"Child Labour in the Supply Chain of LafargeHolcim in Uganda: Unresolved Issues"
For more than 10 years, LafargeHolcim and its suppliers benefited from child labour among artisanal miners who supplied raw materials...to the company in Uganda. Following a public scandal...LafargeHolcim stopped buying [from] artisanal miners and decided to work only with mechanised mines.
Bread for All and...Twerwaneho Listeners' Club (TLC) carried out an investigation following this scandal. Our investigation found out that...since Hima Cement stopped buying raw materials from artisanal miners, most children who dropped out of school lost their income. The increased unemployment led to higher [incidences of] theft in the communities and...more school drop out...
In this respect, LafargeHolcim does not meet the minimum requirements of the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights...according to which companies should use their leverage on the suppliers to provide remediation in the case of negative human rights impacts...LafargeHolcim should work with its suppliers to implement programmes that enable former child labourers to return to school or receive vocational training in order to generate another source of income.
↧
Uganda: LafargeHolcim urged to take responsibility for former child labourers supplying its subsidiary with raw materials
↧
Webinaire : Mécanisme des points de contact nationaux des Principes directeurs de l’OCDE
Les Principes directeurs de l’OCDE pour les entreprises multinationales sont un instrument unique car ils incluent un dispositif de mise en oeuvre composé :
D’une part d’un mécanisme de recours – les instances spécifiques : tout acteur, quelque soit son pays, peut déposer une question relative au comportement d’une entreprise auprès du PCN (Points de contact nationaux, dans les 46 pays membres de l’OCDE) du pays de l’entreprise. Le PCN examinera la question, y apportera une réponse et essaiera si nécessaire de faciliter une résolution consensuelle (ex. médiation).d’une part des Points de contact nationaux (PCN) ;
Des Points de contact nationaux – ces points de contact dans les pays membres de l’OCDE reçoivent et instruisent les recours, et font la promotion des Principes directeurs.
Maylis Souque nous présentera, à travers l’exemple français, le rôle et le fonctionnement des PCN, et le fonctionnement du mécanisme des instances spécifiques en s’appuyant sur des exemples.
↧
↧
Uganda: LafargeHolcim urged to remediate for child labour in its subsidiary's supply chain; includes Hima Cement's response
A report by Bread for All & Twerwaneho Listeners' Club has called on LafargeHolcim to take responsibility for former child labourers who have been supplying raw materials to its Uganda subsidiary for over 10 years. In its response, Hima Cement has denied existence of child labour in its supply chain.
↧
Australia: World Trade Organization says restrictive packaging law is a legitimate public health measure in dispute against tobacco companies
"Australia wins landmark WTO tobacco packaging case, reports", 5 May 2017
A landmark Australian law on restrictive tobacco packaging has [reportedly] been upheld at the World Trade Organisation [WTO]...
The news is a blow to the tobacco industry as such a ruling from the WTO has been widely anticipated as giving a green light for other countries to roll out similar laws...
The Australian law...[bans] flashy logos and distinctive-coloured cigarette packaging...with brand names printed in small standardised fonts.
Tobacco firms said their trademarks were being infringed, and Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Indonesia complained...that the rules constituted an illegal barrier to trade...
Although the WTO's final ruling is not expected until July, a confidential draft [interim report] said Australia's laws were a legitimate public health measure...
British American Tobacco...suggested..."As there is a high likelihood of an appeal by some or all of the parties, it's important to note that this panel report is not the final word on whether plain packaging is consistent with international law,"...
[Also refers to Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International]
↧
“Tribunal dio vía libre a consulta popular minera en Pijao, en Quindío”
11 de mayo de 2017
Luego de varios traspiés, este jueves se conoció que el Tribunal Administrativo del Quindío declaró constitucional la consulta popular en el municipio de Pijao…Ahora, los más de 6.000 habitantes irán a las urnas en unos dos meses y se les preguntará: "¿Está de acuerdo, sí o no, con que en el municipio de Pijao se desarrollen proyectos y actividades de minería de metales?"…Mónica Flórez, promotora de la consulta popular, señaló que “esta es una noticia determinante no solo para Pijao sino para todo el departamento, hemos estado esperando este fallo por casi dos años. Tenemos mucho camino aún por recorrer”…Flórez agregó que los 23 títulos mineros que hay vigentes en ese municipio amenazan la vocación agrícola de esta población…En octubre del 2016, la Corte Constitucional falló a favor una tutela interpuesta por Flórez contra el Tribunal del Quindío, que declaró como inconstitucional la pregunta que se había formulado meses atrás. Esa sentencia fue noticia, pues la Corte Constitucional advirtió que los entes territoriales sí pueden prohibir la minería…Además de Pijao, los municipios de Calarcá y Córdoba buscan realizar una consulta popular por iniciativa de sus alcaldes para hacer freno a la minería.
