices...Many of the legal challenges facing companies today are examined in a report released last month. Prepared by the International Institute for Environment and Development, it aims to demonstrate how the law is shaping corporate responsibility. (Sarah Murray, Financial Times, 31 Mar. 2003)

• Legal Issues in Corporate Citizenship -...Mandatory legislation on various aspects of business transparency is emerging around the world. It can form part of company law, environmental regulation, or tailored legislation for institutional investors or on social and environmental reporting. Pressure for enhanced public sector accountability has also given rise to calls for company reporting on revenues paid to host government by companies in the extractive industries...A new wave of legal actions – mostly in US courts, but also in some EU countries – is testing the boundaries of existing legal principles in relation to some of the most difficult issues of the CSR agenda. For example, a series of cases in the US, France and Belgium are testing how fundamental principles of international law – particularly human rights law – apply to parent companies of multinational corporate groups. (Halina Ward, International Institute for Environment and Development, Feb. 2003)

Nursing Homes to Get Safety Guidelines [USA] - Nursing homes are the first industry to get government guidelines that suggest ways to reduce workplace injuries, replacing the legal requirements Congress rolled back two years ago after businesses complained they were too burdensome and costly. (Leigh Strope, AP, 13 Mar. 2003)

• “Caregivers hope the guidelines will be followed, but hope is all they can do.” [USA] - OSHA's new ergonomics guidelines recommend that employers take action to prevent injuries that affect thousands of nursing home workers and residents each year. But the voluntary guidelines will not do enough to protect workers and residents from injury. Nursing home work is so crippling that safety guidelines need to be mandatory - not voluntary. (Service Employees International Union, 13 Mar. 2003)

MPs call for corporate killing law [UK] - MPs from the UK’s three main political parties will be pressing the case for a new law against corporate killing, promised in Labour’s 2001 General Election Manifesto, at a meeting in the House of Commons today (Tuesday). (Trades Union Congress, 7 Mar. 2003)

"Human Rights and Corporate Accountability" (speech by Mary Robinson, Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at The Fund for Peace - Human Rights and Business Roundtable, 19 Feb. 2003)

"Human Rights and Ethical Globalization" -...On this occasion my intention is to consider how, by using the language and tools of international human rights, we can shape a more ethical globalization...there is increasing recognition that if fundamental rights are to be implemented it is essential to ensure that obligations fall where power is exercised, whether it is in the local village, the corporate board room or in the international meeting rooms of the WTO, the World Bank or the IMF...discussion is only now beginning on the fundamental question of how to ensure equitable access to life saving drugs...I hope, through my new work, to engage the major pharmaceutical companies in addressing these issues from a human rights perspective. (lecture by Mary Robinson, Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at Stanford University, 12 Feb. 2003)

Legal Issues in Corporate Citizenship -...Mandatory legislation on various aspects of business transparency is emerging around the world. It can form part of company law, environmental regulation, or tailored legislation for institutional investors or on social and environmental reporting. Pressure for enhanced public sector accountability has also given rise to calls for company reporting on revenues paid to host government by companies in the extractive industries...A new wave of legal actions – mostly in US courts, but also in some EU countries – is testing the boundaries of existing legal principles in relation to some of the most difficult issues of the CSR agenda. For example, a series of cases in the US, France and Belgium are testing how fundamental principles of international law – particularly human rights law – apply to parent companies of multinational corporate groups. (Halina Ward, International Institute for Environment and Development, Feb. 2003)

Analysis: BP and the Baku pipeline: Whose standards are high enough? - [regarding the BP-led consortium's Host Government Agreement with Turkey, Georgia & Azerbaijan, which grants the consortium exemption from national laws]...Environmental and human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth (FoE), are concerned the consortium will not be held legally or financially responsible for any environmental or social wrongdoings. (Jaime Eastham, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 27 Jan. 2003)

GLOBALIZE THIS! Respect for human rights. -...So we are not opposed to globalisation but we cannot accept a globalisation that dooms more than a billion people to lives of deprivation incompatible with basic human dignity. Why worry so much about expanding investment opportunities and so little about globalising respect for human rights? Why is all the attention on binding rules for trade disputes, and so little on international accountability in relation to states' human rights obligations?...For too long corporations operating globally have exploited weaknesses in national laws and have been party to human rights violations with impunity.  International human rights law is part of the solution to corporate accountability and to the creation of a global regulatory framework that allows for a globalisation consistent with freedom and dignity. (speech by Paul Hoffman, Chair of Amnesty International, to World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 25 Jan. 2003)

Davos, Shell - Can industries be trusted? [South Africa] -...Shell's contradictory record in south Durban, South Africa, speaks volumes for its "commitment". Here Shell continues its usual practice of dumping pollution on communities due to poor operational systems, misrepresenting information to the public, withholding information from the public and suffering worker injuries...FoE [Friends of the Earth] South Africa raises concerns at the Public Eye on Davos about the reality that multi-nationals like Shell are not being held accountable for their environmental and human rights abuses in the South. (Friends of the Earth South Africa, 24 Jan. 2003)

• company website: Shell in Southern Africa (Shell)

WEF appeals for ethic rules - Critics of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which opened here on Thursday appealed to governments and big business to accept binding rules making them accountable...Klaus Schwab, the founder and president of the WEF, who normally espouses a pro-business line, joined the criticism...The NGOs said that voluntary codes were not enough to stop practices which created environmental, social or even financial damage. (South African Press Association, 23 Jan. 2003)

Alternative Davos opens with criticism of US -...The Public Eye on Davos – set up by NGOs to monitor the activities of the WEF and its participants – wants to see binding international rules introduced, requiring multinationals to sign up to agreed environmental and social standards. “The idea is to launch a convention on corporate accountability and responsibility,” Miriam Behrens of Pro-Natura, the Swiss arm of Friends of the Earth, told swissinfo. (swissinfo, 23 Jan. 2003)

Irene Khan's [Amnesty International Secretary-General Irene Khan] Speech at the World Economic Forum, Davos -...We will now campaign for legal accountability of corporations for human rights under international law...Of course, companies tell us we should trust them, that their voluntary principles will do the trick. But in reality it took violence and unrest around oil pipelines and oil installations in Nigeria, Colombia and Indonesia to bring oil companies in the US, UK and now Norway and the Netherlands to endorse voluntary principles for the use of security forces in the extractive industry. It was fear of a consumer boycott and concerted effort by NGOs that led governments and industry to put in place the Kimberly process for international certification of diamonds so that conflict diamonds could be eradicated.  Voluntary codes are important but Amnesty International is convinced that voluntarism alone is not enough. (Irene Khan, Secretary-General, Amnesty International, speech delivered to the World Economic Forum, Davos, 23 Jan. 2003)

Business and Human Rights: Towards legal accountability - Properly understood, international law in this area would complement - not replace - enforcement at national level. International human rights standards would provide a benchmark against which national legal systems could be assessed....the UN, governments and companies should support the work of the UN Sub-Commission (the expert body referred to above) to agree draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations. This text ought to be agreed in the near future...Amnesty International believes that the United Nations needs to put in place a mechanism that would allow for public scrutiny of companies' human rights performance. (David Petrasek, Senior Director of Policy, Amnesty International, speech delivered to "Public Eye on Davos" conference, 23 Jan. 2003)

Deconstructing Engagement: Corporate Self-Regulation in Conflict Zones - Implications for Human Rights and Canadian Public Policy [includes sections on: case study of Talisman Energy in Sudan, "Talisman Energy's Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Verification by PricewaterhouseCoopers", the liability of corporations under international law, "Domestic Disclosure and Corporate Laws", "Litigation", "Consumer and Investor Campaigns", codes of conduct, social reporting, verification/monitoring, "Emerging State Duty to Regulate the Extraterritorial Activities of Corporations"] (Georgette Gagnon, Audrey Macklin, Penelope Simons, A Strategic Joint Initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Law Commission of Canada, Jan. 2003)

