Weekly Update - 7 October 2015

Palm oil spotlight

Coconuts Singapore

• local alleged impacts include: pollution, respiratory problems, deaths & displacements 
• deforestation also cited as "major contributor to climate change" globally
• we invited Golden Agri-Resources, Musim Mas, Sime Darby, Wilmar to respond; responses provided

In Profile Daily (Liberia); Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil; Al Jazeera

• decision says company must take steps to seek free, prior & informed consent, "right of communities to say ‘no’ must be respected"
• also makes recommendations on land rights, transparency, security & intimidation
• statement by Golden Veroleum provided - welcomes RSPO decision
• also provided: Al Jazeera report on causes & aftermath of May 2016 riot at company's plantation

(Photo credit: Aidenvironment CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

• statements by Aviva, Bosch, BMW, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, FC Bayern, OMV, SAP, ThyssenKrupp, Vodafone
• if your company would like to make a statement in support of refugees please contact horvath@business-humanrights.org

• victims' voices must be heard in treaty process, says Tchenna Maso, Movement of People Affected by Dams (Movimento de Atingidos por Barragens)

Elizabeth Umlas, Lecturer, University of Fribourg (Switzerland) 

Inside Climate News; DemocracyNow!

• we invited ExxonMobil to respond; response provided

Paul Polman, Unilever & John Bryant, Kellogg Company (on behalf of 93 company signatories)

• other news on business action on climate change:
  • 10 food companies pledge to accelerate actions on climate change & call on govts. to do the same
  • 6 US-based banks call for strong climate agreement in Paris

• mobile app released to put information on "global child labor in the palm of your hand"

Amnesty Intl.

• examines diamond trade's contribution to conflict in CAR, abuses in artisanal mining sector, tax abuse
• report includes responses by Badica, Kardiam, Sodiam

• we invited Vitol to respond; response provided
• also available in German

New Dawn (Liberia)

Guardian (UK); NPR; NOLA.com (USA)

IndustriALL

• we invited Prosegur to respond; we will indicate in a future Update whether it does or not

IndustriALL

• we invited Bata to respond; response from Calzado Sandak (the subsidiary concerned) provided

Fair Action; Phnom Penh Post

• we invited H&M to respond; response provided

Clean Clothes Campaign, Intl. Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), Maquila Solidarity Network, & Worker Rights Consortium; Financial Times

• even H&M's best performing factories have failed to make repairs in mandated timeframes
• H&M's public statement also provided

China Labour Bulletin

Sydney Morning Herald

• senior executives & alleged victims to appear at Senate hearing 
• article includes company comments

Hetq Online

Walk Free; Cotton Campaign; Intl. Labour Rights Forum (ILRF)

BBC

Birleşik Metal

• we invited Türk Traktör to respond; response provided

• also calls on companies to publish environmental impact assessments & related information re switch from gas to coal
• we invited Suez Cement (part of Italcementi) & LafargeHolcim to respond; responses provided

Dr Shane Darcy, Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway; Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR); Electronic Intifida

• one-day courses on the essentials of ethical trade (London, 8 Sep-15 Dec)
• workshops for solicitors on business & human rights (UK locations, 9-13 Oct)
• Oil Justice Project speaker tour (UK locations, 12-23 Oct)
• panel discussion on implementing the SDGs (Geneva, 16 Oct)
• "Ethical Trade and Human Rights Forum" (London, 19-20 Oct)
• "Peoples' Forum on Human Rights and Business 2015" (Nairobi, 26-30 Oct)

• A4ID (Policy Internship)
• Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Training Coordinator)
• Client Earth (Head of Climate Litigation)
• ShareAction (Campaigns/Programme Officer)
• Traidcraft (Senior Policy & Advocacy Adviser)