↧
↧
Colombia: Avanzan procesos de consulta popular en contra de la minería a cielo abierto, pero sigue amenaza de minería “ilegal”; empresas piden seguridad jurídica
En medio de discusiones que tienen que ver con la autonomía otorgada por la Corte Constitucional a los municipios para decidir por vía de consultas populares si aceptan o no hacer minería a cielo abierto, se mantiene la amenaza de la minería “ilegal” (de oro, carbón y otros minerales) a vastos territorios. En medio de este panorama, las empresas aducen que enfrentan problemas por la “inseguridad jurídica”. Se refiere a AngloGold Ashanti
↧
Colombia: Sacerdote católico denuncia amenazas de muerte por paramilitares dedicados a la minería “ilegal” y el narcotráfico
“Amenazan de muerte a sacerdote de López de Micay en Cauca” -10 de mayo de 2017
El…sacerdote Killian Cuero, quien ha venido trabajando en la defensa de los Derechos Humanos de los habitantes de esa zona del departamento del Cauca, fue amenazado de muerte por un hombre que además le dio la orden de abandonar el municipio…según la denuncia de la Comisión de Justicia y Paz…La denuncia y la amenaza se dieron después de un evento convocado por la gobernación del departamento del Cuaca y el programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo PNUD…[donde] el padre Killian denunció la difícil situación que afrontan las comunidades de la zona, debido a la presencia de paramilitares que pretenden el control de los territorios…[Los] grupos de neo-paramilitares sostienen un accionar en toda la región Pacífica y…dicha presencia y control tendría[n] que ver con las rutas del narcotráfico y el desarrollo de operaciones de minería ilegal…El padre Killian Cuero, quién también es integrante de las Comunidades Construyendo Paz en los Territorios, CONPAZ, ha respaldado las acciones de paz de los habitantes de la región y ha hecho eco de las denuncias que también se han realizado por parte de las familias que habitan la zona rural del municipio…
↧
Guatemala: Pescadores protestan por contaminación de lago de Izabal y responsabilizan a minera y palimicultora
“El Estor: El lago de Izabal en serio peligro por la contaminación de las empresas”, 9 de Mayo de 2017
…Durante siete días los pescadores artesanales de la gremial del lago de Izabal de las comunidades de El Estor…denunciaron la contaminación del lago de Izabal y las autoridades estatales no hicieron nada para investigar a las empresas productoras de Palma Africana y minería. Los pescadores responsabilizan directamente a las empresas Compañía Procesadora de Níquel de Izabal, S.A. (Proinco) y Naturaceites de ser responsables de evacuar sus desechos tóxicos sobre varios afluentes que están contaminando el lago de Izabal. Con esto no solo contaminan el lago si no que al mismo tiempo asesinan a los peces y otras especies en el lago…
↧
Pizza Hut pide disculpas por “inapropiado anuncio” que se burlaba de huelga de hambre de líder palestino
“Pizza Hut, en el centro de la polémica por burlarse de la huelga de palestinos presos en Israel” 10 de Mayo de 2017
…Activistas de la causa palestina han llamado a boicotear a Pizza Hut después de que la rama israelí de la cadena de restaurantes compartiera en las redes sociales una imagen con la que se burlaba del líder de la huelga de hambre que realizan los palestinos presos en las cárceles israelíes…La franquicia publicó el lunes en su página oficial de Facebook una imagen, difundida anteriormente por las autoridades penitenciarias israelíes, que supuestamente demostraría que el preso palestino Marwan Barghouti rompió el ayuno que se había impuesto…El anuncio no tardó en generar críticas…A su vez, el movimiento Boicot, Desinversión y Sanciones a Israel (BDS) también pidió boicotear a la empresa a escala mundial por haberse burlado del líder preso…Tras la ola de críticas, la compañía eliminó el anuncio y publicó una disculpa en su página internacional de Facebook, calificando el anuncio de "completamente inapropiado" y asegurando que "no refleja los valores de la marca"…
↧
↧
Nigeria: Workers in the oil industry embark on protest action against "anti-labour practices in Mobil" following the sacking of 83 employees
"Anti-labour practices in Mobil: Workers to cut 660,000bpd oil production in Nigeria", 11 May 2017