Participating in Governance: the Social Responsibility of Companies and NGOs -...This is a big challenge to traditional thinking about the right and proper roles of governments, companies and NGOs and to their competencies in performing them. It means accepting that the world and the power relationships between these key actors has changed. It means understanding that companies and NGOs, whether they or anyone else like it or not and whether they do so actively or passively, are participating in governance. (Chris Marsden, Chair of Amnesty International (UK) Business Group, Jan. 2003 [this article will appear in Spring 2003 edition of New Academy Review])

Defending Labor Rights: On the Barricades and In the Boardroom -...At the same time that national governments have failed to regulate the global labor practices of MNCs, international institutions have yet to acquire sufficient power and global support to do so.  Legislators from time to time have considered imposing national and international legal obligations on MNCs operating in foreign countries.  To date, however, these efforts have not yet proved to be fruitful.  NGOs, along with labor unions, have stepped into the power vacuum to become the most conspicuous and vociferous critics of multinational corporations on labor and human rights. (Michael A. Santoro, Assistant Professor, Rutgers Business School, in Brown Journal of World Affairs, winter/spring 2003)

2002:

Comment: Government and corporate social responsibility – the democratic deficit -...Governments have a huge potential to influence corporate behaviour. Yet today it is government that has been the slowest to respond to a changed world. [refers to human rights, the need for more than voluntary initiatives] (Sir Geoffrey Chandler, Founder-Chair of Amnesty International UK Business Group and a former senior executive at Royal Dutch/Shell, in Ethical Corporation magazine, 6 Dec. 2002)

"How can publics become more engaged in ensuring corporate citizenship?" [includes reference to the shortcomings of voluntarism, and to the U.N. Sub-Commission "Draft norms on Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations & Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights"] (Sir Geoffrey Chandler, speech at Wilton Park Conference, 21 Nov. 2002)

Defining Global Business Principles: Towards a new role for investors in promoting international corporate responsibility [refers to human rights, labour issues, environmental issues; includes sections entitled "Globalisation and coporate responsibility", "Global ethical principles", "The Global Business Principles Project"]  (Dr. Craig Mackenzie, Head of Investor Responsibility, Insight Investment, Nov. 2002)

Unity Platform on Corporate Accountability - After Enron, WorldCom, and Other Scandals 200 Global Justice Groups Call for Corporate Accountability - The statement outlines an agenda for public funding of elections, an overhaul of corporate governance, controls on speculative investment, stronger labor and environmental obligations, an end to international corporate welfare, and a redefinition of financial accountability, among other proposals. (US-based global justice groups, 29 Oct. 2002) 

DR of Congo: Annan calls for global action against exploiting natural resources for war -...Mr. Annan...called for an investigation of the companies identified in the report [recent report by panel of UN experts on illegal exploitation of resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo]....Asked what responsibility foreign governments had in protecting the DRC from the corporations named in the report, Mr. Annan said, "I would hope that there would be some way of putting an embargo on exports from there, either through a direct ban, or governments taking responsibility for companies that are registered in their countries to ensure that they did not behave irresponsibly." (UN News Centre, 25 Oct. 2002)

Analysis: Is there a business agenda after Johannesburg? Valentina Bottarelli and Julie Garman assess the long term impact of the WSSD in Johannesburg -...if these partnerships do not yield appropriate outcomes in a few short years, the stick approach will replace the carrot. And the stick may include international codes of conduct, standardisation, certification on required reporting and so on. (Valentina Bottarelli and Julie Garman, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 24 Sep. 2002)

Cut back sweatshop imports, US told - US human rights and trade union groups are launching a campaign aimed at restricting US imports of goods made under alleged sweatshop conditions...They now want to pressure Washington into introducing new laws that could punish firms if they fail to uphold their own declared standards...One of the focuses of the campaign is Bangladesh where the garment industry is the largest employer - but one which has virtually no regulation. (BBC News, 24 Sep. 2002)

CHILD RIGHTS: U.N. Committee Examines Role Of Private Sector -...Committee Chairperson Jacob Egbert Doek said human rights committees and special rapporteurs are increasingly concerned about privatization of such basic services as health, water and education...it was recommended that governments retain sole responsibility in ensuring child rights, even if the private sector is involved in providing services...Speakers also said that state regulation of the private sector is needed; self-regulation by the private sector is insufficient (UN Wire, 23 Sep. 2002)

• Committee on Rights of Child holds a general discussion on the role of the private sector in providing services - High Commissioner for Human Rights Says Non-State Providers Could Have a Positive or Negative Impact on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 20 Sep. 2002)

Corporate Citizenship and the Mining Industry: Defining and Implementing Human Rights Norms (Rory Sullivan and Peter Frankental, Amnesty International Business Group UK, in Journal of Corporate Citizenship Issue 7, autumn 2002)

Report calls for laws on corporate killing [UK] - The Government is being urged to bring in legislation on corporate killing in a bid to improve safety in the workplace. A new report into recent work-related deaths in London said there was a clear need for laws to target company directors. (Ananova, 16 Sep. 2002)

Earth Summit winners and losers -...Campaigners hoping to rein in global capitalism were given something to celebrate in the action plan - a call by the summit to "actively promote" corporate responsibility even if it did not create a global policeman to catch corporate polluters and human-rights abusers. A reference to "intergovernmental agreements" and "international initiative" could open the way to some kind of global convention on corporate behaviour, according to the more optimistic activists. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 6 Sep. 2002)

Sustainable Development: R.I.P.: The Earth Summit's Deathblow to Sustainable Development -...With the world's most powerful governments fully behind the corporate globalization agenda, it was agreed even before the Summit that there would no new mandatory agreements. Rather the focus was to be on implementation of old agreements, mainly through partnerships with the private sector. In other words, those aspects of sustainability that are convenient for private sector would be implemented...At issue is the fact that the UN is unabashedly -- anxiously -- partnering with corporations that define sustainability to suit themselves...the phrase "corporate accountability," is included elsewhere in the Action Plan, though it's located in an ambiguous paragraph that will require several more years of campaigning by Friends of the Earth and allies to see any legal instrument on corporate accountability born at the UN. [refers to Shell's conduct in Nigeria; refers to Shell, Caltex and BP's conduct in South Africa] (Kenny Bruno, CorpWatch, 4 Sep. 2002)

Business Leader Says Governments Must Set Framework for Action on Environment, Development -...at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, he [Mark Moody-Stuart] has been highly visible as founder of the corporate group Business Action for Sustainable Development. Despite a deep commitment to reducing poverty and improving the environment, he has drawn fire from activist groups critical of his preference for national and local regulations over broad international agreements. In an interview with Akwe Amosu in Johannesburg, he explains his position and argues that it does not let multinational corporations off the hook. (Akwe Amosu, allAfrica.com, 3 Sep. 2002)

Teens need safer workplace [USA] -...The Labor Department released a report recently urging the government to prohibit teenagers from working in fields such as construction, window washing and garbage collection. The report also called for stronger enforcement of the labor regulations already in place. (editorial, St. Petersburg Times [Florida, USA], 2 Sep. 2002)

Sir Corporate Responsibility and the World Summit -...Christian Aid applauds the personal commitment of Sir Mark Moody-Stuart to the cause of more socially responsible business, but it is our belief that only with international, legally-binding regulation will his commitment be matched by a fundamental change in business culture. [refers to conduct by Shell, HSBC, Talisman, Petronas] (Christian Aid, 2 Sep. 2002)

