"Exxon Mobil Fined $21 Million For Violating Clean Air Act 16,386 Times", 27 Apr 2017
A Texas judged ordered Exxon Mobil to pay $19.9 million in fines on Wednesday after finding one of the company's refining and chemical plants illegally spewed millions of pounds of pollutants into the air.Conservation groups Environment Texas and the Sierra Club sued Exxon in 2010, saying the energy giant failed to implement technology that would curb emissions at its Baytown, Texas complex between 2005 and 2013...
U.S. District Judge David Hittner agreed, finding Exxon illegally released more than 10 million pounds of pollutants, including carcinogens and respiratory irritants like sulfur dioxide...
Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, said he believed the ruling was one of, if not the, largest civil penalties ever imposed in an environmental citizen enforcement case...
Exxon challenged the outcome of the suit, saying it "disagreed" with the decision. The company told Reuters news agency it may appeal the ruling...
↧
USA: Judge fines ExxonMobil $19.9 million for illegally releasing millions of pounds of pollutants into air in Texas
↧
Marriott response: Migrant workers in Qatar
↧
↧
InterContinental Hotel Group non-response: Migrant workers in Dubai
↧
Hyatt response: Migrant workers in Dubai
↧
Hilton response: Migrant workers in Qatar
↧
↧
Four Seasons response: Migrant workers in Qatar
↧
Carlson Rezidor response: Migrant workers in Dubai
↧
Accor response: Migrant workers in Dubai
↧
Ethiopia: How protests by locals against land acquisition for investment has been met by brutal crackdown by govt. agencies
"Merciless land grab violence hits women who want peace"
...Atsede Kazachew...is grieving for all her fellow ethnic Ethiopians both Amharic and Oromo, who have been mercilessly killed inside her own country...“The Ethiopian government is engaged in its bloodiest crackdown in a decade, but the scale of this crisis has barely registered internationally…,” outlined UK Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) David Mepham in a June 16, 2016 media release published by the International Business Times. “For the past seven months, security forces have fired live ammunition into crowds and carried out summary executions…” added Mepham...[C]orrupt politics and long range U.S. investors in the region are an integral part of the problem.
Increasing land grabs...play an integral part in high levels of stress for women who normally want to live with their family in peace without struggle. But corruption in leadership levels inside Ethiopia are encouraging land acquisitions that ignores the needs of families who have lived on the same land for centuries. As Ethiopia’s high level business interests continue to be strongly affected by insider deals, under both local and global politics, the way back to peace is becoming more complex and more difficult. Even foreign government advocacy agencies like the World Bank, DFID, as well as members of the European Union, have suffered from ongoing accusations of political pandering and corrupt practices with large based business interests inside Ethiopia...
As regional farmers are pushed from generational land against their will, in what has been expressed as “long term and hard to understand foreign leasing agreements,” ongoing street protests have met numerous acts of severe and lethal violence from government sanctioned security officers.
↧
↧
Actualización Semanal del 27 de abril 2017 : Respuesta de Coca-Cola FEMSA en México | Informe de Responsabilidad Legal Empresarial | Masacre en Brasil | Otras noticias
Acá están las principales noticias sobre empresas y derechos humanos de esta semana. Se incluyen respuestas de empresas y anuncios relevantes.
Lea la Actualización completa
Archivo de Actualizaciones Semanales anteriores
Suscripción a las Actualizaciones
↧
Jordan: Lack of database of work injuries
Lack of comprehensive statistical databases on work-related accidents and injuries
Jordan lacks an accurate and comprehensive database on work-related injuries, accidents, and diseases. The only data available pertain to cases of workers covered by occupational insurance, which only make up roughly half of the national labor force.This gap was disclosed in a statement issued by Jordan Labor Watch—a Phenix Center project—on the occasion of the International Day for Occupational Safety and Health, which is celebrated each year on 28 April…According to the statement, the indicators provided by the Social Security Corporation “do not reflect reality.” As such, the government, more specifically the Ministry of Labor, has been urged to develop a comprehensive database of such cases .. The statement goes on to state: “According to statistical figures released by Daman, occupational accidents and diseases totaled 14,616 in 2015. In 19.4% of cases, those affected were migrant workers, while in 8.7% of cases they were women.”“The manufacturing sector was the one with the largest number of incidents (33.4%), followed by retail (16%), construction (15.6%), followed by hotels and restaurants (10.6%) .. “According to Daman, the number of deaths resulting from work-related injuries reached 135 in 2015—11 of which were women, and 16 migrant workers. However, many cases go unreported, as those involved are not covered by social security.”