[W]orkers, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria [PENGASSAN], have started gradual withdrawal from oil and gas installations belonging to Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, the Nigeria’s ExxonMobil arm...Addressing the workers during the picketing of ExxonMobil Office in Lagos on Wednesday, the PENGASSAN Lagos Zonal Chairman, Comrade Abel Agarin, said there has been gradual shutting down of the plants in Mobil locations all over the country...“By Friday, other International Oil Companies such as Chevron, Shell, Addax, Total and Agip and indigenous oil companies will join"...Members of PENGASSAN started a three-day warning strike on Wednesday to protest the refusal of the ExxonMobil management to honour an agreement reached during a tripartite meeting with the senior staff union and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity. They said in the agreement brokered by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, the management agreed to review the sack of 83 employees in December and that none of the workers that participated in a protest in December will be sanctioned for their actions...“Without honouring the agreement, the management went ahead to suspend other union leaders in the company that took part in the December protest [Agarin said]...
↧
So. Africa: Northam Platinum Mine files court application to have entire village banned from protesting following disagreements over company's employment policies
"South Africa: Entire Village Issued With Court Interdict Following Mining Company's Application", 11 May 2017
The entire Ngwaabe village in the platinum belt was issued with a court interdict, preventing any member of the community from protesting against Northam Platinum Mine's employment policies. The judge later limited the interdict to four members of the community, and they applied to appeal his decision. The origins of the dispute date back to June 2015 when Northam Platinum, which operates the Booysendal mine, was negotiating with various communities about employment at a number of its mines along the platinum belt...[T]he Ngwaabe community then decided to organise a protest against Northam. But, a day later, Northam applied for an interim interdict against the entire village of Ngwaabe. The interdict was expansive in that it covered everyone living in Ngwaabe Village and prevented them from engaging in a range of protest activity, including some legal protest actions...There are a number of points of conflict between the versions given by Northam and the Ngwaabe community. According to Northam, the respondents arranged and participated in violent protests and marches on the mine. It was these violent protests that prompted Northam to apply for an interdict. However, the community insisted that the protests they were involved in were not violent, and that the photographs Northam used as evidence of the "violent" protests were actually photographs of protests organised by the task team...Many mining companies use their wealth to obtain expansive interim interdicts against communities based on very little evidence. The communities then have to live under the interdict until they can obtain a court date and attempt to have the interdict withdrawn.
↧
France : Une commission préconise des mesures de dissuasion pour lutter contre les procédures bâillons
« Rapport sur les procédures bâillons », 20 avril 2017
Depuis plusieurs années, des enseignants-chercheurs sont l’objet de plaintes en diffamation ou en dénigrement [y compris par des entreprises], à la suite de leurs travaux scientifiques publiés dans des revues académiques ou dans la presse généraliste. Ces plaintes, dénommées « procédures bâillons », ont manifestement pour objet ou pour effet de porter atteinte à leur liberté d’expression...
La protection fonctionnelle n’est pas un instrument suffisamment puissant ni efficace pour dissuader les procédures bâillons. Son déclenchement, aléatoire, intervient souvent trop tard, à l’issue d’une procédure juridictionnelle que l’agent aura dû engager...
...[L]la commission...a décidé d’émettre deux catégories de propositions. En premier lieu, des propositions qui, en amont, tendent à renforcer la situation des enseignants-chercheurs contre des actions en diffamation et en dénigrement, et qui constitueraient, si elles étaient retenues, des mesures de dissuasion contre les atteintes à leur liberté d’expression. En second lieu, des propositions qui, en aval, tendent à améliorer la protection des enseignants-chercheurs lorsqu’une action en justice, action en diffamation ou en dénigrement notamment, est exercée contre eux à la suite de l’expression de leur liberté d’opinion...
