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  Security issues / Conflict zones: General materials 1 July 2002 to present  

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Bomb blast kills 3 workers at the Cali Water Treatment Plant [Colombia] - PSI is requesting its affiliate organisations to write letters to the Colombian government following a bomb blast at the Cali Drinking Water Treatment Plant which killed 3 workers on Thursday May 8th. The three men were all long-standing members of the PSI affiliated trade union, SINTRAEMCALI, which has been engaged in a determined campaign to prevent the privatization of the municipal services company. (Public Services International, 13 May 2003)

Global Witness welcomes UN's new proposed ban on Liberian timber as a decisive act to bring peace to a war-torn region (Global Witness, 7 May 2003)

Environmentalists: SUVs cause war - Groups say better SUVs would end U.S.-Mideast conflicts; carmakers say they're doing what they can. - Environmental groups [Natural Resources Defense Council and the Detroit Project] launched a new attack on sport/utility vehicles and Detroit automakers Wednesday, charging that lack of progress on more fuel-efficient vehicles could be responsible for future U.S. wars in the Middle East. (CNN/Money, 7 May 2003)

Analysis: The oil curse - The history of oil investment in the developing world hints at trouble ahead for the multinationals in Iraq, writes Daniel Litvin. (Daniel Litvin, in Prospect, reproduced in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 4 May 2003)

Bechtel's Water Wars - In November 2001 Bechtel sued the country of Bolivia for $25 million for canceling a contract to run the water system of Cochabamba, the third largest city in the country, after local people took to the streets to protest massive price hikes for water. (Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch, 1 May 2003)

Kimberley Process still in process - Progress made, but key issues remain - Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) attending the First Plenary Meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) welcomed international commitment to take additional effective steps to break the link between diamonds and human rights violations and conflict in Africa. However, governments failed to take action on an element critical to the credibility of the Scheme - the need for regular, independent monitoring of all participants, to ensure that the process is not subject to abuse. (joint press release by Action Aid [UK and Sierra Leone], Amnesty International [International Secretariat], Cenadep [DRC], Fatal Transactions [The Netherlands], Global Witness [UK], Network Movement for Justice and Development [Sierra Leone], Oxfam International, Partnership Africa Canada [Canada] World Vision [USA], 30 Apr. 2003)

'Blood diamond' deadline set - The international group trying to stop the trafficking in "blood diamonds" has given countries until the end of July to join the effort or be excluded from the legal diamond trade. Representatives from 70 countries meeting in Johannesburg agreed to set a deadline of 31 July for nations to sign up for the certification system known as the Kimberley Process...But pressure groups remain sceptical, arguing the system lacks independent scrutiny and contains loopholes which could allow terrorist groups to fund their activities through diamond smuggling. (BBC News, 30 Apr. 2003)

Occidental Sued in Human Rights Case - The oil firm, accused of aiding a deadly military assault in Colombia, joins list of U.S. firms charged in overseas incidents. - The list of corporations sued in American courts for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in foreign countries grew longer Thursday, when Occidental Petroleum Corp. was accused of aiding a deadly military assault on a Colombian village. (Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2003)

Abuse and Physical Violence against Workers in the North! [Haiti] - The May First Batay Ouvriye Union Federation loudly denounces the barbaric treatment undergone by the labourers of the Northern Brewery (“Brasserie du Nord”) in Cap-Haitien on 22 April 2003. (Batay Ouvriye Union Federation, 23 Apr. 2003)

FTSE4Good raises the bar for companies - FTSE Group recently announced a new, more stringent set of human rights criteria for companies in the socially responsible index series FTSE4Good...FTSE are trialling the human rights standards on the global upstream oil gas and mining sector...They are asking companies to commit to ILO core labour standards on a global scale, support publicly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have guidelines on the use of armed security guards according to the UN Basic Principles of the Use of Force and Firearms and to reference “respect of the rights of indigenous peoples”. In order to stay in the FTSE4Good Index, companies will also have to provide training for employees on human rights policy, provide evidence of undertaking a human rights impact assessment and integration of their policy into risk assessment processes...In countries of particular concern such as Angola, China, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, resource companies must commit to meeting more stringent guidelines (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 21 Apr. 2003)

DynCorp Rent-a-Cops May Head to Iraq - A major military contractor -- already underfire for alleged human rights violations and fraud -- may get a multi-million dollar contract to police post-Saddam Iraq. (Pratap Chatterjee, Corpwatch, 9 Apr. 2003)

Human rights groups sue Occidental over 1998 Colombia bombing - International human rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Occidental Petroleum and one of its security contractors over a 1998 bombing that killed 17 civilians in a Colombian village...The lawsuit names Los Angeles-based Occidental and Rockledge, Fla.-based Airscan Inc., an aviation security firm, as defendants and accuses the companies of aiding the raid with the Colombian military. (Paul Chavez, Associated Press, 24 Apr. 2003)

Coca-Cola karma: irony in advertising? -...Today, the Coca-Cola Company is holding its annual shareholders’ meeting. One participant will be William Mendoza...the President of the National Food Industry Workers’ Union in his hometown of Barrancabermeja...Paramilitary groups have killed seven employees of Coca-Cola bottlers – all union members – in Colombia since 1990. Mendoza claims that he is among 65 union members who have received death threats from paramilitary groups. (Rick Stern, Montana Kaimin [USA], 16 Apr. 2003)

Partial victory for Coca-Cola workers -...On March 31, US District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ruled that a group of Colombian plaintiffs can move forward with cases brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) for human rights violations committed by paramilitaries in Colombia on behalf of two Colombian Coca-Cola bottling companies: Panamco and Bebidas y Alimentos. (New Colombia News Agency, 10 Apr. 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)

Poor fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute, the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge (albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia. Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia. (Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)

Human rights, salary at issue for Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola should...use its influence in Colombia to encourage greater protections of human rights. These were just a few of the more controversial proposals members of the Atlanta company's board of directors fielded from some of the 400 shareholders gathered here Wednesday for Coke's annual meeting...Perhaps the most controversial proposal concerned allegations that the company's plant managers used paramilitary groups to intimidate and kill eight union organizers at a bottling plant in Barrancabermeja, Colombia...Coke denies that it is in any way responsible...Richard Shaw of the AFL-CIO implored the company to take a more active role in helping protect the union organizers. Deval Partrick, Coke's general counsel, said the company has gone as far as providing security for Colombian individuals being threatened. (David Kaplan, Houston Chronicle, 17 Apr. 2003)

Conflict Diamonds the Achilles Heel of Canadian Diamond Industry - Statement to the Canadian diamond industry Issued by One Sky -...One Sky requests that leaders in the Canadian diamond industry publicly state their support for regular, independent monitoring and urge the Canadian government and diamond industry representatives at the Kimberley Process, such as the World Diamond Council, to do so as well. (One Sky, 15 Apr. 2003)

The Kimberley Process to curb conflict diamonds - Early Achievements, Congressional Action, Next Steps - Critical Challenges in Phase Two of the Kimberley Process (Rory More O'Ferrall, De Beers Group, remarks to Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 11 Apr. 2003)

New DynCorp Contract Draws Scrutiny -...Insight has learned that the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has issued a $22 million contract to DynCorp Aerospace Operations (UK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), to "re-establish police, justice and prison functions in postconflict Iraq."...last year alone [Dyncorp] was not only sued but paid large settlements to two former employees who blew the whistle on corporate managers and employees who engaged in sex trafficking in Bosnia (Kelly Patricia O Meara, Insight, 11 Apr. 2003)

US Lawmakers Support International Agreement to Ban 'Conflict' Diamonds - The U.S. Senate is expected to follow the House of Representatives and pass legislation this week aimed at banning international trade in uncut diamonds that fund rebel activities in Africa. The legislation is required for the United States to implement an international agreement [Kimberly Process Certification Scheme] to ban trade in so-called 'blood' or 'conflict' diamonds. (Deborah Tate, Voice of America, 10 Apr. 2003)

Nigeria: Government and Oil Firms Should Act on Delta Violence - The Nigerian government and multinational oil companies should take immediate measures to prevent further violence and abuses around Warri in the oil-rich Niger delta, Human Rights Watch today said in letters to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the managing directors of three companies...Human Rights Watch appealed to the main companies operating in the area - ChevronTexaco, Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinaElf - to publicly urge the Nigerian government to restore security in a manner that respects due process and fundamental human rights, and that is not disproportionate to the threat. (Human Rights Watch, 9 Apr. 2003)

1 July 2002 to present:

2003:

Bomb blast kills 3 workers at the Cali Water Treatment Plant [Colombia] - PSI is requesting its affiliate organisations to write letters to the Colombian government following a bomb blast at the Cali Drinking Water Treatment Plant which killed 3 workers on Thursday May 8th. The three men were all long-standing members of the PSI affiliated trade union, SINTRAEMCALI, which has been engaged in a determined campaign to prevent the privatization of the municipal services company. (Public Services International, 13 May 2003)

Global Witness welcomes UN's new proposed ban on Liberian timber as a decisive act to bring peace to a war-torn region (Global Witness, 7 May 2003)

Environmentalists: SUVs cause war - Groups say better SUVs would end U.S.-Mideast conflicts; carmakers say they're doing what they can. - Environmental groups [Natural Resources Defense Council and the Detroit Project] launched a new attack on sport/utility vehicles and Detroit automakers Wednesday, charging that lack of progress on more fuel-efficient vehicles could be responsible for future U.S. wars in the Middle East. (CNN/Money, 7 May 2003)

Analysis: The oil curse - The history of oil investment in the developing world hints at trouble ahead for the multinationals in Iraq, writes Daniel Litvin. (Daniel Litvin, in Prospect, reproduced in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 4 May 2003)

Bechtel's Water Wars - In November 2001 Bechtel sued the country of Bolivia for $25 million for canceling a contract to run the water system of Cochabamba, the third largest city in the country, after local people took to the streets to protest massive price hikes for water. (Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch, 1 May 2003)

Kimberley Process still in process - Progress made, but key issues remain - Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) attending the First Plenary Meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) welcomed international commitment to take additional effective steps to break the link between diamonds and human rights violations and conflict in Africa. However, governments failed to take action on an element critical to the credibility of the Scheme - the need for regular, independent monitoring of all participants, to ensure that the process is not subject to abuse. (joint press release by Action Aid [UK and Sierra Leone], Amnesty International [International Secretariat], Cenadep [DRC], Fatal Transactions [The Netherlands], Global Witness [UK], Network Movement for Justice and Development [Sierra Leone], Oxfam International, Partnership Africa Canada [Canada] World Vision [USA], 30 Apr. 2003)

'Blood diamond' deadline set - The international group trying to stop the trafficking in "blood diamonds" has given countries until the end of July to join the effort or be excluded from the legal diamond trade. Representatives from 70 countries meeting in Johannesburg agreed to set a deadline of 31 July for nations to sign up for the certification system known as the Kimberley Process...But pressure groups remain sceptical, arguing the system lacks independent scrutiny and contains loopholes which could allow terrorist groups to fund their activities through diamond smuggling. (BBC News, 30 Apr. 2003)

Occidental Sued in Human Rights Case - The oil firm, accused of aiding a deadly military assault in Colombia, joins list of U.S. firms charged in overseas incidents. - The list of corporations sued in American courts for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in foreign countries grew longer Thursday, when Occidental Petroleum Corp. was accused of aiding a deadly military assault on a Colombian village. (Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2003)

Human rights groups sue Occidental over 1998 Colombia bombing - International human rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Occidental Petroleum and one of its security contractors over a 1998 bombing that killed 17 civilians in a Colombian village...The lawsuit names Los Angeles-based Occidental and Rockledge, Fla.-based Airscan Inc., an aviation security firm, as defendants and accuses the companies of aiding the raid with the Colombian military. (Paul Chavez, Associated Press, 24 Apr. 2003)

Abuse and Physical Violence against Workers in the North! [Haiti] - The May First Batay Ouvriye Union Federation loudly denounces the barbaric treatment undergone by the labourers of the Northern Brewery (“Brasserie du Nord”) in Cap-Haitien on 22 April 2003. (Batay Ouvriye Union Federation, 23 Apr. 2003)

FTSE4Good raises the bar for companies - FTSE Group recently announced a new, more stringent set of human rights criteria for companies in the socially responsible index series FTSE4Good...FTSE are trialling the human rights standards on the global upstream oil gas and mining sector...They are asking companies to commit to ILO core labour standards on a global scale, support publicly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have guidelines on the use of armed security guards according to the UN Basic Principles of the Use of Force and Firearms and to reference “respect of the rights of indigenous peoples”. In order to stay in the FTSE4Good Index, companies will also have to provide training for employees on human rights policy, provide evidence of undertaking a human rights impact assessment and integration of their policy into risk assessment processes...In countries of particular concern such as Angola, China, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, resource companies must commit to meeting more stringent guidelines (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 21 Apr. 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)

Poor fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute, the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge (albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia. Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia. (Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)

Human rights, salary at issue for Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola should...use its influence in Colombia to encourage greater protections of human rights. These were just a few of the more controversial proposals members of the Atlanta company's board of directors fielded from some of the 400 shareholders gathered here Wednesday for Coke's annual meeting...Perhaps the most controversial proposal concerned allegations that the company's plant managers used paramilitary groups to intimidate and kill eight union organizers at a bottling plant in Barrancabermeja, Colombia...Coke denies that it is in any way responsible...Richard Shaw of the AFL-CIO implored the company to take a more active role in helping protect the union organizers. Deval Partrick, Coke's general counsel, said the company has gone as far as providing security for Colombian individuals being threatened. (David Kaplan, Houston Chronicle, 17 Apr. 2003)

Coca-Cola karma: irony in advertising? -...Today, the Coca-Cola Company is holding its annual shareholders’ meeting. One participant will be William Mendoza...the President of the National Food Industry Workers’ Union in his hometown of Barrancabermeja...Paramilitary groups have killed seven employees of Coca-Cola bottlers – all union members – in Colombia since 1990. Mendoza claims that he is among 65 union members who have received death threats from paramilitary groups. (Rick Stern, Montana Kaimin [USA], 16 Apr. 2003)

Conflict Diamonds the Achilles Heel of Canadian Diamond Industry - Statement to the Canadian diamond industry Issued by One Sky -...One Sky requests that leaders in the Canadian diamond industry publicly state their support for regular, independent monitoring and urge the Canadian government and diamond industry representatives at the Kimberley Process, such as the World Diamond Council, to do so as well. (One Sky, 15 Apr. 2003)

The Kimberley Process to curb conflict diamonds - Early Achievements, Congressional Action, Next Steps - Critical Challenges in Phase Two of the Kimberley Process (Rory More O'Ferrall, De Beers Group, remarks to Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 11 Apr. 2003)

New DynCorp Contract Draws Scrutiny -...Insight has learned that the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has issued a $22 million contract to DynCorp Aerospace Operations (UK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), to "re-establish police, justice and prison functions in postconflict Iraq."...last year alone [Dyncorp] was not only sued but paid large settlements to two former employees who blew the whistle on corporate managers and employees who engaged in sex trafficking in Bosnia (Kelly Patricia O Meara, Insight, 11 Apr. 2003)

Partial victory for Coca-Cola workers -...On March 31, US District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ruled that a group of Colombian plaintiffs can move forward with cases brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) for human rights violations committed by paramilitaries in Colombia on behalf of two Colombian Coca-Cola bottling companies: Panamco and Bebidas y Alimentos. (New Colombia News Agency, 10 Apr. 2003)

US Lawmakers Support International Agreement to Ban 'Conflict' Diamonds - The U.S. Senate is expected to follow the House of Representatives and pass legislation this week aimed at banning international trade in uncut diamonds that fund rebel activities in Africa. The legislation is required for the United States to implement an international agreement [Kimberly Process Certification Scheme] to ban trade in so-called 'blood' or 'conflict' diamonds. (Deborah Tate, Voice of America, 10 Apr. 2003)

DynCorp Rent-a-Cops May Head to Iraq - A major military contractor -- already underfire for alleged human rights violations and fraud -- may get a multi-million dollar contract to police post-Saddam Iraq. (Pratap Chatterjee, Corpwatch, 9 Apr. 2003)

Nigeria: Government and Oil Firms Should Act on Delta Violence - The Nigerian government and multinational oil companies should take immediate measures to prevent further violence and abuses around Warri in the oil-rich Niger delta, Human Rights Watch today said in letters to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the managing directors of three companies...Human Rights Watch appealed to the main companies operating in the area - ChevronTexaco, Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinaElf - to publicly urge the Nigerian government to restore security in a manner that respects due process and fundamental human rights, and that is not disproportionate to the threat. (Human Rights Watch, 9 Apr. 2003)

US firm faces $1bn claim for complicity [South Africa] - Fluor, the biggest US publicly traded engineering and construction company, faces a $1 billion claim by black former workers who allege they were discriminated against under apartheid. Anglo American, the world's second-biggest mining company, and diamond producer De Beers also face a lawsuit by former employees who say they were enslaved, beaten and tortured under apartheid. Lawyer Ed Fagan said a lawsuit would be filed today in California federal courts. The suit will argue that Fluor paid blacks less than whites and that the company helped repress workers during a 1987 strike in which two were killed. (Jonathan Rosenthal and Antony Sguazzin, Business Report [South Africa], 7 Apr. 2003)