Ecology opens for business [World Summit on Sustainable Development] -...Sir Mark [Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former chairman of Shell who now heads Business Action for Sustainable Development] is lobbying for global leaders to disregard calls by NGOs to introduce multilateral rules governing business conduct. "The summit is taking place just as massive corporate scandals are undermining economic growth and confidence throughout the world. There is widespread recognition that self-regulation has failed," says Daniel Graymore, a campaigner for Christian Aid, the UK charity. Sir Mark concedes that greater corporate accountability is needed. But he argues that standards for business should be enforced at a national rather than global level...while some NGOs remain openly hostile to business, others are keen to work with it. BASD is promoting 230 partnerships between business and NGOs at the summit. They include the secondment of staff from HSBC, the banking group, to Earthwatch environmental projects, carmaker Fiat's development of gas-powered cars and the treatment of sleeping sickness in Africa by Aventis, the pharmaceuticals group. (James Lamont & John Mason, Financial Times, 31 Aug. 2002) 

Earth Summit feuds fester over rules for business - Rows on rules raged at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg this week as rights groups and corporate leaders wrestled over the sticky question of whether, where and how to introduce binding regulations for business. (Jodie Ginsberg, Reuters, 30 Aug. 2002)

Developments on corporate accountability 'agreement' at Joburg - This is what has happened to the agreement (ie the text) on corporate accountability this morning in the WSSD [World Summit on Sustainable Development] Plan of Implementation. (based on an e-mail from Matt Phillips, Friends of the Earth, 30 Aug. 2002)

Oil companies colonise Turkey: Corporate Accountability – Not! - BP and other oil companies [Unocal, Statoil, Turkiye Petroleum, ENI, TotalFinaElf, Itochu Oil, Delta Hess, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan] have demanded an extraordinary and outrageous deal, giving them complete freedom from regulation for a pipeline they propose to build across Turkey...It exempts the companies from obligations under any current or future Turkish law that may threaten the project's profits, including environmental, social and human rights legislation.  (Friends of the Earth, 30 Aug. 2002)

US blocks move to give powers to those threatened by multinationals: Poor countries seek redress over firms' damage - The United States is blocking human, environmental and freedom of information rights from being enshrined in the earth summit's plan of action in order to protect multinational companies from litigation and protests by the poor. The EU and developing countries such as Thailand, Uganda and Indonesia believe that giving communities the right to take on companies that pollute their environment and damage their health is fundamental to the aims of the summit. (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 29 Aug. 2002)

Business needs rules to cooperate - In a speech from the plenary floor at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, BASD [Business Action for Sustainable Development] Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart said that in order to maximize its contribution to sustainable development business needs regulation of markets and strong local governance...This will include sound governance of business – with the rules and frameworks necessary for markets to operate fairly and openly in each and every country and with, for example, appropriate environmental regulation applied impartially to all. But it will also include such elements as the rule of law, security, human rights, intellectual property etc...I hope that through these remarks I have dispelled the myth put out by others that business is against all regulation – it is just not true...Much is made by our NGO colleagues for the need for supranational standards or regulation. The essential international agreements on climate and trade are addressed in other fora, and we in business strongly support access to developing country products to developed markets. We believe however that any attempt at one size fits all international regulation is inappropriate. (Business Action for Sustainable Development, 29 Aug. 2002)

Chinese activists take to the courts: Nascent 'green culture' is challenging authorities - and being heard - In the three years since he set up an environmental hotline, Wang Canfa [Director of the Beijing-based Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims] has heard thousands of heartbreaking horror stories from people who have seen their health or livelihoods imperiled by industrial pollution. (Ted Plafker, International Herald Tribune, 28 Aug. 2002

Senior Judges Adopt Ground-Breaking Action Plan to Strengthen World's Environment-Related Laws: World Summit on Sustainable Development Given Pioneering Principles for Fighting Poverty and Delivering Environmental Justice - An action plan to strengthen the development, use and enforcement of environment-related laws has been drawn up by over 100 of the world's most senior judges...Experts are convinced that the worldwide effort to crack down on pollution, challenge environmentally damaging developments and comply with agreements covering issues such as hazardous wastes and the trade in endangered species have been undermined partly as a result of weaknesses in many countries legal systems [includes text of The Johannesburg Principles on the Role of Law and Sustainable Development adopted at the Global Judges Symposium held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 18-20 August 2002] (U.N. Environment Programme, 27 Aug. 2002)

• Judges pledge to champion environment - Lawyers from around the world promise a crackdown on developers who pollute - A panel of 127 senior judges from 62 countries admitted yesterday that many of the international laws designed to protect the environment and save species from destruction were "paper tigers" which had not been properly enforced. The panel which convened at the Johannesburg earth summit pledged to improve environmental law across the world and champion the poor in a battle for a better environment as part of their duty to defend human rights. (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 28 Aug. 2002)

NGOs Accuse Big Business of Trying to Hijack World Summit - The International Forum on Globalisation (IFG) yesterday accused big business and transnational corporations of attempting to hijack the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and use the forum to drive their own agenda...Big Business, through BASD [Business Action on Sustainable Development], is rallying for voluntary, non-binding outcomes that do not entail commitments which puts it at odds with NGOs such as IFG, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) and Third World Network (TWN) who want legally binding and enforceable outcomes and corporate accountability. (Momelezi Kula, The Post [Zambia], 26 Aug. 2002)

Green Groups urge Johannesburg leaders to regulate Corporate Social Responsibility - Green groups across Europe are calling for a legally binding international framework on corporate accountability and liability, and plan to make the World Summit on Sustainable Development their stage for this demand. (Sorcha Clifford, Edie News, 23 Aug. 2002)

Business buys into earth summit, but at what price -...Green and human rights groups say it is not all a public relations exercise and that some firms have started to recognise the need to tackle poverty and environmental degradation. But they also say that the presence of big businesses - some of whose budgets dwarf the economies of countries attending the meeting - threatens to divert governments from setting targets that force business to do more on sustainable development...The British charity Christian Aid said this month there was already an indication big business had hijacked the summit to push its agenda of self-regulation over corporate accountability. (Jodie Ginsberg, Reuters, 20 Aug. 2002)

Big business escapes rap in negligence trials [UK] - Prosecutions for work- related deaths have increased significantly in the last four years, according to new research. But convictions remain rare, with bigger businesses in particular appearing immune to liability for corporate manslaughter. (Jean Eaglesham, Financial Times, 20 Aug. 2002)

A world court on the environment? Multinationals object -...Nongovernmental organizations are demanding an agreement at the summit meeting [World Summit on Sustainable Development] that big private corporations be monitored and regulated on an international level. Business groups are pressing instead to ensure that the UN endorses industry plans for voluntary self-regulation. (Barry James, International Herald Tribune, 19 Aug. 2002)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Firms, Investors Fret Over Costs, Liability -...the Times [New York Times] reported that companies are likely to face huge costs from climate change and could be sued by governments, investors and others if they fail to protect themselves against warming-related risks...Companies such as DuPont, BP and Ford have begun addressing climate change risk in annual reports and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and Dow says it is set to release a social responsibility report in which it charts its greenhouse gas emissions reductions for the first time. The Times reports that Swiss Re is considering denying coverage to firms that do not address the problem (UN Wire, 19 Aug. 2002)

