LEAD STORY
Open-ended Intergovt. Working Group publishes revised draft of proposed binding treaty on business & human rights
Open-ended Intergovt. Working Group on Business & Human Rights; RightsasUsual; Action Aid International & 19 CSOs
- Draft will serve as basis for negotiations at the 5th session of Intergovt. Working Group on proposed treaty, on 14-18 October 2019 in Geneva
- This commentary unpacks some of the changes in the new version & commends the preamble's explicit reference to the UN Guiding Principles
- NGOs call on EU to analyse revised draft & engage in negotiations, say revisions address many of EU's previous concerns
Photo credit: United Nations Photo
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AMERICAS
Brazil: Companies complicit in deforestation of the Amazon & violations of indigenous peoples rights, states NGO report
Amazon Watch, Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil-APIB (National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil)
- Report identified northern commercial interests doing business with Brazilian companies that have been fined for environmental crimes in the Amazon
- We invited 55 companies to respond; see the company response box below for a list of respondees & non-respondees, as well as a link to responses
- In its company response, Boa-Franc announced it will stop doing business with a company accused of violating Brazilian environmental laws
Ecuador: Court upholds ruling in favour of the Waorani people to protect half a million acres of Amazon rainforest from oil drilling
SBS News
USA: LGBTQ ex-employees of Dell allege they were discriminated against by the company over their gender identity
NPR
- Article includes comments from Dell
Mexico: Environmental authority orders temporary closure of mining company Grupo Mexico's terminal in Guaymas Port following sulphuric acid spill
El Universal (Mexico)
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EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
Germany: Govt. publishes interim report on how it will monitor companies' compliance with due diligence obligations in NAP
Federal Foreign Office
- Govt. to send monitoring survey to 1800 companies in July/August; NGOs have criticised methodology & called for mandatory due diligence regulation
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Air pollution in Tuzla was twice the legal limit on two thirds of monitored days in 2018 & caused 136 premature deaths that year, says NGO
CEE Bankwatch Network
Germany: Govt. launches "Green Button" social & environmental certification & invites companies to apply
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- Certification includes requirements for both companies & products, using criteria based on UN Guiding Principles & OECD sector-specific recommendations
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Company responses
- Acai GmbH Fine Fruits Club, ASR Group, ABN Amro, Azimut Group, Boa-Franc, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Brandes Investment Partners, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Fidelity, HSBC, ING Group, JPMorgan Chase, Louis Dreyfus Company, Robinson Lumber Company, Storebrand,Tradelink, Vogel Import & Export, Argus Comercio e Exportação de Alimentos, Benevides Madeiras, Marfrig and Minerva re contributing to the deforestation of & human rights abuses in the Amazon
- Boohoo & Amazon re calls to pay living wages in their supply chain
- Pepmaco re alleged attacks on protesting workers
- NXP re investigation of labour & migrant worker abuses
- Pan America Silver re alleged attacks on defenders and denial of indigenous communities
- Yara, Keytrade, Ameropa and Mambo re complicity in health impacts on factory workers
Non-responses
- Bank of America, BlackRock, Brighton Collectibles, Capital Group, Conceria Cadore, Deutsche Bank, ED&F Man, Faeda, Guillemette & Cie, Invesco, Northwest Hardwoods, Rino Mastrotto Group, Santander, Thompson Mahogany Company, Vandecasteele Houtimport and T.Rowe Price re contributing to the deforestation of & human rights abuses in the Amazon
- Sandvine re working with Pakistan Govt. to monitor internet traffic
- Shangai CRED re allegations on clearing the land without prior negotiations with native title holders
- Texas Instruments & Vishay re investigation of labour & migrant worker abuses
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