Weekly Update - 3 September 2014

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, in openGlobalRights - observations from this blog are based on a mission we carried out to Bolivia and Chile in July 2014

• response from Andy Hall to Thai Pineapple Industry Association provided (in English & Thai)
• public petitions by SumofUs, LabourStart, Walk Free
• Business Social Compliance Initiative and Ethical Trade Initiative join calls to drop charges

Independent (UK)

• Reprieve says G4S work at Guantanamo might "contribute to ongoing human rights violations" at prison

• see details about where to buy book & endorsements
• reserve a place at 29 Sep public panel discussion in London, hosted by Amnesty Intl. on issues arising from book 

• submissions by International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, Danish Institute for Human Rights, International Organisation of Employers & others

Reuters

• Khulumani was one of the original plaintiffs (the litigation is a consolidation of several lawsuits)
• also provided: case profile of lawsuit

• highlight repercussions on climate, local livelihoods

allAfrica; 100Reporters; Leverhulme Centre for Study of Value

• Briggs Bomba of TrustAfrica says illicit capital outflows deprive poor countries of revenues that could be used to "fight poverty, build infrastructure, improve livelihoods"
• we invited De Beers to respond; response provided

Mining in Malawi

UOL (Brazil)

• only in Portuguese: Angola: Ações trabalhistas contra a Biocom, filial da Odebrecht, apontam supostos abusos de direitos humanos; a empresa nega

Inter Press Service

Guardian (Nigeria)

Guardian (UK)

• includes workers from Burger King, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut & other chains

International Allies Coalition Against Mining in El Salvador

• we invited B2Gold to respond - response provided

AIDA Americas

• measures requested from govt. include medical care & environmental controls

BBC Mundo

Adital

• only in Portuguese: Brasil: Debate acerca de abusos de direitos humanos por empresas e sua relação com a violência no campo

InfoMoney (Brazil)

• only in Portuguese: Brasil: BRF, dona da Sadia e Perdigão, condenada por condições degradantes de trabalho

Bloomberg

• researchers question the value of certifications, including EDGE

CCTV

Irrawady (Myanmar)

Reuters; Star (Malaysia)

• 42 arrested in riot - workers accuse company of negligence after death of an employer

Survival International; Caravan (India)

• we invited Vedanta to respond - response provided

Economic & Political Weekly (India)

Times of India

• we invited NXP to respond to the rejoinder - response provided

• also provided: commentaries by Access, International Service for Human Rights

Blue & Green Tomorrow

Guardian (UK)

• analyses how responsible purchasing by UK companies can improve working conditions & standard of living for farmers & workers

IndustriALL; Intl. Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions

• Selex Galileo (part of Finmeccanica Group) response provided

Wall Street Journal (USA)

• includes company comments

Guardian (UK)

• UNICEF report estimates that 1 in 10 Syrian refugee children is working

• European Society of International Law workshop on business & human rights (Vienna, 3 Sep)
• seminar on transparency and good governance (Melbourne, 4 Sep)
• due diligence in the private security industry - webinar (9 Sep)
• corporations, global food system and human rights (Oslo, 11-12 Sep)
• human trafficking, human rights and business - webinar (16 Sep)
• "African Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights" (Addis Ababa, 16 Sep)
• workshop: practical guide to business and human rights (London, 17 Sep)
• conference on CSR & the legal profession (London,18-19 Sep)
• course on implementation of United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by businesses (Frankfurt, 23 Sep)
• gender equality, human rights and business - webinar (24 Sep)
• business engagement workshop on IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (Washington DC, 25 Sep) 
• training course on stakeholder engagement (Frankfurt, 25 Sep)
• "14th Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative Workshop" (San Francisco, 29-30 Sep)
• conference on preventing corporate/community conflict (Barcelona, 1-3 Oct)
• "Responsible Electronics 2014" (Burlingame, 1-2 Oct)

• ACCESS Facility (Internship)
• Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Managing Director)
• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (New York-based intern)
• Corporate Accountability Intl. (Associate Research Director)
• Fairtrade Intl. (Projects Manager)
• H & M (Supply Chain Sustainability Manager) 

AIDA y APRODEH

Centro Humboldt (Nicaragua)

• Nosotros invitamos a la empresa a responder - la respuesta está disponible en inglés

EFE

El Tiempo; Coordinación Colombia-Europa Estados Unidos

Pablo D’Alo Abba & Cristian Harbaruk

El Tiempo de San Juan (Argentina)

El País (Costa Rica)

Agencia Venezolana de Noticias

Reuters

IndustriALL

• Nous avons invité Apple et NXP à répondre aux accusations. NXP y a répondu (seulement en anglais). Apple n'y a pas répondu.

La Dernière Heure (Belgique)

Fratmat.info (Côte d'Ivoire)

Financial Afrik (Mauritanie)