Spotlight on corporates reveals need for global rules - Some corporations continue to abuse the rights of people, destroy the livelihoods of communities, and pollute water and forest resources for future generations, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth International published today. The report graphically illustrates the need for governments to agree to introduce tighter rules for multinationals at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. (Friends of the Earth, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Call for 'global enviro rules' - The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, on Friday called on world leaders meeting at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to introduce global rules for business....In the report the environmental group mentions the mining giant, Rio Tinto that is prospecting for gold in the Poboya protected forest in Indonesia despite opposition from local people. South Africa's chemical company Sasol also comes under fire. (South African Press Association, 16 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Clashes with Corporate Giants: 22 campaigns for biodiversity and community (Friends of the Earth, Aug. 2002) 

includes section entitled "Towards binding corporate accountability"

also includes the following case studies:

1. Peru: Manhattan Minerals (Tambogrande gold mine)
2. Malaysia: Malaysian timber companies (logging in Sarawak - affecting indigenous peoples)
3. South Africa: Sasol, Total, Dow Chemicals (pollution of poor communities)
4. Russia/Lithuania: Lukoil (Baltic sea drilling)
5. Papua New Guinea: BHP Billiton (OK Tedi mine)
6. Chad/Cameroon: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Petronas (Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline)
7. Ecuador: AGIP, Alberta Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Perez Companc, Repsol-YPF, Techint (oil pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
8. Czech Republic: Ford, Nemak (car plant on agricultural land)
9. Nigeria: Shell (environmental justice issues in Niger Delta)
10. Chile: Noranda (aluminium plant)
11. Worldwide: Aventis, Monsanto (genetically modified food)
12. Colombia: Occidental Petroleum (oil extraction on land of U'wa people)
13. Australia: Barrick Gold (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
14. Brazil: Petrobas, El Paso Energy (gas pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
15. Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper (logging of rainforests)
16. Chile: Nutreco (salmon farms)
17. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey: BP (Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline)
18. Malta: Ax Holdings, Carlson Companies, Regent Hotels (golf course on agricultural land)
19. Australia: Nihon Unipac (clearcutting Goolengook Forest)
20. Norway: Bayer, Monsanto, Kanegafuchi (Norwegian sea pollution)
21. Indonesia: Rio Tinto (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
22. UK: Scott's Company (peat extraction for compost)

Don't Wait for Crisis, IMF And UN Need Overhaul -...An international system of governance for transnational corporations is also needed. This should focus not only on the rights - but also the obligations - of transnational corporations. (Deepak Nayyar, Herald [Zimbabwe], 15 Aug. 2002)

Shredded Ideals at Business Ethics -...Business Ethics is a magazine devoted to a movement that crusades for what it calls CSR, which stands for "corporate social responsibility."...Now, the folks at Business Ethics are in a sad state of hand-wringing, soul-searching and existential angst. The general tone is summed up in the headline and subhead of a column by contributing writer Milton Moskowitz: "What Has CSR Really Accomplished? Much of the movement has been a public relations smoke screen."...Equally cynical and depressed is the editor of Business Ethics, Marjorie Kelly. "The lesson," Kelly writes, "is that all the things CSR has been measuring and fighting for and applauding may be colossally beside the point." The corporate social responsibility movement considered Enron a great company, she writes: "It won a spot for three years on the list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for. . . . It had great policies on climate change, human rights and (yes indeed) anti-corruption. Its CEO gave speeches at ethics conferences." (Peter Carlson, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2002)

Let the Word Go Forth from Hershey, Pennsylvania That Americans Believe That Corporate Rights Come with Corporate Obligations -...I suggest 28 words be added to the duty of corporations to advance the interests of shareholders--28 words that will balance the pursuit of the corporation's private interest with obligations to the public interest. I call these words the Code for Corporate Citizenship. The Code would simply modify the duty to maximize profits with affirmative obligations that profits not come "at the expense of the environment, human rights, the public health or safety, the dignity of employees or the welfare of our communities." Companies that violate the Code would be legally liable to the members of the public whose interest is damaged. (Robert Hinkley, corporate lawyer, former partner in the New York law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, speech to Hershey Foods rally on 3 Aug. 2002, published on CommonDreams website 5 Aug. 2002)

Oral statement [by Amnesty International, to the U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights] on the working methods and activities of transnational corporations - Amnesty International takes the floor today to unequivocally support the process of developing the "Human Rights Principles and Responsibilities for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises" (Amnesty International, 1 Aug. 2002)

Statement by Human Rights Watch to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’ Working Group on the Working Methods and Activities of Transnational Corporations -...many companies still argue that they do not bear any responsibility for human rights in the places where they trade, invest, and operate. In this context, Human Rights Watch sees the development of the "Human Rights Principles and Responsibilities for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises" by the Working Group as a very important step in addressing complicity of multinational enterprises in human rights violations. (Human Rights Watch, 1 Aug. 2002)

Statement by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights - Working Group on the Working Methods and Activities of Transnational Corporations -...The Lawyers Committee strongly endorses the draft Responsibilities [draft document specifying the Responsibilities of TNCs and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights] (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 1 Aug. 2002)

Saving the planet -...To save the planet it is imperative that the powerful nations meeting in Johannesburg [at the World Summit on Sustainable Development] commit themselves on at least seven key issues:...the establishment of juridical frameworks to make companies answerable for their ecological impact, and reaffirming the precautionary principle as the governing principle of all commercial activity;... (Ignacio Ramonet, editorial, Le Monde diplomatique, Aug. 2002) 

• {···français} Sauver la planète -...Pour sauver la planète, il est indispensable que les puissants de ce monde adoptent, à Johannesburg [Sommet mondial sur le développement durable], au moins sept décisions capitales:...4) des résolutions pour mettre en place un cadre juridique instituant la responsabilité écologique des entreprises et réaffirmant le principe de précaution comme préalable à toute activité commerciale (Ignacio Ramonet, editorial, Le Monde diplomatique, août 2002) 

Countdown to Rio +10: 'Sustainable Development' and the Public-Private Pantomime - As the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) approaches, conflicts intensify between North and South, civil society and industry... Calls from civil society for binding regulations on corporate behaviour are being ignored, instead business is given a central role as provider of 'Type II' outcomes for the summit. Corporate lobby groups have already submitted over 50 projects for UN approval, many of which depict environmentally destructive industries as contributors to sustainable development...Encouraged by the political winds in the Rio+10 preparations, business stubbornly continues its irresponsible campaign for industry self-regulation and voluntary action as alternatives to effective and binding regulation of corporate behaviour. Underlining the unfortunate hollowness of their commitment to 'sustainable development', corporate groupings also work hard to maintain the limited scope of voluntary initiatives. Within the WBCSD for instance, there is "strong concern about the very expanded reporting requirements in Global Reporting Initiative's new draft guidelines." (Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

Social Responsibility and the Mechanical Bull: The International Chamber of Commerce Dresses for Success [commentary on the 34th World Congress of the International Chamber of Commerce, May 2002] -...This lack of definition and emphasis on 'voluntary' initiatives clearly suits the public relations objectives of corporations, which want to create a feel-good aura for themselves while simultaneously avoiding any specific, verifiable commitments that might constrain their behaviour...ICC's own rationale for good behaviour avoids any statements on ethics or universal human rights. Its pamphlet states, "ICC applauds the primacy accorded to human rights by the United Nations; however, the making and enforcement of laws for protecting human rights are tasks for governments." Instead of morality, ICC argues that profits are the driving consideration that will motivate companies to behave well. (Laura Miller, PR Watch, in Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

Discount-Davos - Over 2,200 people from the corporate world, governments and EU institutions as well as a handful of NGO representatives attended the second European Business Summit, 6-8 June in Brussels...CSR Europe was the most visible business grouping at this year's EBS...[it] consists of around 60 member corporations, including BP, Shell, ENI, Nestle, Unilever, Danone, BT, ABB, Citigroup, Nike, Levi and Suez...CSR Europe was one of the corporate lobby groups involved in a successful lobbying offensive to discourage the European Parliament (EP) from proposing mandatory reporting on corporate social and environmental performance. (Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