Lundin and OMV criticised for resumed oil exploration in Sudan - Sweden's Lundin Petroleum and Austria's OMV have attracted criticism for their decision to resume oil exploration in southern Sudan. The companies said that their action had been made possible by "positive developments in the peace process and the improved conditions in the concession area". (Mallen Baker, Business Respect newsletter, 6 Apr. 2003)

Gas explosion at Fushun’s Mengjiagou coalmine kills 25 miners [China] -A victim’s wife is beaten and hospitalized by company security guards for asking about compensation (China Labour Bulletin, 3 Apr. 2003)

SUDAN: Renew Mandate of Human Rights Rapporteur, Bishops Urge -...A Rapportuer is needed, the bishops said, because "military action of armed groups supported by the Khartoum regime continued to violate the lives and safety of villages in the oil rich areas in the recent months." (Catholic Information Service For Africa, 2 Apr. 2003)

Coke bottler faces death suit - A US court has ruled that Coca-Cola's main Latin American bottler can stand trial for allegedly hiring right-wing paramilitaries to kill and intimidate union leaders in Colombia...Panamerican Beverages (Panamco), Coca-Cola's main bottler in Latin America of which it owns about 25%, and Colombian bottler Bebidas y Alimentos now face a trial. But District Judge Jose E Martinez in Miami excluded the Atlanta-based drinks giant Coca-Cola and its Colombian unit because its bottling agreement did not give it "explicit control" over labour issues in Colombia. (Stefan Armbruster, BBC News, 2 Apr. 2003)

Spotlight Interview – IFJ General Secretary Aidan White - The deaths of journalists and media workers during the Iraq conflict has highlighted the issue of safety for workers in this sector during conflicts. Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, sets out his organisation's policies and activities on this question (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 2 Apr. 2003)

Keller Rohrback Announces International Law Suit Filed on Behalf of Apartheid Victims--Makhetha, et al. v. Credit Commercial De France, et al. - The law firm of Keller Rohrback, L.L.P. and other firms in the United States, filed a complaint that seeks to hold French and Swiss banks and other financial institutions responsible for allegedly aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa...The suit alleges that these banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus. (Keller Rohrback L.L.P., 30 Mar. 2003)

Water - an essential human right -... Amnesty International stressed the need to focus on the human rights dimension regarding the issue of access to water...Disputes over water must then be resolved in ways that guarantee access, and do not, for example, make it conditional on one's relative wealth, social status, or nationality. Further, speaking of a right to water makes it clear that governments have duties to fulfil that right. Whatever arrangements are put in place regarding private sector investment and ownership in delivering water, governments cannot sub-contract this responsibility...Recent experiences have shown that several large development projects intended to provide access to water have ended up causing human rights violations, either through mass displacement of people (as in the Narmada project in western India) or by increasing charges for access to water drastically and using force against peaceful protestors (as in Cochabamba, Bolivia). (Amnesty International, 22 Mar. 2003)

Suit Alleging Firm Aided Genocide Proceeds - A Southern District of New York federal judge has refused to dismiss claims that a Canadian oil company abetted genocide by the government of Sudan against its own people. Talisman Energy Inc. had asked Judge Allen G. Schwartz to dismiss the case brought by plaintiffs who said the company was complicit in a campaign of kidnapping, rape, murder and land confiscation conducted by the government against non-Muslim residents who lived within a 50-mile radius of oil fields and transport systems. (Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, in New York Lawyer, 20 Mar. 2003)

Rights case against Talisman allowed to proceed - A federal [U.S.] judge Wednesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Talisman Energy Inc., one of Canada's biggest oil companies, alleging it participated in human rights abuses against non-Muslim residents of southern Sudan. (Reuters, 19 Mar. 2003)

Eight killed, including ChevronTexaco worker, as violence escalates in oil-rich Niger Delta [Nigeria] - Ethnic clashes in an oil-rich area of Nigeria have left eight people dead, including an employee of ChevronTexaco, officials said Tuesday...The Ijaws...accuse Nigeria and multinational companies of unfairly favoring smaller, rival tribes with lucrative contracts and development projects. (Dulue Mbachu, Associated Press, 19 Mar. 2003)

W Papua mine paid $18.5m to military [West Papua/Indonesia] - Freeport Indonesia has been forced to reveal it paid more than $US11million ($18.5 million) to the Indonesian army over the past two years for security at its operations in strife-torn West Papua. It is the first time the mining giant has admitted the full extent of the military's involvement in the controversial gold and copper mine..."Transnational corporations operating in countries with repressive governments, ethnic conflict, weak rule of law, endemic corruption or poor labour and environmental standards face serious risks to their reputation and share value if they are seen to be responsible for, or complicit in, human rights violations," the shareholders' resolution reads [US shareholders in the parent company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.]...A spokesman for Rio Tinto, which owns 16 per cent of the parent company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc, said that management of the Indonesian mine was the responsibility of Freeport, and it was inappropriate for a minority shareholder to comment. (Sian Powell, The Australian, 15 Mar. 2003)

BP panel warns of risk to human rights in Indonesia - BP has been warned by a panel of experts led by the US senator, George Mitchell, that it could trigger human rights abuses if it proceeds with a $2bn gas scheme in Indonesia. Concern centres on the role of the military which could be brought in to guard the Tangguh LNG facilities to be built in the Papua region...Despite this, the American politician...said yesterday the massive financial benefits of the scheme outweighed the problems...BP established the panel last year and is keen to avoid the kind of difficulties that have intermittently closed ExxonMobil's operations in Aceh province. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 12 Mar. 2003)

Loggers vs. "Invisible" Tribes: Secret War in Amazon? [Peru] - The greatest pressure the isolated peoples face is from the loggers who have come to Madre de Dios to extract mahogany from the forests. Recent encounters between loggers and the isolated peoples have resulted in violence...They are at risk to disease that their immune systems cannot fight as well as mortal injury from the loggers. (John Roach, National Geographic News, 12 Mar. 2003)

Talisman completes Sudan sale - Talisman Energy Inc. said Wednesday it has completed the sale of its oil interests in Sudan...Critics including human rights groups and churches said revenues from the Sudan project helped finance the country's civil war, which began in 1983 and has left more than two million people dead through fighting and famine. Talisman has always maintained that its presence promoted peace and development in the east African country. (Canadian Press, 12 Mar. 2003)

Communities Give Shell 2-Week Ultimatum [Nigeria] - The leadership of two oil-rich communities in Delta State have handed down a two-week ultimatum to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to embark on infrastructural development of their areas or stop oil exploration activities...The two communities at a news conference addressed by Chief B.O. Asaboro on their behalf at Owevwe town hall alleged that the management of SPDC and its contracting firm, Dresser -and Nigeria Ltd. were using the soldiers to torment and harass the hamlets and law abiding villagers. (Sola Adebayo, Vanguard [Nigeria], 11 Mar. 2003)

Activists targeting UI deal with Coke [USA] - The University of Illinois' exclusive beverage contract with Coca-Cola is under scrutiny from activists who say Coke bottling plants in Colombia have links to anti-union violence. (Julie Wurth, News-Gazette, 7 Mar. 2003)

Talisman promises Sudanese sale - Talisman has promised that the $758m sale of its Sudanese oil project to India will go ahead, despite months of delays. The sale to India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) would end stinging criticism of the company by human rights groups, who claim the Sudanese government uses the oil revenues to buy arms to fight a civil war...On Monday Swedish oil exploration company Lundin Petroleum said it would consider reducing its investments in Sudan, but ruled out a total withdrawal like Talisman. (BBC News, 5 Mar. 2003)

Confusion Greets KP [Kimberley Process certification scheme] Startup (Other Facets: News and views on the international effort to end conflict diamonds, #9, pg. 1, Mar. 2003)

World Diamond Council Releases Kimberley Guide -...The guide describes the Kimberley process agreement and spells out long-awaited details of the industry's proposed chain of warranties. (Other Facets: News and views on the international effort to end conflict diamonds, #9, pg. 2, Mar. 2003)

Diamond Peace Alliance Inaugurated in Sierra Leone -...The objective of the Peace Alliance, which has been developed over the past two years by USAID in consultation with NGOs and the private sector, is 'to help ensure that the Sierra Leone diamond industry contributes positively to peace and prosperity through increasing benefits to the people of Kono from the diamond industry and by helping the government to improve its ability to manage diamonds.' (Other Facets: News and views on the international effort to end conflict diamonds, #9, pg. 3, Mar. 2003)

