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Weekly Update - 19 November 2014

Lead Story

Ending poverty wages in the global garment industry


Cambodia: Govt. sets new minimum wage in garment sector; unions & activists say it is inadequate & does not represent a living wage

IndustriALL; Cambodia Daily


Living wage - a golden thread for human rights in the garment industry

Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre


Experts discuss how to achieve fair wages in the fashion industry

Guardian Sustainable Business


Guest Blog: Climbing the ladder to a living wage - Fair Wear Foundation’s Wage Ladder 2.0

Kees Gootjes, Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)

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International
GSK & Novo Nordisk top 2014 Access to Medicines Index

One week left to register: UN Forum on Business and Human Rights (Geneva, 1-3 Dec; register until 26 Nov)
  • Sudan-born telecoms entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim announced to chair Forum
  • visit #UNForumWatch to follow & contribute to civil society dialogue on Forum
  • also: UN Working Group invites NGOs to stakeholder consultation, 27 Nov
UK Court documents allegedly show Shell warned about “risk and hazard” of pipeline before oil spill that devastated livelihoods of Bodo community in Nigeria

BBC; Newsweek

  • Shell dismisses suggestion it knowingly continued to use a pipeline that was not safe to operate
UN Working Group submits report on National Action Plans to UN General Assembly

Investors commend HP for setting a high bar to eliminate forced labour in its global supply chain

Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility

Africa
UK Court documents allegedly show Shell warned about “risk and hazard” of pipeline before oil spill that devastated livelihoods of Bodo community in Nigeria

BBC; Newsweek

  • Shell dismisses suggestion it knowingly continued to use a pipeline that was not safe to operate
Kenya: Court suspends oil exploration in Wajir county until case brought by locals alleging they will be displaced by drilling is heard & decided

Daily Nation (Kenya)

  • govt. signed agreement with Lion Petroleum, Taipan Resources & Cooperation, Premier Oil 
So. Sudan Govt. responds to Global Witness report criticising its post-independence oil deals & says it has been transparent

StarAfrica.com

Americas
Canada announces new corporate social responsibility strategy for extractives abroad integrating UN Guiding Principles

Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development

  • commits to withdraw support, including export credits, for companies "that do not embody CSR best practices", refuse to participate in dispute resolution 
US court dismisses Alien Tort case against Occidental & AirScan over alleged complicity in Colombian bombing

Reuters


New on our blog: Restoring Dignity - addressing the disproportionate impacts of business on women in Latin America

Amanda Romero-Medina, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre


Brazil: 11 NGOs issue rejoinder to Brazilian Development Bank's (BNDES) response on impacts of its investments
Asia & Pacific
Indonesia: IndustriALL calls on Rio Tinto to publicly state what it will do to end worker health & safety deaths at Grasberg mine

IndustriALL

  • we invited Rio Tinto to respond; response provided
  • IndustriALL has indicated it plans to submit a rejoinder to Rio Tinto's response
Indian court re-issues summons to Dow over Union Carbide's failure to appear regarding Bhopal disaster

Hindustan Times; Amnesty Intl.


Thailand: Military turns up in lawyer-client meeting on dam case & says permission is required for each future meeting with clients

Prachatai English (Thailand)

  • villagers are bringing lawsuit re transboundary impacts of Xayaburi Dam in neighbouring Laos
Japan: 10,000 complaints "tip of the iceberg" - govt. to conduct national inquiry on sexual harassment & pregnancy discrimination in workplace
  • unofficial English language summary of original Japanese articles by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Europe & Central Asia
Germany launches development of National Action Plan on business & human rights

Spain publishes report on its implementation of UN Guiding Principles

Carmen Márquez Carrasco (ed.), Univ. of Seville; Ministry of Economy and Finance, Spain 


UK Member of European Parliament, Richard Howitt, emphasises need for access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses

European Coalition for Corporate Justice

Middle East & North Africa
Global Child Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (Dubai, 13 Nov)

Global Child Forum and Boston Consulting Group; Gulf News; Arabian Business


Qatar Govt. holds workshop on business and human rights, in co-operation with UN Working Group