Shadows of 'that night': the struggle for justice for Bhopal - A letter from Indra Sinha, pleading for justice for the victims of the Union Carbide gas disaster in India. (New Internationalist, 12 July 2002)

U.S.: New Survey Shows Public Support For Mandatory Emissions Cuts - In a Zogby survey released this week, three-fourths of 1,008 likely U.S. voters said they want Washington to set regulations requiring power plants and industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions rather than relying on voluntary cuts. (UN Wire, 11 July 2002)

Corporate responsibility must include not letting polluters off the hook [USA]: Sierra Club Rallies to say President's Plan Doesn't Hold Corporations Responsible - Environmental activists went to Wall Street today to tell President Bush that corporate responsibility must include holding corporations accountable for the environmental messes they create (Sierra Club, 9 July 2002)

Corporate Social Responsibility Should Remain Voluntary, Says Commission - The European Commission has released a strategy paper declaring that the emerging field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) should remain a voluntary endeavour largely dictated by business imperatives...The Commission signalled last week that it would not yield to European Parliament pressure to propose binding legislation for firms to report on social and environmental issues alongside their annual financial accounts. (Edie News, 8 July 2002)

Victims’ families demand legal changes to make companies and directors more accountable [UK] - Families bereaved and injured from work-related deaths and disasters will today (Monday) call for tougher enforcement of health and safety laws, a new law on corporate killing, and the imposition of safety duties on company directors (Trades Union Congress, 8 July 2002)

Contractors could face responsibility for pollution incidents [UK] - Legal responsibility for pollution incidents and serious failures in water quality standards could soon be borne by contractors as well as water companies, reports Malcolm Hallsworth, Editor of Water and Waste Treatment magazine. (Edie News, 5 July 2002)

No mandatory CSR regulations in Commission's proposal -...On 2 July, the Commission [European Commission] published a Communication entitled "Corporate Social Responsibility: A business contribution to Sustainable Development". It is a follow-up of the Green Paper issued last summer. [includes links to the official documents] (EurActiv.com, 4 July 2002)

• {···français} Pas de réglementation obligatoire en matière de RSE dans la proposition de la Commission (EurActiv.com, 4 juillet 2002)

One Week After Worldcom: Europe Bows to Big Business - White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility disappointing, says FoEE [Friends of the Earth Europe] - The European Commission has missed a huge opportunity to stop big business scandals by producing a White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility that advocates leaving big business to regulate itself...The Commission’s paper ignores calls from Friends of the Earth and others for binding rules to regulate multi-national companies world-wide. FOE has called for the paper to address binding corporate accountability including key measures such as, at the very least, mandatory social and environmental reporting. (Friends of the Earth Europe, 3 July 2002)

Corporate Codes of Conduct: Regulation, Self-Regulation and the Lessons from the Baby Food Case - An Interview with Judith Richter [consumer and public health activist] [refers to Nestle] (Multinational Monitor, July-Aug. 2002)

Beyond Good Deeds: Case Studies and a New Policy Agenda for Corporate Accountability [coverage includes oil industry & high tech industry; environment; pollution & its impact on human health; health & safety in the workplace; labour rights; security arrangements & human rights abuses; supply chain; codes of conduct; legal accountability; case studies on: Nigeria - Chevron & Shell; Azerbaijan & Kazakhstan - Unocal & Chevron; Ecuador - Occidental; Peru - Shell; Taiwan - Shengli Chemical Co.; Thailand - Seagate Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Read-Rite, IBM, Lucent Technology, Hana Microelectronics, Philips; India; Malaysia - Seagate Technology, Agilent Technologies, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Dell, Fairchild Semiconductor, Integrated Device Technology, Iomega, Knowles Electronics, KOMAG USA, Linear Semiconductor, MCMS, Motorola Technology, Quantum Peripherals, Solectron Technology, Xircom Operations; Costa Rica - Intel, Romic; California] (Michelle Leighton, Naomi Roht-Arriaza & Lyuba Zarsky, California Global Corporate Accountability Project, July 2002)

Internationally Binding Legislation and Litigation for the Enforcement of Labour Rights - This international seminar brought together lawyers, NGOs and Trade Unions to explore the legal possibilities for holding multinational corporations (MNCs) responsible for labour rights in their operations outside their home countries. (Clean Clothes Campaign and IRENE, report on seminar held in Germany, 26 - 28 June 2002)

Friends of the Earth challenges EU environment ministers to support global rules for big business - The world’s largest grassroots environment network delivered their demands to EU Environment Ministers meeting in Luxembourg, calling on them to support legally binding rules for big business. Friends of the Earth has made an international convention to stop multinational companies from causing environmental and social damage one of their chief international campaigning priorities. (Friends of the Earth, 25 June 2002)

New bill calls for corporate responsibility [UK] - A broad coalition of human rights, environment and development organisations today launched a private members Bill to demand greater social and environmental accountability from business. The bill is being tabled by Linda Perham, MP, and is backed by Amnesty International (UK), Friends of the Earth, the New Economics Foundation, Save the Children (UK) and CAFOD. The legislation has been drafted as a response to the failure of the voluntary approach to corporate responsibility (Friends of the Earth, 12 June 2002)

• MP leads call for corporate ethics bill [UK] - It calls for social, financial and environmental reporting to be made mandatory, requires companies to consult on big projects and demands rights of redress for citizens negatively impacted by business activities. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 13 June 2002)

Towards a Corporate Accountability Convention: An Open Forum on WSSD Prepcomm IV Bali Arranged by WALHI and FoE International (WALHI and Friends of the Earth International, on Indonesian People's Forum website, 3 June 2002)

Ten Planet Trashers: Why corporate accountability matters -...Friends of the Earth today publishes details of “Ten Planet Trashers”, companies whose behaviour since Rio shows the need for binding rules on corporate behaviour. [the 10 companies: Exxon Mobil (Esso), AMEC, Premier Oil, ICI, Scotts, Barclays, Associated Octel, Aventis/Bayer, BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels), Associated British Ports] (Friends of the Earth, 1 June 2002)

• company websites:
  • ExxonMobil (Esso)
  • AMEC
  • Premier Oil
  • ICI
  • Scotts
  • Barclays Group
  • Octel Corp.
  • Aventis / Bayer Group
  • BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels)
  • Associated British Ports

European parliament votes to regulate multinational companies - The European Parliament...has...voted for new legislation to require companies to publicly report annually on their social and environmental performance, to make Board members personally responsible for these practices, and to establish legal jurisdiction against European companies' abuses in developing countries. (Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament, 31 May 2002)

Expert proposes world eco-cops to guard resources - An advisor to the European Union on illegal logging called yesterday for the creation of a specialist group of international environment police to catch criminals plundering the Earth's resources. (Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, 29 May 2002)

Journalists List Corporations Found Guilty of Crimes throughout the 1990s - A simple list of corporate crimes, presented along with guilty pleas or fine payments, hints at the pervasiveness of poor corporate ethics...journalists Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman have compiled a list of The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade...The authors point out that six corporations--Exxon (now ExxonMobil), Rockwell International, Royal Carribbean Cruises, Warner-Lambert (now part of Pfizer), Teledyne, and United Technologies--appear more than once on the list. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 29 May 2002)

• Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade [includes full list] (Russell Mokhiber, 1999)

• Annotated list of the top 100

• Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s (Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, in Mother Jones, 7 Sep. 1999)

TGWU says company directors who neglect workers' safety should be jailed [UK] (Ananova, 27 May 2002)