Multinational corporations: Balancing trick - [book review of Empires of Profit: Commerce, Conquest and Corporate Responsibility, by Daniel Litvin] -...a similar pattern emerges time and again: ill-prepared central managers, local officers facing unexpected difficulties on the ground, political pressures at home and abroad, all resulting in a catalogue of unintended and sometimes tragic consequences. [refers to case studies in the book, including United Fruit Company in Central America in the 1950s, Nike in Asia in the 1980s & 1990s] (Clive Crook, Economist, 27 Feb. 2003)

AGC accused of human rights violation [Ghana] - The Ashanti Goldfields Company is reportedly doing well but at what cost? Wassa Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) says their rights are being violated. Below is the recently released report of a fact finding [includes reports of killings and pollution] (Public Agenda [Ghana], 24 Feb. 2003)

SPORTS: U.N. Meeting Ends With Call To Fight Poverty, Prevent Conflict - A three-day U.N. meeting on sports and development ended yesterday at Switzerland's Magglingen federal sports center with sports federations, athletes and U.N. and other agencies calling on countries and sports institutions to use sports to help fight poverty and prevent conflict. (UN Wire, 19 Feb. 2003)

Club Owner May Face Charges in Tramplings [Chicago, USA] - The owner of a nightclub where 21 people died in a stampede down a narrow stairway could face fines and more than a year in jail for criminal contempt of court, officials say...Twenty-one people were killed and more than 50 injured early Monday after a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight that erupted in the second-floor nightclub known as E2. (Mike Robinson, Associated Press, 19 Feb. 2003)

Activists Cast Valentines Spotlight on "Conflict Diamond" - A new campaign to be launched Friday, Valentine's Day, aims to persuade consumers in the United States not to buy diamonds mined in African war zones and to urge U.S. lawmakers to quickly pass legislation barring the import of "conflict diamonds." (Alison Raphael, OneWorld US, 14 Feb. 2003)

PepsiCo in India – leading the “cola race to the bottom”? Growing union repression and intense pressure from management on the remaining unionised Pepsi bottling plants is the clear picture that emerges from a recent IUF study of PepsiCo bottling operation in India. Incidents at PepsiCo plants in India include police being invited in by the company management to physically beat up unionised workers and constant threats of dismissal when workers start the process of organizing a union in the many plants where unions currently do not exist or where they want to exercise bargaining rights where they do. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 14 Feb. 2003)

Colombia: ICFTU challenges President on the rise in anti-union violence - ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder has asked the President of Colombia to take action to protect human and trade union rights and to bring those who violate them to justice. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 7 Feb. 2003)

52 Bishops Call For Reform of Arms Export Laws [UK] - In a letter to The Times today, 52 UK bishops called on the Government to commit to reform of the Arms Export Control Act. They are adding their voices to Oxfam’s campaign to stop British arms reaching vulnerable developing countries and conflict zones. (Oxfam GB, 5 Feb. 2003)

ExxonMobil in Aceh [Indonesia] - In Aceh, where security concerns forced ExxonMobil's gas operations to close down for several months in 2001, a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), has been given a cautious welcome...For Acehnese living near the ExxonMobil operations in North Aceh, the deal will hopefully reduce the numbers of Indonesian troops stationed to guard the site, although post-Bali fears of terrorist attacks may well persuade ExxonMobil and Jakarta that current numbers should be maintained. This is the security force that stands accused of subjecting local people to torture, killings and disappearances, prompting a lawsuit against ExxonMobil in the US (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2003)

Regulating weapons deals: The case for European Controls on arms brokers (Oxfam, Feb. 2003)

Protestors force way into EBRD over Baku-Ceyhan - Nine protestors demanding the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development halt funding for the controversial Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline in the Caspian [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] forced their way into the bank's London headquarters at midday (Reuters, 24 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)

NAMIBIA: Herero claims could go to court in US in March or April - The Hereros accuse Germany and two companies [Deutsche Bank and Woermann Line (now known as SAFmarine)] of forming a "brutal alliance" to exterminate over 65 000 Hereros between 1904 and 1907. (Southern Africa Documentation and Cooperation Centre, 22 Jan. 2003)

press release: Coalition Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure - New Report Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Shameful Human Rights, Environmental and Labor Records - a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights groups today released a joint report entitled "International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency."  The report documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont Mining. (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, 22 Jan. 2003)

Comment: A fair trade - On the eve of the World Economic Forum meeting, Salil Shetty, the head of ActionAid, explains how global security depends on building trust with the poor -...ActionAid believes that rich nations and corporations face growing insecurity unless they win more trust from people in poor countries through new measures to help to increase fairness and justice. (Salil Shetty, Director of ActionAid, in Guardian [UK], 22 Jan. 2003)

press release: Indonesia: Paper Industry Threatens Human Rights - Indonesian police and company security forces are responsible for persistent human rights abuses against indigenous communities involved in the massive pulp and paper industry in Sumatra, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. (Human Rights Watch, 7 Jan. 2003)

The Military-Industrial-Think Tank Complex: Corporate Think Tanks and the Doctrine of Aggressive Militarism [USA] - Each major element of the Bush administration's national security strategy -- from the doctrines of preemptive strikes and "regime change" in Iraq, to its aggressive nuclear posture and commitment to deploying a Star Wars-style missile defense system -- was developed and refined before the Bush administration took office, at corporate-backed conservative think tanks like the Center for Security Policy, the National Institute for Public Policy and the Project for a New American Century...Unilateralist ideologues formerly affiliated with these think tanks, along with the 32 major administration appointees who are former executives with, consultants for, or significant shareholders of top defense contractors, are driving U.S. foreign and military policy. (William Hartung and Michelle Ciarrocca, World Policy Institute’s Arms Trade Resource Center, in Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2003)

Tanks & Toxics, Planes and Pollution The Ecology of a Military Build-Up [USA] -...Environmental contamination from defense hardware manufacturing dots the U.S. landscape...Communities around defense plants that increase production in the new military boom will face more emissions of pollutants...which especially could affect the health of sensitive populations [refers to Nuclear Metals Inc., Rocketdyne (now a subsidiary of Boeing and formerly operated by Rockwell International), Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Vought Aircraft; also refers to lawsuits] (William Kelly, editor and publisher of California Environment Report, in Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2003)

Total Business Awareness: The Corporate Contracting Behind John Poindexter’s Total Information Awareness Program [USA] - The Total Information Awareness System, the controversial Pentagon research program that aims to gather and analyze a vast array of information on people in the United States, has hired at least eight private companies to work on the effort...The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which oversees the Total Information Awareness System (TIA), awarded 13 contracts to Booz Allen & Hamilton amounting to more than $23 million. Lockheed Martin Corporation had 23 contracts worth $27 million. The Schafer Corporation had nine contracts totaling $15 million. Other prominent contractors involved in the TIA program include SRS Technologies, Adroit Systems, CACI Dynamic Systems, Syntek Technologies and ASI Systems International...Grassley [Senator Charles E. Grassley] questioned the parameters and scope of TIA, how Poindexter was selected to head it, and what protections are in place to ensure civil liberties are not violated...Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California, says that she plans to introduce legislation to address any threats to privacy rights that TIA poses.. (Adam Mayle and Alex Knott, Center for Public Integrity, in Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 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)

2002:

Hun Sen to Sue Global Witness for Defamation [Cambodia] -...Hun Sen accused the Global Witness of unjustly defaming his government when it released an "exaggerated" report alleging the use of excessive force by police in dispersing a group of anti-logging protesters. But on Friday, a group of 18 Cambodian nongovernmental organizations said the Global Witness report was correct and urged the government to reverse its plan to close down the watchdog's office. (Japan Today, 31 Dec. 2002)

10 December- International Human Rights Day: 151 trade unionists murdered in Colombia this year (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 10 Dec. 2002)

No Problems Here: Success, Complacency & Suspicion in the Indian Diamond Industry - Occasional Paper of the Diamonds and Human Security Project, examining the Indian diamond industry, the world's major cutting and polishing centre. While the report finds no direct evidence of conflict diamonds in India, the Indian diamond industry - like others - must ensure that effective international mechanisms are implemented to stop the trade in conflict diamonds. (Vinod Kuriyan, Canadian NGO Partnership Africa Canada, 9 Dec. 2002)

Striking Vietnamese 'hit with bars' - At least four Vietnamese men have been taken to hospital after a group of factory managers allegedly attacked striking workers with metal bars...The general manager of the Taiwanese-owned furniture factory, Chen Chung Hoan, has apologised and promised to rectify the breaches of labour law within a fortnight. (Clare Arthurs, BBC News, 29 Nov. 2002)

