Weekly Update - 25 March 2015

Forbes, Guardian (UK); Amnesty Intl.; Index on Censorship

• Rafael faces 11 defamation charges brought by 7 Angolan generals & 4 of their business associates over a book detailing 500 alleged cases of torture and 100 killings in a diamond-mining district in Angola 
• trial started 24 March 2015 
• urgent appeal to UN issued by 17 NGOs, including Article 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Intl. Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Natl. Endowment for Democracy, Reporters Without Borders, Transparency Intl.
• also available in Portuguese: Angola: Jornalista e ativista de direitos humanos Rafael Marques vai a julgamento por acusações de difamação por denunciar abusos de direitos humanos na indústria diamantífera

Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID)

• briefing is summary of a forthcoming report
• refers to allegations against Glencore in Democratic Republic of Congo & Acacia Mining (formerly African Barrick Gold) in Tanzania
• we invited the companies to respond;  Acacia response provided, Glencore will respond to the full report when it is released
• response by former UN Special Representative John Ruggie also provided

Guardian (UK)

• company says guidelines support its "aim to be welcomed" in communities where it operates

• BP lawsuits (re kidnapping & torture of  union leader, Colombia)
• Occidental lawsuit (re polllution in Achuar communities, Peru)
• Villaggio Mall lawsuit (re fatal fire, Qatar)

Bloomberg

Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, CEED, Grain, Global Justice Now (Jan 2015 report); Reuters

• company denies report, says it is caught in "political war", has "no way forward"

Red Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos

• unofficial English language translation of Spanish original

Guardian (UK)

• we invited RWE to respond; response provided (unofficial English translation of German original)
• also available in German: Forderungen gegenüber RWE: Energiekonzern soll für Schutzmaßnahmen gegen drohende Flutkatastrophe in peruanischen Anden aufkommen

EarthRights Intl.

Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights

• we invited the companies to respond
• responses by Inditex & Jeans Plus provided
• we will indicate in a future update whether LC Waikiki responds

Community Legal Education Center (CLEC); Cambodia Daily

• we invited Manhattan Textiles & DuPont to respond but they did not

Swedwatch & British Medical Association

• reports that "challenges remain in health & safety"
• we invited companies purchasing surgical instruments from Pakistan to respond
• responses provided from: Dental Directory, DTR Medical, IM-Medico, Instrumenta

Society for Threatened People; Telegraph (UK)

• allegations include: land grabs, lack of consultation & loss of livelihoods
• we invited Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Maalu Maalu Resorts, Dutch Bay Resorts, Anilana Resorts, Jungle Beach Resorts, Sun Aqua Passikudah, Kuoni Group, TUI Group, Hotelplan Suisse, DER Touristik, Studiosus, Thomas Cook,Tour Asia to respond
• responses provided from Hotelplan Suisse, Kuoni Group, Studiosus, TUI Group
• we will note in a future update whether the other companies respond 

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

• also available in German: NGO ECCHR kritisiert Urteile der deutschen Nationalen Kontaktstelle für OECD-Leitsätze für multinationale Unternehmen und mangelhafte Umsetzung empfohlener Abhilfemaßnahmen
• see also: cotton traders reportedly fail to implement German NCP's recommendations on forced labour in Uzbekistan

Coordinating committee of Ierissos against gold mining;  Financial Post (Canada)

• 21 community members indicted for resisting mining project

Oxfam America; Global Witness; Reuters

Daily News Egypt

Reuters

• article includes statement by Vinci denying allegations

Center for Economic and Social Rights; Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

• ethical sourcing forum (New York, 26-27 Mar)
• debate on business policy & human rights in Myanmar (Washington DC, 26 Mar)
• webinar on enhancing engagement with indigenous peoples (online, 26 Mar)
• panel on human rights & corporate liability (Boston, 26 Mar)
• lawyers' training course on intl. development & human rights (London, 28-29 Mar)

• British Institute of Intl. & Comparative Law (Business & Human Rights Intern) 
• Global Witness (Executive Director)
• New Look (CSR Specialist)
• UBS (EMEA Project & Community Affairs Manager)
• UNDP (Expert Dispute Resolution Practitioner, Stakeholder Response Mechanism)

Red Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos; La Jornada; Misión Internacional y Nacional de Observación del caso Zacualpan; Diario de Colima; Proceso

• Reportes sobre criminalización a la defensa del derecho a la tierra en Zacualpan; se obstaculiza Misión de Observación y se hostiga a defensores

CENIDH

AristeguiNoticias

La República (Colombia)

Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos

Confederación Sindical Internacional

Tejido de Comunicación del Pueblo Nasa - ACIN

Reuters

Diario Correo (Perú)

Le Figaro (France); Sherpa; Vinci

Forum Alternatif Mondial de l’Eau

Commission européenne ; Sherpa (France)

Le Figaro (France)

Libération (France)

Basta! (France)

Abidjan.net (Côte d'Ivoire)

Euractiv

Ouest France