Union wants law passed to make companies accountable for worker deaths [Canada] - Union officials are once again lobbying Ottawa for legislation to make corporate executives and managers liable for criminal or negligent acts that happen on their watch. (Canadian Press, 8 May 2002)

New bill on arbitration limits [USA]: Measure would return states' power to regulate workplace disputes - Two leading U.S. senators introduced a bill Wednesday that would allow states to block employers from forcing employees into binding arbitration, a private system of resolving disputes without laws or juries or constitutional rights. (Reynolds Holding, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 May 2002)

Talisman Advised - Further Abuses Could Result In Prosecution In International Criminal Court - Rights & Democracy advised oil corporation Talisman today that future complicity in Sudanese human rights abuses could be liable for prosecution by the impending International Criminal Court. (Rights & Democracy, 30 Apr. 2002)

• {···français} Talisman devra répondre de ses actes - Droits et Démocratie a informé la pétrolière Talisman de Calgary qu'elle risque d'être poursuivie devant la nouvelle Cour pénale internationale (CPI) si elle continue à se rendre complice de violations de droits humains au Soudan. (Droits et Démocratie, 30 avril 2002) 

Workplace safety laws must be a priority, says AWU: The Australian Workers Union urged the Victorian Opposition today to treat workplace deaths seriously by increasing the severity of the punishment against workplaces that are recklessly negligent with their employees’ safety. (Australian Workers Union, 29 Apr. 2002)

Companies need to get a social life: A voluntary disclosure code for corporate responsibility would achieve more than a mandatory ticking of boxes (Peter Montagnon, Head of Investment Affairs at the Association of British Insurers, Financial Times, 22 Apr. 2002)

Lifting the corporate veil - A legally binding convention that is enforceable in practice needs to be formulated to ensure proper multinational accountability, capturing the supply-chain, not just subsidiaries. This convention must be applied internationally and, in a development of international law, apply to corporations as well as states. (Richard Meeran, British attorney who acted successfully for South African asbestosis victims against Cape Plc, in Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 19 Apr. 2002)

Enforcing compliance with human rights codes [refers to lawsuits against companies for alleged human rights abuses; the issue of holding parent companies responsible for the conduct of subsidiaries; the growing pressure for unambiguous and binding international legal obligations on companies concerning human rights] (Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 19 Apr. 2002)

Handful of US utilities pollute most - study: Less than 20 U.S. utilities produced half of the industry's noxious air emissions in 2000, showing that tough laws are needed to force companies to clean up their plants, a green group said last week...the report found that American Electric Power Co. Inc. , Southern Co. and the Tennessee Valley Authority emitted from 17 percent to 24 percent of harmful emissions in 2000. (Chris Baltimore, Reuters, 25 Mar. 2002)

'Corporate killing' law demanded [UK]: Families of workplace death victims were due in Parliament on Wednesday to demand the introduction of a corporate killing law. Relatives of those who died in tragedies like the Ladbroke Grove rail crash were also due to lobby MPs over making company directors legally accountable. (BBC News, 20 Mar. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Calls For Globalized Litigation As Treaty Talks Resume - The World Health Organization today called for a global approach to legal action against the tobacco industry as the agency opened its fourth round of talks on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva. The U.N. agency released a report citing litigation already being taken, particularly in the United States, for harm caused by smoking...The WHO said that pioneering cases in Australia, Norway, Bangladesh, India, Saudi Arabia and India "showed the potential for litigation to advance tobacco control" (UN Wire, 18 Mar. 2002)

• full report: "Towards health with justice: Litigation and public inquiries as tools for tobacco control"...looks at past and current tobacco litigation around the world and analyses its impact on public health. The report says it is time to make the law, and inquiries into the behavior of tobacco transnationals, an integral component of the comprehensive global tobacco control agenda, in a way that advances both health and justice. (report prepared by D. Douglas Blanke, Director of the Tobacco Law Project, William Mitchell College of Law, for the Tobacco Free Initiative, World Health Organization, 2002)

• {···français} résumé en français: Vers la santé avec la justice: L'action en justice et les enquêtes comme instruments pour avancer la lutte antitabac (D. Douglas Blanke, Initiative pour un monde sans tabac, Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 2002)

Codes of conduct not preventing worker abuse [includes references to Gap] (Laura Slattery, Irish Times, 15 Mar. 2002)

• company website: Gap Inc.: Ethical Sourcing (Gap)

Corporate legal accountability and human rights - beyond voluntarism (David Petrasek, Research Director, International Council on Human Rights Policy, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 8 Mar. 2002)

Whose Business? A Handbook on Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights and the Environment -...Produced primarily for use by North American educators, students, and activists...The central theme of this handbook is that the institutions and regulatory frameworks now governing the global economy have not adequately protected human rights, the environment, and labor rights. (California Global Corporate Accountability Project, Mar. 2002)

Mounting pressure for a global law for multi-national corporations (Chris Albertyn, Groundwork Newsletter, Groundwork: Environmental Justice Action in Southern Africa, Mar. 2002)

Jospin calls for public-private partnership on global development: Prime Minister Lionel Jospin called for a partnership between governments and private businesses on global development to ensure people have access to the four "fundamental rights" of a safe environment, water, health and education...He also urged the establishment of rules on transparency and a clear definition of companies' "social and environmental responsibilities".  (AFX, 22 Feb. 2002)

Moving beyond the voluntary code: HUMAN RIGHTS: Self-regulation for international business is the norm when it comes to rights. But a new study says this is slowly giving way to legal obligations [article about new report: Beyond Voluntarism: Human rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies, prepared by International Council on Human Rights Policy] (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 18 Feb. 2002)

World Economic Forum: It's a wrap - Friends of the Earth International today called on members of the World Economic Forum (WEF) leaving the annual meeting in New York to respond urgently to the challenge of global business accountability - and meet their social and environmental responsibilities...Friends of the Earth issued their challenge inside the WEF with a personal letter to every business participant to support global rules for corporations (Friends of the Earth, 5 Feb. 2002)

Fluff is not enough - managing responsibility for corporate citizenship: Consider this company, which has been widely classified as a great corporate citizen...This company won 6 environmental awards in 2000, has widely recognized human rights, environmental, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and climate change policies...The only small problem? You guessed it. The company is Enron (Sandra Waddock, Professor of Management at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management & Senior Research Fellow at Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, Feb. 2002)

The need for legally binding regulation of Transnational Corporations: Christian Aid policy brief for the World Economic Forum and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Christian Aid, Feb. 2002)

Beyond Voluntarism: Human rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies [full report, and summary] (International Council on Human Rights Policy, Jan. 2002)

• {···español} Más allá de lo discrecional: Los derechos humanos y la emergencia de obligaciones legales internacionales para las empresas: Resumen

• {···français} au-delà du volontarisme: Les droits humains et les obligations émergentes des entreprises en droit international: Résumé

Corporate Complicity From Nuremberg to Rangoon: An Examination of Forced Labor Cases and Their Impact on the Liability of Multinational Corporations - Abstract: The article looks at nature and degree of complicity that gives rise to liability on the part of multinational corporations (MNCs) that operate in countries with repressive regimes. Specifically, it examines lawsuits in United States against these MNCs for violations of public international law under the federal Alien Torts Claim Act (ATCA). It also views the historical origins of corporate complicity, and examines the outcomes of British and American war crimes tribunal set up after the Second World War. Further, the article compares and contrasts these historical cases with the recent case brought in the federal district court against Unocal Corporation for alleged use of force labor in its pipeline project in Burma. (Professor Anita Ramasastry, University of Washington School of Law, in Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol. 20 no. 1, 2002)

Corporate Human Rights Obligations: In Search of Accountability -...the author arrives at the conclusion that corporate human rights obligations can indeed be derived from international human rights law. (Nicola Jägers, Utrecht University, Intersentia Publishers, 2002)

