Weekly Update - 21 September 2016

Global Witness; Global Diligence; Nadia Bernaz, Middlesex University; Guardian

• no formal extension of jurisdiction, but will particularly consider existing offences such as crimes against humanity committed via environmental harm, land grabs
• company executives & politicians can now be tried for illegal expulsion & environmental destruction, says Global Witness
• Cambodia: A case has been lodged to the ICC against the ruling elite for land grabs & forcible eviction that have affected 770,000 people since 2002

(International Criminal Court building: Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

KnowTheChain

Colette G. St-Onge, Digital Campaigns Officer, ShareAction

Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice

• labour leaders call for decent work opportunities for refugees
• also: “Refugees’ Right to Work and Access to Labor Markets – An Assessment”

International Corporate Accountability Roundtable

Mark P. Lagon & Katharine Nasielski, Freedom House

• Colombia: Civil society assessment finds Natl. Action Plan's points for govt. action & accountability measures are too vague
• Italy: Civil society contribution to Natl. Action Plan emphasises importance of access to remedy
• Podcast: Lack of a Natl. Action Plan weakens corporate accountability in Uganda

Open Society Initiative for South Africa (OSISA), Southern Africa Resource Watch, African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting

• we invited De Beers to respond; response provided

Daily Mail; Congress of South African Trade Unions

• Also see: So. Africa: Human Rights Commission hearings show that mining communities’ grievances "are becoming intense"

Washington Post

TeleSUR

•  statement by Minera Yanacocha only available in Spanish

KQED News; Associated Press

BBC; New York Times; Reuters

• Hall had contributed to a report alleging mistreatment of migrant workers by Natural Fruit Company
• he has received a 3 year suspended jail term & been fined 150,000 baht (USD 4,300)

Institute of Public and Environmental  Affairs

• we invited Disney to respond; response provided

AFP

• fires largely set to clear land for large-scale plantations

Washington Post, China Labor Watch

• statements from Apple & Pegatron included

AFL-CIO; Radio Free Asia; Fortify Rights; Los Angeles Times; Reuters; Foreign Policy; BBC; Human Rights Watch

Livemint

International Labor Rights Forum; Just Style

Guardian; Norilsk Nickel

• statement by Norilsk Nickel included

Mada Masr

United Nations News Centre

The Economist

• 2016 Engaging Business Forum (22-23 Sep, Atlanta)
• legal training programme, incl. business & human rights (23 Sep, Edinburgh)
• business tackling deforestation, focus on Asia (27-28 Sep, Singapore)
• CSR Asia Summit 2016 (28-29 Sep, Hong Kong)
• course on the UK Modern Slavery Act (4 Oct, register by 26 Sep, Manchester)

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (Senior Researcher on labour rights)
• UNICEF UK (Children's Rights and Business Specialist)
• Verité (Emerging Markets Research Program Consultant)
• CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (Executive Director)
• Fair Foods Standards Council (3 posts: Human Rights Attorney; Human Rights Investigator; Human Rights Financial Investigator)
• Center for Constitutional Rights (Advocacy Program Manager)
• Global Witness (Campaign Leader, Myanmar Extractive Industries)