↧
Des ONG et organisations syndicales demandent à l’UE d’imposer aux entreprises de vêtements publication des noms de tous leurs fournisseurs pour améliorer les conditions de travail dans les usines
« La Commission européenne doit imposer la transparence des filières d’approvisionnement en vêtements (Lettre ouverte) », 26 avril 2017
…[L’] industrie [de l’habillement] se caractérise par des filières de production et de responsabilité complexes et opaques, composées de nombreux acteurs qui jouent un rôle important à différents niveaux de la production. Le manque de données accessibles publiquement sur ces filières d'approvisionnement constitue depuis longtemps un obstacle à l'amélioration des conditions de travail et du respect des droits humains…
Il est temps d'élaborer [au niveau de l’Union européenne]…une réglementation contraignante et une diligence raisonnable de la part des entreprises en matière de droits humains, conformément aux Principes directeurs des Nations Unies…et aux lignes directrices de l’OCDE pour des filières d'approvisionnement responsables dans le secteur de l’habillement et de la chaussure. À l'heure actuelle, différents Etats membres, dont les Pays-Bas, l'Allemagne et la France, développent des initiatives pour rendre la gestion des filières d’approvisionnement en vêtements plus responsable…
Certaines entreprises d’habillement ont volontairement publié des informations sur leur filière d'approvisionnement. Elles démontrent ainsi que cela ne porte pas atteinte à leur position concurrentielle…
[N] nous, les organisations signataires…appelons l'Union européenne à exiger que les entreprises publient régulièrement les noms, adresses et coordonnées de toutes les unités de production de leur filière d'approvisionnement, y compris les sociétés mères des unités de production.
↧
60 % des investisseurs mondiaux prennent en compte l’impact du changement climatique, selon une étude
« 60 % des investisseurs mondiaux prennent en compte l’impact du changement climatique », 26 avril 2017
Les principaux investisseurs mondiaux prennent de plus en plus en compte les risques financiers liés au climat, mais cette progression se fait de façon inégale. L’Europe fait figure de bonne élève tandis que la plupart des investisseurs américains et chinois continuent d’ignorer les risques et les opportunités que présente le changement climatique. C’est ce qui ressort du dernier classement annuel de l’ONG britannique Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) publié ce mercredi...[Lire la suite: http://www.novethic.fr/empreinte-terre/climat/isr-rse/60-des-investisseurs-mondiaux-prennent-en-compte-l-impact-du-changement-climatique-144371.html] [fait référence à Axa, Caisse des Dépôts, CNP Assurances, Crédit Agricole, Groupama, MAIF, Natixis, SCOR]
↧
↧
日本・ミャンマー：弊社サプライチェーンに対する第三者機関の指摘事項に対する対応と進捗についてのご報告
…1.CSR調達ガイドラインや行動規範の策定を行い、方針を明確にいたしました。今後、弊社サプライチェーンに向けて、方針の理解をはかり、徹底してまいりたいと思います。2.タキヒヨー（株）およびSEINUS CLIQ FASHION Company Ltd.（韓国）、Myanmar SEINUS CLIQ FASHION Company Ltd.（ミャンマー）の責任者とも第三者機関の報告を共有し、現地での改善活動に早速着手しておりますが、上記の弊社の方針を明確にいたしましたので、これに適合した具体的な改善活動につなげたいと考えております。これにつきましては、追って2017年3月下旬を目標に報告申しあげます。…
↧
日本・ミャンマー：弊社サプライチェーンに対するご指摘についての第三者調査機関による調査結果のご報告
…2. 第三者機関調査の結果：国際NGOからのご指摘をいただきました内容も含め、労働者の権利が十分に保障されていない状況が確認されました。…3. 今後の対応：弊社は当該工場に対して、労働者の人権の尊重と適切な労働環境の改善、維持に向けての活動を行って参りたいと考えております。具体的な内容につきましては、2017年1月16日より4週間を目途に取りまとめ、その内容を公開する予定です。…
↧
Wacoal commissioned a study (Japanese) in response to reports of labour rights violations
Lecien, a subsidiary of Wacoal, commissioned an investigation in response to labour rights violations reported on by Human Rights Now. The investigation corraborates some of the allegations, and Wacoal promises to take appropriate action.