2001:

Sexual harassment code of practice may be put in CAs [Malaysia]: Human Resource Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn today announced that his ministry may incorporate the code of practice on sexual harassment into collective agreements between employees and employers. (Leong Kar Yen, Malaysiakini.com, 5 Dec. 2001)

• Voluntary code on sexual harassment not effective, law needed: researcher [Malaysia] - The government should provide more ‘legal teeth’ against sexual harassment by legislating a law which will compel companies to take the issue more seriously, said a researcher today. (Kevin Tan, Malaysiakini.com, 21 Sep. 2001)

Toxic Bhopal water delivered to Dow Chemicals [India]: The coalition called for renewed efforts to rehabilitate survivors of the disaster, clean up of the residual contamination at the abandoned site, Union Carbide and its officials to be held accountable and for international laws to be developed to ensure that corporations are made responsible for chemical accidents and ongoing pollution worldwide. (Greenpeace, 3 Dec. 2001)

"Greening Business from the Inside" - Solution or Smokescreen? We recently received a letter from Claude Fussler, Director of Stakeholder Relations at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, challenging our analysis of his organisation's activities. We enclose it here, together with our response to Mr Fussler. (Corporate Europe Observer, Dec. 2001)

• Letter from Claude Fussler, World Business Council for Sustainable Development:...I am campaigning with others in the team to get business to change and the progress is slow, but there is progress.

• Corporate Europe Observatory response:...Will the WBCSD support the groups campaigning for a legally binding regulatory framework on corporate activities to guarantee rising environmental and social standards around the world? Or will it, as it did before, obstruct progress and only promote voluntary approaches, thereby allowing irresponsible corporate behaviour to go on?

• Rio+10 and the corporate greenwash of globalisation (Corporate Europe Observer, June 2001)

abstract: Corporations and Human Rights: A Theory of Legal Responsibility - This Article posits that international law offers a way to develop and circumscribe duties on corporations that avoids the risks inherent in wholly domestic legal approaches. It demonstrates the need for corporate accountability as an alternative to holding only states or individuals responsible for human rights abuses (Steven R. Ratner, Yale Law Journal, Dec. 2001)

Multinational firms above the law, say rights activists [Indonesia]: Multinational companies have the potential of abusing the basic rights of local people in their operational areas, mostly in the developing countries, amid the absence of a mechanism to hold them accountable. In a public discussion held by the National Commission on Human Rights on the issue, rights activists pointed out that the companies' private status had given them impunity to avoid accountability...In the discussion, the activists called for a mechanism to make the multinational corporations be accountable for any human rights violations. Ifdhal [Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy executive director Ifdhal Kasim] suggested broadening the scope of human rights laws to cover the corporations. (Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta Post, 23 Nov. 2001)

Wanted - global authority to tame big business: British charity Christian Aid last week urged delegations heading for next week's World Trade Organisation conference in Qatar to consider the need for a new global regulator to bring corporations under legally binding control. (Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

• Christian Aid issues warning on landmark global trade summit: An audience of journalists and leading policy-makers gathered in central London at the launch of Christian Aid’s new book, Trade for life, and report, Master or servant, ahead of a landmark summit on global trade...Mark Curtis also unveiled Christian Aid’s proposals for a new global regulation authority to make big business legally and democratically accountable. 'Any further opening of trade in poor countries, especially in public services and procurement, is likely to bring further benefits to corporations and shareholders,' he said. 'But it could be harmful to millions of poor people unless tight national regulation is supported by a new Global Regulation Authority with powers under international law.' (Christian Aid, 2 Nov. 2001)

• book: Trade for life: making trade work for poor people: For a decade the rules covering trade, investment, services, agriculture and intellectual property have been negotiated through the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Can we, at the start of a new millennium, rewrite these rules to serve the needs of poor people? Or as the rich get richer, will the poor continue to be pushed to the margins? (Christian Aid, 1 Nov. 2001)
  • Chapter 5: "Transnational corporations and the need for regulation"

• report: Master or servant: how global trade can work for the benefit of poor people: Christian Aid is calling for a globalisation that addresses inequality and promotes economic justice. [includes Chapter entitled "Taming the transnationals". (Christian Aid, 1 Nov. 2001)

• The Christian Aid book and report include sections on the following subjects:
  • "Nine ways in which multinationals can harm poor people" 
  • Why self-regulation & voluntary codes of conduct are not enough
  • Why current international standards are inadequate
  • Proposal for a new Global Regulatory Authority, to establish & enforce human rights, labour & environmental standards in transnational business (including specific functions that such a body should perform)

Where giants may tread, rumblings will follow: The destructive - and dangerous - behaviour of Australian mining companies overseas should be controlled by law, writes Geoff Evans. (Geoff Evans, Director of the Mineral Policy Institute, in Sydney Morning Herald, 2 Nov. 2001)

new book: Commercial Law and Human Rights (edited by Stephen Bottomley [The Australian National University] and David Kinley [Monash University, Australia], Nov. 2001)

Is FTSE4Good just stock market capitalism dressed in green? Craig Mackenzie [FTSE4Good Advisory Committee Deputy Chairman] and Rob Cartridge [Campaigns Director for War on Want] debate the credentials of the new stock index that boasts environmental standards (The Ecologist, 26 Oct. 2001)

Foreward by Marcel Ospel of UBS - Even though we meet all the existing legal requirements, that is not enough in today’s world. Our shareholders’, clients’ and employees’ expectations about business activity evolve constantly and often precede legal frameworks. So we might be held to higher standards. (Marcel Ospel, Chairman of the Board of Directors, UBS, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 22 Oct. 2001) 

Firms 'need forcing' to do the right thing: An Observer survey shows people don't believe companies will be socially responsible on their own. -...The research reveals high levels of scepticism among leaders from the voluntary sector, education, local government and media about companies' claims to be improving their environmental performance and benefiting communities. The panel of activists and leaders in key social sectors come across as firm believers in CSR [corporate social responsibility] but do not think the corporate world can be trusted with a voluntary approach, especially in the face of a recession. Their clear call for legislation comes as the [UK] Government is considering how to preserve its business-friendly stance and head off the anti-corporate sentiment fuelled by globalisation protests. (Roger Cowe, Observer [UK], 14 Oct. 2001)

Briefing: towards binding corporate accountability - Friends of the Earth International - This briefing outlines the case for an effective legally binding international framework on corporate accountability and liability. This would secure the accountability of corporations to citizens and communities in today's globalised economy by establishing: rights for citizens and communities affected by corporate activities; duties on corproations with respect to social and environmental matters; and rules to ensure high standards of behaviour wherever corporations operate. (Friends of the Earth, 5 Oct. 2001)

The need for a global environment body: Debate getting warmer ahead of next year's world summit in South Africa - On Sept. 3-4, a large number of eminent persons gathered in Tokyo at the United Nations University to seriously discuss the possibility of dramatically strengthening the system of international governance that is charged with protecting the world environment. The meeting was part of official preparations for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will take place in South Africa late next year. (W. Bradnee Chambers, Japan Times, 8 Sep. 2001)

Heating Up the Globe? See You in Court: Taking a cue from broad-based, class-action lawsuits like those filed on behalf of Holocaust survivors or against tobacco companies, a group of environmental lawyers is exploring novel legal strategies to adopt against global warming...The lawyers, representing groups like Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, envision winning damages for people or whole countries that have suffered adverse effects of global warming. (Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 7 Sep. 2001) 

