Weekly Update - 14 October 2015

Rights and Resources Initiative

• report finds 18% of land in 64 countries examined formally recognised as owned by or designated for indigenous peoples; yet indigenous groups claim approx. 65% of that land under customary systems
• includes recommendations on closing the gap between natl. laws, corporate practice & communities' rights
• also provided: UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples' report on impact of intl. investment & free trade on indigenous peoples' rights

(Photo credit: Kilobug)

• key findings include: 92 percent of allegations against German companies that we sought responses to occurred abroad;
• more than a third of allegations were linked to supply chains or business relationships;
• more than a third of allegations involved either the clothing sector (re labour rights) or technology sector (re right to privacy)
• also available in German

Ken Roth, Human Rights Watch and Phil Bloomer, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, in letter to the Guardian (UK)

• new statements by BG Group, E.ON, Volkswagen added to 10 previous company responses; also available in German
• to share a company statement, please contact horvath@business-humanrights.org

"Open For Business" coalition: AT&T, American Express, Brunswick, EY, Google, IBM, LinkedIn, Linklaters, Mastercard, McKinsey, RBS, Standard Chartered, Thomson Reuters, Virgin

• report details economic opportunities of LGB&T inclusion; business risks of operating in environments with discrimination against LGB&T individuals

DIW Berlin, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Climate Foundation & others

Nation (USA); New York Times; Guardian (UK)

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

• identifies 10 key principles to help integrate human rights risk management into contract negotiations between govts. & foreign investors

GreenBiz (USA)

Berne Declaration

• response by Valcambi & rejoinder by Berne Declaration
• we invited Valcambi to respond further; it responded announcing changes to its supply chain due diligence practices
• we also invited Ammar Group to respond; we will indicate in a future Update if it responds

Oil in Uganda

Mail & Guardian (So. Africa)

• univ. workers allege outsourcing to private companies has led to cuts in wages & benefits

Canadian Press

Repórter Brasil

• NGO alleges digital attack is part of a campaign against their work combating forced labour

EarthRights Intl.

• bill also extends time for filing human trafficking claims

• we invited the company to respond; response provided

Reuters

• complaint cites 18 cases of worker & labour rights abuses

Myanmar Times

• we invited the company to respond; it did not

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

• campaign highlights child abuse in detention centres operated by Transfield Services; company response available

Cultural Survival; GCM Resources; UK National Contact Point

• concerns about project include: displacement; lack of free, prior & informed consent; deaths & injuries during protests

European Commission

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

• corruption allegations include supporting govts. linked to human rights abuses
• we invited TeliaSonera to respond; response provided

James Thornton, ClientEarth, on Guardian (UK)

Al Arabiya (UAE)

Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT)

• case study also refers to repression of protesters

• latest speakers list & programme also provided
• Twitter hashtag: #bizhumanrights

• discussion on safe & sustainable supply chains (New York, 15 Oct)
• panel debate on implementing the SDGs (Geneva, 16 Oct)
• "Ethical Trade and Human Rights Forum" (London, 19-20 Oct)
• webinar on land rights & the role of business (online, 20 Oct)
• impacts of natural resource extraction on women's rights (London, 26 Oct)
• "Peoples' Forum on Human Rights and Business 2015" (Nairobi, 26-30 Oct)

• ClientEarth (Head of Climate Litigation)
• Fair Food Standards Council (Human Rights Investigator)
• ShareAction (Campaigns/Programme Officer)
• UNICEF (Consultant, Children’s Rights & Business)
• Verisk Maplecroft (Senior Labour Analyst)