↧
Global emergency around 'civic space': Efforts by govts. & non-state actors to shut down growing ability of citizens to organise
"Democracy campaigner: governments are scared of the participation revolution", 25 Apr 2017
...Governments and sometimes non-state actors are going out of their way to shut down the ability of citizens to collectively organise and mobilise, [...] imposing rigid restrictions on NGOs to weaken human rights and pro-democracy groups that seek to challenge authoritarian regimes... [While] we should be very careful bracketing the UK with such places, [...] for most it is clear that this problem is coming west... So why is this happening? ... [One] important theme [is] the internet: ... [civil society organisations] are organising in very different ways with the digital tools at their disposal. That poses a fundamental threat the world over to established power... It may well be that [because] we are at the beginning of a kind of participation revolution... that what we’re seeing is the pushback on the ability of citizens to mobilise.
↧
↧
GeoPost signe un accord mondial sur les droits de l’homme et la liberté syndicale avec UNI Global Union
« GeoPost signe un accord mondial sur les droits humains et la liberté syndicale avec UNI Global Union », 18 avril 2017
La deuxième entreprise de livraison de colis en Europe, GeoPost [filiale de La Poste], la fédération syndicale internationale UNI Global Union et les organisations syndicales françaises qui en sont membres…ont signé, le 14 mars dernier, un accord mondial sur les droits humains fondamentaux et la liberté d’association…Selon le communiqué de GeoPost, le texte confirme les engagements du groupe concernant le respect des droits humains en reconnaissance des Principes et droits fondamentaux au travail de l’OIT, et des Principes directeurs des Nations unies. Dans l’accord, le groupe s’engage à se conformer à toutes les lois nationales…ainsi que les lois et les droits de l’Homme internationalement reconnus, sur tous les marchés dans lesquels il intervient. Il s’engage également en matière de non-discrimination, notamment lors des recrutements et dans sa politique salariale…L’accord consacre tout un chapitre à la liberté syndicale...De son côté, UNI Global Union accepte que les campagnes de syndicalisation incluent des stratégies qui fassent en sorte que GeoPost reste compétitif dans un marché organisé…Le groupe attend de ses fournisseurs et sous-traitants un comportement compatible avec les engagements pris dans l’accord.Les signataires se réuniront deux fois lors de la première année d’application de l’accord-cadre pour accompagner sa mise en œuvre.
↧
Chile: Morddrohung an Avocado-Aktivisten nach Anschuldigungen des Wasserraubs
Nach der Veröffentlichung eines Danwatch Berichts, in dem der Avocadobranche in der chilenischen Provinz Petorca Verstoß gegen Wassergesetze vorgeworfen wird, haben Aktivisten der Organisation Modatima, die zu der Recherche des Berichts beigetragen haben, Morddrohungen erhalten. Der Bericht legt auch dar, wie Avocados aus Petorca über globale Lieferketten ihren Weg in europäische Supermärkte finden.
Wir haben Aldi, Alnatura und Rewe zu einer Stellungnahme eingeladen. Die Stellungnahme von Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord und Alnatura ist untenstehend verfügbar. Rewe bereit eine Antwort vor. Edeka und Lidl äußerten sich zu den Vorfällen in Presseberichten.
↧
Dem. Rep. of Congo: Lush Cosmetics sources cocoa from small but growing farming sector supported by Eastern Congo Initiative
Growing Peace Through Cocoa in Congo, 17 April 2017
Baraka Kasali was born in Congo but spent years studying and living in the United States... [In] his homeland...conflict and economic insecurity have limited access to employment, education and healthcare... There’s officially no war in Congo today, but multiple armed groups continue to terrorize civilians...
...[Growing] or harvesting natural resources can make farmers or producers the undeserving targets of conflict and violence by armed groups. But cocoa is the exception. It’s been described as nearly conflict-proof because the cocoa bean doesn’t become valuable until after it’s fermented and dried, and this takes time and knowledge—neither of which the armed groups have at their disposal...
Kasali [joined] Eastern Congo Initiative—an organization focused on creating opportunities for economic and social development in eastern Congo...[and is helping revitalise] the country’s struggling cocoa industry by helping farmers to produce higher quality cocoa while providing greater access to international buyers. One of those buyers is Greg Pinch from Lush Cosmetics... Pinch traveled to Congo to meet hundreds of farmers in 2016. He learned they had used their fair trade premiums to build a school for their children and infrastructure for storing and sorting cocoa beans. He...is glad to say that the company’s demand for cocoa is steadily increasing every year.... Kasali hopes this will set a precedent for future business in the area. “Companies must listen to the farmers and work with them as partners,” he said. “Lush’s respect for the farmers in eastern Congo is setting a new standard for how companies should engage in the region.”
↧