Russia Greens say security service oppressing them - Ecologists said this week a police swoop on a group [Baikal Environmental Wave] denouncing radioactive pollution of Russia's unique Lake Baikal was part of a long-term security service campaign to crush environmental movement...the group...publicised business and government activities it said were harmful to the vast lake's environment...It also campaigned against a pipeline due to run to China through the area and backed by YUKOS, Russia's number two oil company, and the China National Petroleum Corp. (Oliver Bullough, Reuters, 28 Nov. 2002)

Show solidarity for Acehnese detainees [reportedly detained by Indonesian military units stationed in sites where there is an Exxon-Mobil pipeline] (Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence - Aceh, 22 Nov. 2002)

Making a Killing: The Business of War [11-part series] (Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 11-part series, chapter 11 issued 20 Nov. 2002, other chapters issued earlier)

AGC [Ashanti Goldfields Company] Accused of Human Rights Abuses [Ghana] - Behind the seeming good performance of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) this year are charges of human rights abuses in communities where it operates. (Public Agenda [Ghana], 16 Nov. 2002)

'Conflict Free' Diamonds — A Competitive Edge? [regarding De Beers] (G. Pascal Zachary, on Business for Social Responsibility website, 12 Nov. 2002)

"Older and wiser" Exxon listens to the locals - Oil major Exxon Mobil is now working more closely with non-governmental organisations on upstream projects to help avoid the social unrest it has suffered in the past, a senior executive said. [refers to Exxon-led Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Exxon's operations in Aceh] (Neil Chatterjee, Reuters, 11 Nov. 2002)

ILO: Governing Body Discusses Labor Rights, Development - The International Labor Organization's governing body opened its 285th session yesterday in Geneva, focusing on reports of forced labor in Myanmar...delegates will address developments in Colombia, where 100 unionists have reportedly been killed this year. They will consider proposals to extend funding for a special technical program to secure the rights of Colombian unionists, promote freedom of association and the right to organize, and promote social dialogue to stop violence. (UN Wire, 8 Nov. 2002)

Diamond states bar war zone stones - Forty-five countries engaged in the diamond trade finally signed a new scheme to stem the flow of "conflict" diamonds yesterday. (Ewen MacAskill, Guardian [UK], 6 Nov. 2002)

[U.N.] Security Council discusses report of illegal exploitation of DR of Congo's resources -...It also recommends that financial restrictions be placed on 29 companies based in the DRC, Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa [includes link to pdf version of full report by U.N. expert panel] (UN News Service, 5 Nov. 2002)

No Graceful Exit: Talisman may be leaving Sudan, but critics of the company’s contentious operations in the war-torn East-African country aren’t planning to forgive and forget (Byron Christopher, Our Times, 5 Nov. 2002)

DIAMONDS: Industry Approves New Code Of Practice To Curb Illicit Trade - World diamond industry leaders yesterday in London agreed on a self-regulated system of certification to ensure that the diamond market is conducted through licensed dealers and not used to fund conflicts...Activists are calling, however, for stronger commitments from the industry. (UN Wire, 30 Oct. 2002)

Diamonds fuel CAR [Central African Republic] conflicts (Keith Somerville, BBC News, 30 Oct. 2002)

Oryx Refutes UN Report - An executive from Oryx Natural Resources slammed a United Nations (UN) report on conflict diamonds October 25, refuting allegations that his firm traffics in illegal goods. (Peter C. Mastrosimone, Rapaport News, Diamonds.Net, 28 Oct. 2002)

Jewellers 'ignorant' over conflict diamonds - UK jewellers are woefully unprepared for the introduction of new rules aimed at curbing the trade of diamonds from war-torn Africa, according to a survey. (BBC News, 28 Oct. 2002)

Car firm probes union 'betrayal' claim - The car firm DaimlerChrysler has announced an external inquiry into claims that one of its subsidiaries handed over 14 union activists to Argentina's military dictatorship in the 1970s. (BBC News, 28 Oct. 2002)

Kimberley Audit Firm Founded - A new audit company has been created to certify diamonds under the Kimberley Process. (Peter C. Mastrosimone, Rapaport News, Diamonds.Net, 25 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)

DRC: Negative reactions from those named in UN Panel report - Individuals, companies and governments named in the latest UN report on the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have, so far, denied their involvement...The De Beers spokesman in South Africa, Brian Roodt, told IRIN on Tuesday that his company was puzzled by its inclusion in the report...Meanwhile, Anglo American issued a statement saying it had had no operations in the Congo "for several years". (IRIN - U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 23 Oct. 2002)

U.N.: Diamond Companies Among Congo "Plunderers" - A United Nations panel issued a report on Oct. 21 naming several Belgian-based diamond companies it says are associated with Lebanese criminal organizations participating in diamond smuggling in the Democractic Republic of Congo...The Antwerp companies named were Asa Diam, Sierra Gem Diamonds, Triple A Diamonds and Echogem. (Professional Jeweler, 23 Oct. 2002)

DRC: Rights group denounces abuses in diamond fields - The human rights group Amnesty International has denounced abuses, including summary executions, which it says are taking place in the diamond fields in government-held parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (IRIN - U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 23 Oct. 2002)

Nigeria: No Democratic Dividend for Oil Delta -...The 40-page report, "The Niger Delta: No Democratic Dividend," considers several recent violent incidents around oil facilities, and concludes that both the government and the oil company have failed to fulfill their responsibilities. (Human Rights Watch, 22 Oct. 2002)

CONGO: Senior African Officials, Multinationals Implicated In Exploitation - Foreign corporations, senior African officials and criminal networks are plundering the rich natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a new 59-page report prepared for the U.N. Security Council by a U.N.-appointed independent panel...The panel calls for financial restrictions to be levied on 54 individuals and 29 companies it said are involved in the plunder, including four Belgian diamond companies and the Belgian company George Forrest, which is partnered with the U.S.-based OM Group...The report also accuses 85 South African, European and U.S. multinational corporations -- including Anglo American, Barclays Bank, Bayer, De Beers and Cabot Corporation -- of violating the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's ethical guidelines on conflict zones. (UN Wire, 21 Oct. 2002)

DIAMONDS: Toughening New Monitoring Plan Could Backfire, Group Warns - The World Diamond Council said last week that a rush to implement tougher controls than those now planned under the Kimberley Process to stem the flow of conflict diamonds could backfire. (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002)

NATURAL RESOURCES: Consumer Demand Still Fueling Wars, NGO Says - A new report released today by the nongovernmental Worldwatch Institute urges better monitoring of trade in natural resources taken from conflict zones, saying that such imports fuel brutal conflicts in the developing world..."Brutal wars over natural resources like coltan -- a mineral that keeps cell phones and other electronic equipment functioning -- diamonds, tropical woods and other rare materials have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least $12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, repressive government and other predatory groups around the world," the institute says...Opium, gems, oil, timber, natural gas, precious metals, coffee and cocoa are among the resources cited as helping to pay for wars over the past 50 years. (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002)

Bill C-14 - Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act - Legislation tabled with the Canadian parliament October 10, 2002, providing for controls on the export, import or transit across Canada of rough diamonds, and for a certification scheme for the export of rough diamonds in order to meet Canada's obligations under the Kimberley Process. (House of Commons of Canada, 15 Oct. 2002) 

WDC Pledges Industry Will Play Active Role in Kimberley Rules - Responding to publicized remarks from several prominent human rights groups, the World Diamond Council released a statement Oct. 9, 2002, saying it will continue to participate in the Kimberley certification program after it is enacted in 2003. The English group Global Witness and the Canadian group Partnership Africa Canada questioned recently whether the industry will follow through on its promises to monitor and audit compliance with the Kimberley rules. (Peggy Jo Donahue, Professional Jeweler, 11 Oct. 2002)

Workshop on the Plunder of DRC's Natural Resources - Conclusions and Recommendations from a workshop held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 5 - 7, 2002 on Diamonds and the Plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Natural Resources: where to find the resources for reconstruction and the fight against poverty? (CENADEP - Centre National d'appui au Développement et à la Participation Populaire and Partnership Africa Canada, 9 Oct. 2002)

South Africa: ICFTU condemns killings of two mineworkers - In a letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has vigorously condemned the killing last Monday of two mineworkers at a prominent goldmine following shots fired by the Security guards of the East Rand Proprietary Mines (ERPM). (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 9 Oct. 2002)

World Bank Institute and University of Michigan Business School E-Conference Program on "Business, Democracy and Peace" - October 7 - November 1, 2002 -...This e-conference introduces the argument that businesses may have significant contributions to sustainable peace. (World Bank and University of Michigan Business School, 7 Oct.-1 Nov. 2002)

{···español} Carta de Protesta: Colombia: Asesinatos, amenazas, atropellos en fines de agosto-septiembre (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 7 octubre 2002)