↧
Full report
“Media outreach campaign minimises land grabbing”
In 2009 the government of Malawi started promoting commercial agriculture and supporting the acquisition of land on behalf of investors interested in conducting large-scale farming. This took place profusely in areas such as the Chikhwawa and Nkhotakota districts along the Shire River and Lake Malawi respectively, whose soils are fertile and conducive particularly to sugarcane cultivation. As a result of this, pressure on land in these areas increased massively, leading to elites scrambling for land in these areas to benefit from financially…This trickled down to the village level, and manifested itself in local chiefs using their power to grab land from members of their communities, and selling the land to investors and elites. This became a major problem as entire communities, in losing their land, lost their livelihood.
LandNet Malawi collaborated with eight media houses…to launch a media campaign and raise awareness nationally on this situation. Together, they visited the affected areas to hear the villagers’ accounts with regards to what happened to their land, and also to find out what was being done in response to the challenges they were facing.
↧
↧
Malawi: Report on how media campaign reduced cases of land acquisition for agribusiness at the expense of peasant farmers
In Chikhwawa and Nkhotakota Districts in Malawi, there have been grave reports of land grabbing and land related conflict due to the expansion of sugarcane cultivation. LandNet Malawi conducted a successful media campaign resulting in the minimisation of land grabbing and dispossession of inhabitants of their land.
↧
Kenya: Court orders G4S to compensate former employee for wrongful dismissal after she complained of sexual harassment at workplace
"G4S to pay Sh35m for illegal sacking, sexual harassment"
A Labour Relations Court has ordered G4S security company to pay a former employee Sh35 million for wrongful dismissal after she refused her boss’s sexual advances. Saida Mbonika filed a lawsuit against the G4S company and her boss Dominic Ooko after he dismissed her without following procedure. In her application, she told court she was employed by G4S in 1996 in the Information Technology department...She said the company was required to give her a conducive working environment free from sexual discrimination, and not discriminate her because of her gender. But in 2003, Ooko advertised her position as vacant. He hired a man who was handed another position after she protested about being replaced.
The court heard that between 2005 and 2006, her boss made sexual overtures and persistently commented about her body and dressing style even after Mbonika asked him to stop. He frequently sought her company and when she refused, he withdrew her office driver. The matter was later reported to her superior who directed that G4S managing director Ken Wood resolve the case. But Wood dismissed the matter and said the issue was trivial.
Justice Nelson Abuodha said G4S neglected to investigate Mbonika’s complaints and showed bias and discrimination by abetting and condoning Ooko’s unlawful actions. “Considering that the claimant’s services could have been brought to an end for any valid reason by both parties, an award of two years’ salary would reasonably compensate the claimant,” the judge said in his ruling.
↧
アメリカ/日本:ダコタ・アクセス・パイプラインの最終融資に関して
米国で論議を呼んでいるダコタ・アクセス・パイプライン(DAPL) について、トランプ政権はゴーサインを出した。この融資には日本の3つの金融機関、三菱東京UFJ銀行 、みずほ銀行 、SMBC日興証券が参加している。銀行がプロジェクトへの融資に最終的にサインすることは、深刻な人権侵害に手を貸すことであり、プロジェクトによる壊滅的な影響に直接な責任を有することであるといえる。
↧
Toronto Dominion Bank responded re: Dakota Access Pipeline
[Business & Human Rights Resource Centre was referred to the following statement, issued on 9 May:]
... TD commissioned Foley Hoag to better understand the complex issues involved in the Dakota Access Pipeline. ... The summary of the recommendations are publicly available, and we believe they provide valuable guidance to the industry, especially around engagement with indigenous peoples and bridging the gap between current US law and international industry best practices. ... TD is reviewing its due dilligence policies and making improvements, where appropriate. ...
↧
↧
SMBC Nikko Securities did not respond re: Dakota Access Pipeline
↧
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ did not respond re: Dakota Access Pipeline
↧
Mizuho response re: Dakota Access Pipeline
[Business & Human Rights Resource Centre was referred to the statement by Mizuho Americas, updated on 2 Feburary 2017:]
Following President Trump's executive memorandum and the directive from the Secretary of the Army, Mizuho Americas continues to review the situation closely as events unfold. We remain deeply committed to upholding our social responsibilities and continue to encourage all parties to work in a collaborative, safe and respectful dialogue. ...
↧