Weekly Update - 18 March 2015

Momentum grows on climate, business and human rights

• calls on Gates Foundation & Wellcome Trust to divest
• United Nations backs campaign

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• study based on survey of 853 senior corporate executives
• 83% say business is an important player in respecting human rights; only 22% have public human rights policies

Express Tribune (Pakistan); European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) & Medico International

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Conectas Direitos Humanos, Dejusticia

• response by candidate Catalina Teresa Rivera Díaz (only available in Spanish)

Right2Respect

• related: Oxfam welcomes independent commission reforming intl. corporate taxation to better serve public interest

Eniko Horvath, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, on From Poverty to Power blog

Guardian (UK); BBC

• DRC Prime Minister told BBC that oil firm "Soco had brought the issue of the [national park] boundary to the government’s attention"; Soco says it is not part of discussions

CorpWatch

• we invited Saudi Star to respond; response provided

Washington Post (USA); Human Rights Watch; Citizen Lab

Forest Peoples Programme

Intl. Corporate Accountability Roundtable

NPR; Washington Post (USA)

• 中国：批评中国企业及中央政府处理雾霾手法的纪录片《穹顶之下》被禁播

Associated Press; Reuters; Wall Street Journal; Harpreet Kaur (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)

• related: Survivor of Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh & other labour activists arrested in protest at Children's Place in USA (advocates now released, but trespassing charges have not been dropped)

• includes comments by adidas, Armani, Gap, H&M, Joe Fresh, Marks & Spencer

Malaysian Insider; Bruno Manser Fonds

• we invited Sarawak Energy to respond; response provided

Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice

• commentary: Swiss civil society pushes the envelope on holding companies accountable for abuses abroad, says Liz Umlas

• we invited Mitie to respond; response provided

• we invited Coca-Cola to respond; response provided
• previous responses by Official Partners BP, P&G, Swatch Group also available

• response by Hugo Boss provided
• also available in German: Vorwürfe gegen Hugo Boss: Hungerlöhne und Verstöße gegen Vereinigungsfreiheit in der Türkei und Osteuropa

Daily News Egypt

Centre for Applied Legal Studies & Singapore Management Univ.

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) & African Tax Research Network

• treaty on business & human rights: challenges & opportunities (Geneva, 19 Mar)
• concert in support of the Fair Food Program (St Petersburg FL, 21 Mar)
• panel discussion on child labour in global supply chains (London, 22 Mar)
• course on managing supply chain risks & opportunities (Abu Dhabi, 24 Mar)
• Sedex Global Responsible Sourcing Conference 2015 (London, 25 Mar)

• Accountability Counsel (Office Manager)
• Business in the Community (Corporate Advisor, South)
• Institute for Human Rights and Business (Independent Evaluator)
• Social Accountability International (Summer 2015 Internships)
• Yahoo (Legal Counsel, Business & Human Rights Program)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Conectas Direitos Humanos, Dejusticia

• Respuesta de Catalina Teresa Rivera Díaz; los otros dos candidatos no respondieron

• Nosotros invitamos a Empresas Públicas de Medellín a responder - la respuesta está disponible

Forest Peoples Programme

Red de Observadores de la Consulta Previa en América Latina

Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina

ComunicaRSE

Página 12

Victoria Camarero Suárez & Francisco Javier Zamora Cabot, UJI de Castellón

Sidhdh

El Comercio (Perú)

Perú 21

Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina; Cooperacción

Jeune Afrique

Droit sans frontières

• Le Forum Citoyen pour la Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises dénonce le manque de sanctions si l'obligation de vigilance n’est pas mise en œuvre de manière effective
• L’association française des entreprises privées y voit une menace pour la compétitivité des entreprises françaises

AFP & Le Monde (France)

Canal + (France)

Observatoire des multinationales

L'Humanité (France)

Global Voices

Libération (France)

Sud Quotidien (Sénégal)

• Le Directeur des Mines du Sénégal soutient que c'est impossible pour le moment

Agence Ecofin (Suisse)