{···español} Carta de protesta: Colombia: Atentado contra SINTRAEMCALI (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 7 octubre 2002)

DIAMONDS: SADC To Launch Kimberley Process Certification Plan - The 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community plan to launch efforts to halt the illicit trade in diamonds through the Kimberley Process' certification plan starting next month (UN Wire, 1 Oct. 2002)

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Diamond certification scheme ready - The British-based lobby group Global Witness on Monday said it was optimistic that African countries would be ready to launch an international diamond certification scheme in November. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 30 Sep. 2002)

Shell faces litigation - Fourteen individual plaintiffs filed a class action suit [in a U.S. court] against Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport, plc, on September 20 for alleged human rights abuses in Ogoniland, Nigeria...the complaint alleges that Shell knowingly instigated, planned and facilitated in unprovoked attacks by the former Nigerian military government against the unarmed residents of Ogoniland, resulting in murder and gross human rights abuses. (Tomorrow: Your sustainable business toolkit, 26 Sep. 2002)

Recent court decision could further isolate Burma -...On September 18, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the California-based oil giant UNOCAL could be sued for egregious abuses of Burmese villagers committed by government soldiers in charge of security for a pipeline construction project. (Robert Lebowitz, Digital Freedom Network, 26 Sep. 2002)

WDC: U.S. Can Enforce Kimberley Now - The United States can adhere to the Kimberley protocols for diamond certification without waiting for Congress to enact new legislation, according to Matt Runci, president of Jewelers of America (JA) and executive director of the World Diamond Council (WDC). (Peter C. Mastrosimone, Rapaport News, 24 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)

Immediate UN action and embargo on Liberian timber needed to stop conflict in Liberia and safeguard peace in Sierra Leone -...Many logging companies continue to be actively engaged in illegal arms imports for the government, committing human rights abuses and destabilising Liberia and the entire West Africa sub-region. (Global Witness, 18 Sep. 2002)

Sudan gives thumbs-up to visit in October by UN rights rapporteur - The Sudanese government has now agreed to a visit here in October by UN human rights rapporteur Gerhart Baum after refusing to meet him here earlier this month, the state-run SUNA news agency reported Sunday.  Sudan's Advisory Council for Human Rights, chaired by Justice Minister Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, two weeks ago called for Baum's planned September visit to be postponed to protest his request for details on how Khartoum spends its oil revenues. (AFP, 15 Sep. 2002)

Chevron Md [Managing Director] Seeks Peaceful Relations With Host Communities [Nigeria] - The Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Jay Pryor has appealed to people of the Niger Delta region as well as other oil producing areas to shun hostilities against Chevron oil workers. He also pledged that the company would continue to pursue socio-economic development of host communities. (Chuka Odittah, This Day [Nigeria], 13 Sep. 2002)

Comment: The Ethical Edge -  The next significant social responsibility screen may be one that identifies the corporations that aid terrorism (Jon Entine, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 12 Sep. 2002)

Colombia's War on Unions: The Coca-Cola Killings - The Coca-Cola killings in Colombia continue. Last week union activist Adolfo de Jesus Munera was murdered shortly after he received notice that a law suit filed by him against Coca-Cola was accepted by Colombia's Constitutional Court. (Maria Engqvist, CounterPunch, 6 Sep. 2002)

United Steelworkers president takes aim at Colombia - United Steelworkers of America President Leo W. Gerard has written the chief executive of Coca-Cola and the president of Colombia calling for investigations into the murder on Aug. 31 of Colombian trade union and human rights activist Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez. (Pittsburgh Business Times, 6 Sep. 2002)

Other Facets #7 - Diamonds & Human Security Project Newsletter reporting on the Kimberley Process and the G8, developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, US & EC response to the Kimberley Process, etc. (Partnership Africa Canada, 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)

'Angolans should sue multinationals and banks' - Angolans must institute legal action against a host of western multinational companies and banking institutions which enabled that country's government to commit crimes of humanity against its people, a Namibian rights group said on Tuesday. (Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 3 Sep. 2002)

Indonesia engages gunmen after three are killed in Papua - ...Indonesian forces exchanged fire with gunmen yesterday and killed a suspected rebel, a day after two American schoolteachers and an Indonesian were shot dead near a huge copper and gold mine run by a US corporation...Regional armed forces chief Major-General Mahidin Simbolon arrived yesterday in Timika, near the immense open-pit mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia -- an affiliate of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper-and-Gold Inc. For many Papuans, the operation is a symbol of unwanted Indonesian rule. (AP & Reuters, in Taipei Times, 2 Sep. 2002)

Powell's Awkward Position [USA/Aceh-Indonesia] -...A State Department ruling this month sent a shudder through the human rights community. Legal counsel William H. Taft IV asked U.S. District Judge Louis Oberdorfer to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Exxon Mobil of terrorizing Indonesian villagers who somehow thwart the world's biggest oil company. The suit, brought by the International Labor Rights Fund, cited murder, torture and rape. (Mary McGrory, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2002)

Letter to Secretary Powell [U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell] Regarding Aceh Lawsuit [Indonesia] - We are writing to express our extreme concern with the July 29th opinion issued by the Office of the Legal Advisor of the US Department of State to the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in response to his request for the Department’s views in connection with the case Doe et.al. v. ExxonMobil...We view such a response from the State Department as an act that clearly subordinates human rights concerns to commercial interests. (letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell from 13 public interest groups, 26 Aug. 2002)

DIAMONDS: Kimberley Process Too Weak, Author On Conflict Gems Says - The author of a book on "blood diamonds" -- gems sold to provide funding for militant groups -- said yesterday that the international Kimberley Process designed to halt the illicit trade offers little hope of doing so. (UN Wire, 21 Aug. 2002)

Families file $100 trillion suit against Sudan, Saudis, claiming they financed Sept. 11 attack - The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on behalf of some 600 families. It seeks "an amount in excess of $100 trillion" and charges the defendants with racketeering, wrongful death, negligence and conspiracy...The complaint names more than seven dozen defendants, including the government of Sudan, seven banks, eight Islamic foundations and three Saudi princes. Those listed include... Khalid bin Salim bin Mahfouz of the National Commercial Bank and the Faisal Islamic Bank. (Laurie Kellman, Associated Press, 16 Aug. 2002)

Shell Games at the Earth Summit -...Tracking the behavior of Royal Dutch Shell from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio to the WSSD in Johannesburg is particularly instructive in drawing out how global corporations have pursued a pro-environment and human rights public-relations strategy on the one hand, while continuing to be deeply engaged in destructive activity on the other. (Kenny Bruno & Joshua Karliner CorpWatch, 15 Aug. 2002)

Shell, Chevron Invasion: Protesters Raise Alarm Over 15 Missing Women [Nigeria] - Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje women who seized the Warri operational headquarters of Shell and Chevron-Texaco last Thursday claimed, weekend that 15 of them were missing. About 800 were injured in their encounter with security agents during the seizure, they told newsmen in Warri...They issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Shell and Chevron-Texaco managements to find the missing women or face further action. (Sola Adebayo, Vanguard [Nigeria], 12 Aug. 2002)

U.S. Government Tries to Kill Human-Rights Case against ExxonMobil - Government says case over Indonesian abuses could endanger U.S. business and anti-terrorism interests (Ethics Newsline, Institute for Global Ethics, 12 Aug. 2002)

DIAMONDS: EU Plans Stricter Certification Rules - The European Union yesterday announced draft laws to halt trade in "blood diamonds," blamed by the United Nations for fuelling war in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UN Wire, 9 Aug. 2002)

Groups Shocked as Officials Urge Judge to Back ExxonMobil - News that the [U.S.] State Department urged a federal court judge to dismiss the case after he asked about claims by ExxonMobil's lawyers that the lawsuit could compromise U.S. interests, particularly the 'war on terrorism', has shocked the human rights community. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 8 Aug. 2002)

ExxonMobil welcomes US backing on Aceh human rights lawsuit - Exxon Mobil Corp rejected suggestions that the US government had acted inappropriately in urging the dismissal of a lawsuit against the oil company over its operations in Indonesia. (AFX News, 8 Aug. 2002)

Text of the Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil: I [part 1 of 2] [lawsuit in U.S. court concerning the company's alleged conduct in Aceh]: The complete text of the disputed lawsuit against ExxonMobil for its alleged complicity in human rights abuses in Aceh province (Laksamana.Net [Indonesia], 8 Aug. 2002)

U.S. Backs Oil Giant on Lawsuit in Indonesia - The State Department is urging a United States court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a human rights group against Exxon Mobil over its operations in a war-torn province of Indonesia. In response to a request by the corporation for an opinion, the department declared that pursuit of the case would harm Washington's campaign against terrorism. (Jane Perlez, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2002)