Peninsula Qatar


Turkish stock exchange launches its first sustainability index

IR Magazine; Borsa Istanbul

Company responses
Events
Forthcoming events:
  • conference on children, human rights and environmental justice (London, 22 Nov)
  • forum on business sustainability and investment in South Asia (Colombo, 25-27 Nov)
  • 3rd Annual Forum on Business & Human Rights (Geneva, 1-3 Dec)
  • conference on measures to tackle human trafficking in the UK (London, 2 Dec)
Details of these and other events further in the future can be found here.  Please send relevant event information to Sam Whannel: whannel@business-humanrights.org
Jobs
Vacancy at Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Other current vacancies: Further details and other recently posted jobs available here.  Please send job announcements to Sam Whannel: whannel@business-humanrights.org
Español
América Latina: Organizaciones de mujeres analizan impactos diferenciales de género por operaciones empresariales en sus territorios

Amanda Romero Medina


Tercer Foro de la ONU sobre las empresas y los derechos humanos (Ginebra, 1-3 de diciembre 2014)

Colombia: Organizaciones opositoras a Hidro Sogamoso denuncian nuevas amenazas

Aguas para la Vida – Movimiento Ríos Vivos (Colombia)

  • Respuesta de Isagen
Colombia: Corte estadounidense rechaza caso contra Occidental y AirScan por masacre de Santo Domingo en 1998

Caracol (Colombia)


América Latina: ONG hacen réplica a la respuesta del BNDES sobre impactos de financiación e inversiones en megaproyectos


Comentario: Las empresas privadas militares pueden ser responsables de abusos de derechos humanos, como en el caso Blackwater

Centro de Colaboraciones Solidarias (España)


Colombia: Cámara Colombo-Americana dice que los empresarios son claves en la lucha contra el trabajo infantil

Portafolio (Colombia)


Argentina: Empresario multado por trabajo infantil en panadería

APF Digital (Argentina)


Twitter adopta política contra la discriminación de género y hechos violentos

Minuto Uno (Argentina)


Chile: Mujer transgenerista demanda a cadena de gimnasios por discriminación

El Mostrador (Chile)


Índice del 2014 sobre Acceso a las medicinas dice que GSK y Novo Nordisk son líderes

Access to Medicines Index

Français
Un reportage dénonce les conditions dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement des téléphones portables en Chine et RDC

France Télévisions; Le Nouvel Observateur (France); ZDNet (France)

  • Apple, Huawei, LG, Samsung, Sony répondent aux allégations dans le reportage
  • Nous avons invité Alcatel One Touch (filiale de TCL Communication) et Alcatel-Lucent à répondre aux allégations. Leurs réponses sont disponibles
Troisième Forum annuel de l'ONU sur les entreprises et les droits de l’homme (Genève, 1-3 décembre)

Niger: La société civile exige la publication des nouvelles conventions minières signées avec Areva

Coordination Exécutive du Réseau des Organisations pour la Transparence et l’Analyse Budgétaire (ROTAB); Ouestaf.com (Niger)


Shell admet que la pollution privant des communautés nigérianes de leurs moyens de subsistance était plus importante que prévu

AFP


Un tribunal indien assigne de nouveau Dow en justice quant au défaut de comparution d’Union Carbide au sujet de la catastrophe de Bhopal

Amnesty Intl.


Les dirigeants de grandes entreprises africaines se mobilisent contre Ebola

Commission économique pour l'Afrique des Nations Unies; RFI


GSK & Novo Nordisk en tête d’un classement sur les initiatives des entreprises pharmaceutiques pour améliorer l'accès aux médicaments dans les pays pauvres

Access to Medicines Index

 

Seuls 3 pays ont pris des mesures pour endiguer l’esclavage moderne des chaînes logistiques des entreprises basées dans leur pays, selon une ONG

AFP

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We take no position on views by commentators, organizations & companies in the materials in this email: http://business-humanrights.org/en/about-us/disclaimer
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