Nations face pollution suits: Environmental groups are threatening to sue the governments of America, Britain and other countries accused of causing pollution, on behalf of millions of people affected by global warming. A consortium of lawyers representing organisations such as Greenpeace and America's World Wildlife Fund have discussed ways of holding governments and corporations to account for damage done to the planet by carbon dioxide and other emissions. (Ben Fenton, Daily Telegraph [UK], 7 Sep. 2001)

GENOMICS: WHO Meeting Calls For Guidelines To Prevent Abuses - Scientists and sociologists at a World Health Organization conference Tuesday called for ethical guidelines enshrined in international law to head off the possible exploitation of patients in poor countries by Western scientists in search of genetic material. (UN Wire, 26 July 2001)

More than 300 firms sign up for UN Global Compact: Though it so far has little to show for its efforts, participating firms are to post their techniques for dealing with the many labor, human rights and environmental challenges spawned by globalization on the program's Web site in October.  Doyle [U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Michael Doyle] acknowledged the program's form was in part dictated by a recognition that the corporate world was unwilling to accept binding global standards on corporate governance.  But environmental and human rights groups that have been participating in the program from the start said they were nonetheless underwhelmed by the Global Compact's achievements to date.  "Viewing the program solely as a learning experience represents a wasted opportunity in assuring corporate responsibility," said Arvind Ganesan, the Washington-based director of business and human rights programs for Human Rights Watch. "The progress we expected on moving beyond just a learning forum hasn't occurred yet."  Ganesan of Human Rights Watch said that since the program had issued guidelines on how businesses should behave, it should at least try to assure the guidelines were being applied, for example by procuring goods only from responsible companies.  (Irwin Arieff, Reuters, 27 July 2001)

High Time for UN to Break 'Partnership' with the ICC [International Chamber of Commerce]: The ICC has a long history of vigorously lobbying to weaken international environmental treaties and these efforts have continued even after the group has pledged support for the Global Compact principles. For instance, rather than "supporting a precautionary approach to environmental challenges," Principle 7, and rather than undertaking "initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility," Principle 8, the ICC promotes a narrow corporate agenda, dominated by the commercial interests of some of the world's most environmentally irresponsible corporations - an agenda that often effectively undermines a precautionary approach and basic environmental responsibility. (Corporate Europe Observatory, 25 July 2001)

• ICC website: Environment and sustainable development (International Chamber of Commerce)

Global warming: sue the US now - The prospects for poor countries look so bleak that we could be experiencing the end of development. The trickle of investment they receive focuses on exploiting natural resources. Getting the resources to tackle climate change seems impossible. But there is an action of last resort. A group of especially threatened small island states, or a country like Bangladesh, could act as the focus for a test case for the emerging international legal architecture. Perhaps it is time to take the US to court. It could happen in a variety of ways. But, even if existing legal machinery proved ineffective, we could follow the successful example of the international criminal court and create a new legal forum. (Stephen Timms, New Economics Foundation, in Guardian [UK], 25 July 2001)

The NGO-Industrial Complex: A new global activism is shaming the world's top companies into enacting codes of conduct and opening their Third World factories for inspection. But before you run a victory lap in your new sweatshop-free sneakers, ask yourself: Do these voluntary arrangements truly help workers and the environment, or do they merely weaken local governments while adding more green to the corporate bottom line? (Gary Gereffi [Professor of sociology and Director of the Markets and Management Studies Program at Duke University], Ronie Garcia-Johnson [Assistant Professor of environmental policy at Duke University], Erika Sasser [Visiting Assistant Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University], in Foreign Policy, July-Aug. 2001)

Enforcing international humanitarian law: Catching the accomplices - Literally within days of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the end of the Rome Conference in July 1998 the Financial Times...published an article warning "commercial lawyers" that the treaty's accomplice liability provision "could create international criminal liability for employees, officers and directors of corporations"...The Financial Times was therefore quite right to warn business executives that a new world was dawning with the adoption of the Rome Statute. (William A. Schabas, Professor of Human Rights Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, in International Review of the Red Cross No.42, 29 June 2001)

First Global Dimensions Seminar: Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility (New York, 1 June 2001)

• Litigating Corporate Responsibility (Professor Ralph G. Steinhardt, George Washington University Law School)

• Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights (Bennett Freeman, former United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor)

Making sense of standards: The increased influence of companies in the post-Communist world and growing concern about their impact on the political, social and physical environment in which they operate have led to a proliferation of initiatives seeking to provide guidelines and standards for corporate behaviour.  These constitute the main focus of this Newsletter. (Sir Geoffrey Chandler, in Human Rights & Business Matters, newsletter of Amnesty International UK Business Group, spring/summer 2001) 

Voluntarism v regulation – the great debate: Peter Frankental, manager of the Business Group of Amnesty International UK, asks Nicholas Howen, international human rights lawyer and former head of Amnesty International’s legal office, to set out the main arguments for developing binding human rights obligations on companies (Peter Frankental and Nicholas Howen, in Human Rights & Business Matters, newsletter of Amnesty International UK Business Group, spring/summer 2001)

Beyond voluntarism: David Petrasek, research director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP), reports on the prospects for developing international legal accountability for companies in relation to human rights. (David Petrasek, in Human Rights & Business Matters, newsletter of Amnesty International UK Business Group, spring/summer 2001)

Beyond voluntarism: Developing international legal accountability for companies in relation to human rights (David Petrasek, International Council on Human Rights Policy, March 2001)

Governing Multinationals: The Role of Foreign Direct Liability (Halina Ward, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Feb. 2001)

2000:

Alien Tort Claims Act Provides a Legal Forum for the World (Elizabeth Amon, National Law Journal, 19 Oct. 2000)

Is a 200-Year-Old Pirate Law The Next Wave in Tort Suits?  Lawyers Find Way to Bring Claims By Foreign Workers Into U.S. Courts (M. Bowden, Lawyers Weekly USA) 

Transnational Litigation 'Joining Up' Corporate Responsibility? (Halina Ward, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Oct. 2000)

Promoting Socially Responsible Business in Developing Countries [conference: 23-24 October 2000, Geneva] (UNRISD News [U.N. Research Institute for Social Development Bulletin], no. 23, autumn/winter 2000)

• {···español: Promover empresas socialmente responsables en los países en desarrollo}

• {···français: Pour une responsabilisation sociale des entreprises dans les pays en développement}

'Foreign Direct Liability': A New Weapon in the Performance Armory? (Halina Ward, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Sep. 2000)

Applying International Law to Multinational Corporations (Saman Zia-Zarifi, Corporate Watch magazine, summer 2000)

The Governance of Corporate Groups - Starting from a discussion of the theoretical underpinning of the place companies occupy in society, this book explores the consequences of adherence to free market contractualist theory, including the lack of regulatory control of a sufficiently robust nature. Professor Dine...highlights the tragic consequences of globalisation by transnationals including polarisation of income and environmental damage, and suggests a possible legal framework to prevent future damages. (Cambridge University Press abstract of The Governance of Corporate Groups, Janet Dine, June 2000)

Visible Hands: Taking Responsibility for Social Development (U.N. Research Institute for Social Development [UNRISD], June 2000)

• Overview of Chapter 5: Calling corporations to account

• Full text - Chapter 5: Calling corporations to account

• {···español: La Mano visible: Asumir la responsabilidad por el desarrollo social}

• {···français: Mains visibles: Assumer la responsabilité du développement social}

Controlling Corporate Wrongs: The Liability of Multinational Corporations - Legal possibilities, initiatives and strategies for civil society (IRENE, report of the international seminar on corporate liability at University of Warwick, Mar. 2000)

Liability of Multinational Corporations under International Law, edited by Menno T. Kamming and Saman Zia-Zarifi [summary] (abstract of book by the publisher, Kluwer Law International, 2000)

• Contents and Contributors