Women's Protests Against ChevronTexaco Spread Through the Niger Delta [Nigeria]: Initial Demands Met, Issues Remain (Sam Olukoya, special to CorpWatch, 7 Aug. 2002)

Woman sacked for revealing UN links with sex trade: How a [UK] tribunal vindicated an investigator who blew whistle on workers in Bosnia -...After a two-year battle, an employment tribunal ruled yesterday that Ms Bolkovac was unfairly dismissed by DynCorp, an American company (Daniel McGrory, Times [UK], 7 Aug. 2002)

Harassment victim sues Burger King after attack [Colorado, USA] - The former general manager of a Longmont fast-food franchise is suing the restaurant's owners, alleging they should have protected her from being racially harassed and assaulted by a customer. (Matt Sebastian, Daily Camera [USA], 7 Aug. 2002)

Programme: Human Security and Environment - 3 Sep. 2002 - Johannesburg (IUCN - World Conservation Union) [posted to this site on 7 Aug. 2002]

U.S./Indonesia: Bush Backtracks on Corporate Responsibility - The U.S. State Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the Exxon Mobil Corporation for its alleged complicity in human rights violations in Indonesia, raising questions about the Bush administration's commitment to corporate responsibility, Human Rights Watch said today..."It is the height of hypocrisy for the State Department to publicly promote human rights principles for the oil and gas industry and then tell a judge that scrutiny of an oil company's human rights record runs counter to foreign policy," said Roth [Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch] (Human Rights Watch, 7 Aug. 2002)

UNI's Protest letter to the Brasilian president over the death of a trade unionist [Bartolomeu Morais da Silva, of the Federation of Agricultural Workers of Para] (UNI - Union Network International, 6 Aug. 2002)

KCTU Demands Justice for Workers - Deaths [South Korea] - An umbrella labor group yesterday demanded the government take decisive actions to bring justice for 10 workers [including Park Chang-su, union leader of Hanjin Heavy Industries...found dead outside a hospital on May 6, 1991] who died mysterious deaths during authoritarian regimes (Seo Soo-min, Korea Times, 6 Aug. 2002)

"Sustainable Development Security Imperative" Says Top US Government Official - Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, claims that "sustainable development" is a "compelling moral and humanitarian issue". And adds:" But sustainable development is also a security imperative. Poverty, environmental degradation and despair are destroyers-of people, of societies, of nations. This unholy trinity can destabilize countries, even entire regions". (U.N. Environment Programme, 5 Aug. 2002)

Who is to blame if employees kill? [USA] - In aftermath of brutal slaying, Zapp family hopes to highlight the issue of background checks -...As crime victims increasingly try to hold companies accountable for the actions of their employees, they have a tough time proving their cases in court. (Michele Kurtz, Boston Globe, 4 Aug. 2002)

State Department Adopts “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” Stance in Case that Pits Indonesian Villagers Against Exxon Mobil - The U.S. Department of State has warned a U.S. District Court that opening proceedings in the lawsuit Doe vs. Exxon Mobil Corporation could harm the Indonesian economy and U.S. interests...The Lawyers Committee deplores the position of the State Department...While concerns about Indonesia’s economy and U.S. investment there are understandable, LCHR rejects the implication that this investment can come at the cost of human rights protection. Companies should not be immune from prosecution for human rights violations in their operations at home or abroad (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 2 Aug. 2002)

Ijaw Vs Chevron: Women to the Rescue [Nigeria] [refers to terms of 8-page Memorandum of Understanding signed on 24 July, under which Chevron agrees to a number of local economic development & education initiatives] (Mike Oduniyi, This Day [Nigeria], 2 Aug. 2002)

MPs call for controls on military firms [UK] - Private military companies - descendants of mercenaries from the days of the "dogs of war" - are here to stay but their activities must be strictly controlled, MPs said yesterday in a report sparked off by the arms to Africa affair [when the UK Government was accused of conniving with Sandline International in the illegal export of arms to Sierra Leone]. They should be licensed and monitored in the same way as weapons exports but barred from armed combat operations, the Commons foreign affairs committee said. (Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian [UK], 2 Aug. 2002)

Clean Diamond Act Unlikely to Pass in Current Form [USA] - The Clean Diamond Trade Act is unlikely to be passed in its current form and a new bill must be introduced to comply with the tenets of the Kimberly Process, according to U.S. House of Representative officials. (Rapaport News, 28 July 2002)

NIGERIA: Women end siege of ChevronTexaco facilities -...The officials said under the terms of the agreement signed on Thursday with a chief of the Gbaramutu community, whose women had occupied four ChevronTexaco facilties for eight days, the company would build a hospital and provide fair access to employment for qualified people from the area. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 26 July 2002) 

Western firms eye Sudan oil, but still wary - Sudan's undeveloped oil potential may be back on the radar screen for Western firms after the Sudanese government and main rebel group reached an agreement that could end a 19-year-civil war, industry experts say. But until a full peace deal is signed and implemented, they say Sudan is likely to stay dominated by Asian and East European firms which appear less sensitive to criticism by Western-based human rights groups amid the fighting in oil-rich areas. [refers to Lundin Petroleum, OMV, Talisman Energy] (Edmund Blair, Reuters, 26 July 2002)

Nigerian women's oil protest ends - Hundreds of local women in Nigeria's Delta region have ended the 12-day occupation of oil pipeline stations belonging to the American company, ChevronTexaco. The women had accused the company of exploiting the people of the region and not distributing enough of the wealth it obtains from oil. (BBC News, 25 July 2002)

Letter of Protest: Brazil: trade unionist tortured to death [Bartolomeu Morais da Silva, of the Federation of Agricultural Workers of Para] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 24 July 2002)

Trade union rights in Haiti: A worsening situation...- In a letter addressed to Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the International Trade Union Confederation (ICFTU) expressed its profound concern at the brutal treatment of nine people, including six trade unionists, held illegally in the National Penitentiary. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 23 July 2002)

The key step for peace is ending corruption - Indonesia's Aceh rebellion -...An autonomy law, adopted last year, has created a giant slush fund for provincial officials from oil and gas revenues, with no effective controls over how the money is spent...One particularly lucrative source of income in Aceh is illegal logging. (Sidney Jones, head of Jakarta office of the International Crisis Group, in International Herald Tribune, 23 July 2002)

China migrants held for Three Gorges protest - group - Police in eastern China detained 40 people who had demanded to be sent back to their homes in the southwest which they were forced to leave to make way for the giant Three Gorges dam, a rights group said on the weekend. (Reuters, 23 July 2002)

Campaigners attack “meddling” with arms laws [UK] - A new law to stop British weapons fuelling misery around the world will be dangerously weakened if government ministers can change the rules at will, arms campaigners warned today [regarding Export Control Bill] (Amnesty International, BASIC, Christian Aid, International Alert, Oxfam, Saferworld, 22 July 2002)

Sudan deal seen as boon for Talisman: Could change plans for contentious asset - A breakthrough deal setting the stage for peace in Sudan could radically change Talisman Energy Inc.'s plans to sell its controversial operations in the African country...the Calgary-based oil company, which has been shopping around its interest in a Sudanese oil consortium after years of pressure from human rights groups and the threat of capital market sanctions in the United States, could now turn around and decide to hang on to its prolific oil fields in Sudan (Lily Nguyen, Globe and Mail [Canada], 22 July 2002)

'Oil to us is a tragedy' [Nigeria; occupation of ChevronTexaco pumping stations] -..."The discovery of oil in our communities has brought misery and sorrow," laments Mary Olaye, 42, leader of a group of women who have occupied four oil pumping stations in protest. "Our rivers are polluted and fish die because of the toxins." (Cape Times [South Africa], 22 July 2002)

Lampung people threaten to take over palm plantation [Indonesia] - Following a violent clash with security personnel on Thursday, hundreds of striking workers from a PT Budi Dharma Godam Perkasa (BDGP)-owned oil palm plantation in North Lampung have threatened to take over the 2000-hectare plantation because of the management's failure to end a prolonged land dispute...The communal land was appropriated by force by the former military-style New Order regime and handed over to a Jakarta businessman for the oil plantation. (Jakarta Post, 22 July 2002)

Western oil firms stand to gain from peace moves [Sudan] - A blueprint for peace in Sudan offers a potential boost for Western oil firms wrestling with security problems and allegations they are helping Khartoum's war effort, oil and other analysts said Sunday. (AFP, 21 July 2002)

Coca-Cola workers want global union agreement - LHMU [Australian Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union] Coca-Cola workers have called on the US-based Coca-Cola multinational to enter discussions to secure a global agreement on minimum trade union rights for all Coca-Cola workers..." We'll be asking Coca-Cola management, here in Australia, what action they will take to defend the human rights of Coca-Cola workers in Colombia and Guatemala," Brian Daley said. (Australian Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union, 19 July 2002)

Iran police fire tear-gas to end worker protest (Gulf News, 17 July 2002)

Chevron near deal to end women's sit-in [Nigeria] - Chevron, Nigeria's third-largest oil producer, said it was drawing up a memorandum of understanding in response to the women's demands for jobs for their sons and greater community development. (Michael Peel, Financial Times, 17 July 2002)

Exxon Under Fire in Indonesia -...Exxon Mobil is also the object of a lawsuit filed on behalf of villagers who accuse the company of turning a blind eye to brutality by Indonesian soldiers, who have a long history of human rights abuses and have been paid to ensure the plant's security. The company denies the charges. But the suit and Exxon Mobil's travails in Indonesia encapsulate the problems faced by big companies that do business under the protection of ill-trained foreign armies, in places where the United States has strategic interests. (Jane Perlez, Moscow Times, 16 July 2002)

Corporate Human Rights -...For several years, a small group of lawyers and labor advocates has been trying to hold transnational companies responsible for their actions by suing them in the United States for abetting and/or benefiting from human rights abuses overseas. Finally, these corporation-chasers are beginning to see signs of possible success. [refers to lawsuits against Unocal, Shell, Texaco, Rio Tinto, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp, Drummond Company, ExxonMobil] (David Corn, The Nation, 15 July 2002)

Venezuela: Union’s HQ attacked - The ICFTU today addressed a letter to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, protesting at the recent attack on the national union (CTV) headquarters. On July 11, the premises of Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela, an affiliate of the ICFTU, was violently attacked by some 100 individuals identified as having political ties with the current government. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 15 July 2002)

'Deal reached' in Nigeria oil protest - Women protesters who have besieged an oil terminal in southern Nigeria for more than a week say they have reached a deal with the refinery owners to end their blockade...According to Mr Filgate [of Chevron Texaco], the company has agreed to build a town hall in the village of Ugborodo - home to many of the protesters - and build schools and electrical and water systems. "We now have a different philosophy, and that is do more with communities," AP quoted Mr Filgate as saying following talks with the women. (BBC News, 15 July 2002)

Indonesia's Guerrilla War Puts Exxon Under Siege -...Exxon Mobil is also the object of a lawsuit filed on behalf of villagers who accuse the company of turning a blind eye to brutality by Indonesian soldiers, who have a long history of human rights abuses and have been paid to provide the plant's security. (Jane Perlez, New York Times, 14 July 2002)

A Long Way to Find Justice: What Are Burmese Villagers Doing in a California Court? -...American judges have embraced the opportunity to hold multinational corporations responsible for perceived abuses that result from international trade and investment [includes reference to cases against Unocal, Gap Inc., J.C. Penney, Levi Strauss, the Limited]...Companies need to scrutinize the practices of their business partners -- how they treat workers and the environment, how they interact with local military and political authorities -- to determine whether they violate international standards or offend the conscience of U.S. courts. (Elliot Schrage, former Senior Vice President of Global Affairs at Gap Inc., in Washington Post, 14 July 2002)

Sudan oil drilling on hold despite peace plan -Lundin - Swedish oil exploration company Lundin Petroleum said on Friday any peace agreement in Sudan would not alter its decision to suspend drilling operations there until the end of this year at the earliest....Austrian oil and gas group OMV, a member of the same consortium as Lundin, said on Thursday it was awaiting the results of an independent study of the human rights situation in Sudan before making any decisions when to resume its drilling operations. Lundin said the findings of OMV's report would not affect its drilling schedule. (Reuters, 12 July 2002)

OMV studying human rights situation in Sudan - Austrian oil and gas group OMV said on Thursday it was awaiting the results of a independent study of the human rights situation in potentially oil-rich areas of Sudan, racked by 19 years of civil war...OMV suspended its activities in Sudan in January 2002 after violence escalated and has said it needed assurances that reports the government was using violence to depopulate villages in block 5A in Western Upper Nile and other areas were not true. "We are awaiting the results of our impact study, and on the basis of that we will decide how to proceed," Chief Executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer told Reuters in an interview. "For us, it is important that human rights are respected and this is very much in the foreground," he added. (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, 11 July 2002)

Investment and Human Rights: The Era of Responsibility - As an American oil company [Unocal] heads to court [in USA] for alleged human-rights abuses in Burma, a new era of foreign investment begins in which firms must carefully consider the behaviour of their partners [also refers to lawsuits against Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil] (Murray Hiebert, Far Eastern Economic Review, 11 July 2002)

NIGERIA: Women protesters hold 700 oil workers hostage - At least 150 women protesters have besieged Chevron-Texaco’s main oil export facility in Nigeria’s southern oil region to back demands for jobs for their children...Disruptions of oil operations are common in the Niger Delta oil region, where impoverished local people accuse oil companies and their government partners of neglect despite the huge oil wealth pumped from their land. But this is the first such action taken exclusively by women. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 10 July 2002)

Colombian U'wa Indians brace for new battle -...The $98 million in aid [planned U.S. aid package to train a Colombian army battalion] is aimed at preparing Colombian forces to protect an oil pipeline that runs near U'wa territory from attacks by Marxist rebels, but tribal leaders fear it will spread Colombia's 38-year-old war across their land. (Ibon Villelabeitia, Reuters, 10 July 2002)

Tibet group slams oil giants over China pipeline - Pro-Tibet activists accused oil giants [Shell, ExxonMobil, & Russia's Gazprom] last week of exploiting lands they said were under Chinese occupation, by agreeing to help build a $20 billion gas pipeline in China's Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang. Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the lead partner in the consortium of three oil majors, responded that the project would bring jobs and cash to some of China's poorest areas and help clean up smoggy coastal cities. (Reuters, 9 July 2002)

Australian Embassy Inaction In Indonesia Shooting - The Mineral Policy Institute is today calling for an inquiry into why the Australian Embassy staff in Indonesia took no action after three separate shooting incidents by Indonesian security forces. The shootings left two people dead and five injured at the Mt Muro mine of Australian company, Aurora Gold. (Mineral Policy Institute, 7 July 2002)

African Commission Hands Down Far-reaching Human Rights Decision - Groups hailed Tuesday a sweeping and unprecedented ruling by Africa's premier human rights tribunal that held that the former military regime of Nigeria violated the economic and social rights of the Ogoni people by failing to protect their property, lands, and health from destruction caused by foreign oil companies and the Nigerian security forces. The decision...calls for the civilian-led government, which took power in 1999, to provide adequate compensation to the victims and ensure that future oil development on its territory is closely monitored to ensure the rights of local people. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 3 July 2002)

SUDAN: Focus - Increasing conflict sparks fears of humanitarian crisis -...In a hard-hitting report, the ICG [International Crisis Group] said oil revenues had enabled the Sudanese government to purchase more weapons and adopt "more brutal tactics" in driving civilians out of oil-rich areas. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 3 July 2002)

Rebels Caution India On Sudan Oil Investment - "No company should get involved in exploration or exploitation of oil in Sudan during this time of war, whether it is Indian, Canadian or Chinese. The benefits of this oil do not go to all the Sudanese people"...says SPLA spokesperson Samson Kwaje. (Inter Press Service, 2 July 2002)

Civilians targeted in Sudan war - Tens of thousands of people are fleeing fighting in Sudan's oil-rich region of Western Upper Nile, following the fall of the key rebel-held town of Mankien to government forces in June. The charity Christian Aid says there is clear evidence that civilians are being targeted in the government offensive. (Ishbel Matheson, BBC News, 2 July 2002)

Farm probe to focus on conditions for workers [South Africa] - The SA [South Africa] Human Rights Commission is launching its national inquiry into human rights abuses in farming communities after receiving several complaints from the public. The commission will hold hearings into all aspects of farming. These include farm killings, working conditions, child labour, education, land rights and tenure rights. (Business Day, 2 July 2002)

Development Aggression: Observations on Human Rights Conditions in the PT Freeport Indonesia Contract of Work Areas With Recommendations [West Papua, Indonesia] - This paper is a presentation of observations, conclusions, and recommendations regarding human rights conditions in the PT Freeport Indonesia [majority owned and controlled by US-based mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc] Contract of Work areas in Papua, Indonesia...The presentation below has been circumscribed by Freeport's lack of cooperation and other interference with the assessment process...Some of these violations - such as those caused by environmental destruction - are the direct by-products of Freeport's mining operations. Others - such as physical attacks - are the result of the illegal, indiscriminate, and/or disproportionate use of force against civilians by the Indonesian military and police providing security for and funded by Freeport. (Abigail Abrash, consultant for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, July 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)