International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

      Red Internacional para los Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales

                  Réseau international pour les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UN Human Rights Norms for Business: Briefing Kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) is a collaborative initiative of groups and individuals from around the world working to secure economic and social justice through human rights. ESCR-Net seeks to strengthen the field of all human rights, with a special focus on economic, social and cultural rights, and further develop the tools for achieving their promotion, protection and fulfillment. By facilitating joint actions, enhancing communications and building solidarity across regions, the network seeks to build a global movement to make human rights and social justice a reality for all.  For more information on the activities of ESCR-Net, please visit our website at: http://www.escr-net.org/.

 

*ESCR-Net is a project of The Tides Center, a nonprofit public charity exempt from federal income tax under Sections 501 (c) 3 and 509 (a) 1 of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

    

 

 

 

 

UN Human Rights Norms for Business: Briefing Kit

 

January 2005

 

 

 

 

Purpose of this Briefing Kit

We are eager to share this Briefing Kit on the UN Human Rights Norms for Business (UN Norms).  We hope that it will be a useful tool for education, advocacy and lobbying.  A table of contents on the next page will guide you through the information sheets, issue-oriented appendixes, and case studies.   

 

We encourage you to use and to distribute this Briefing Kit.  The UN Norms represent an important step towards greater corporate accountability.  Before and during the next Commission on Human Rights (March-April 2005), the lobbying efforts of many groups will be necessary to support the ongoing development and implementation of the UN Norms.  We also hope that many groups will begin to use the UN Norms as a framework for documenting and challenging corporate human rights abuses, for assessing national legislation and implementation, and for related efforts to build corporate accountability.  

 

We look forward to working with you over the coming months.  To become involved in collective efforts to support and to utilize the UN Human Rights Norms for Business, we encourage you to join the Corporate Accountability Discussion Group, by sending a blank email to ESCR-corp-accountability-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  Other possibilities for action are outlined in Information Sheet 4: How to Take Action. 

 

 

 

Contributors to this Briefing Kit

This briefing kit has been compiled and drafted by the International Network for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), in partnership and close collaboration with:

·         Justiça Global-Global Justice Center (Brazil)

·         Centro de Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente-Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA, Argentina)

·         Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

·         Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID)

·         Amnesty International

·         Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (Australia)

·         FORUM Menschenrechte (Germany). 

We would also like to express thanks to Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP, Nigeria) and Habitat International Coalition-Housing and Land Rights Network (Egypt) for sharing information and documents that informed this project.  Finally, we are grateful to Human Rights Watch for contributing materials for a case study.

 

UN Human Rights Norms for Business

Contents of Briefing Kit

 

 

 

Information Sheet 1: Why We Need the UN Human Rights Norms for Business:

 An Overview                                                                                                   4

 

Information Sheet 2: History of the Efforts in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms

                                     for Business                                                                                                   5

 

Information Sheet 3: Key Recommendations in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms

                                     for Business                                                                                                   6

 

Information Sheet 4: How To Take Action in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms    

 for Business                                                                                                   7

 

Information Sheet 5: Further Resources regarding the UN Human Rights Norms

 for Business                                                                                                   8

 

 

 

Case Studies of Corporate Abuses and the Value of the UN Norms

 

• Case Study 1: The Construction of the Candonga Dam and the Communities of Santa

 Cruz do Escalvado, City of Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, Brazil (Global

 Justice Center)                                                                                              9

 

• Case Study 2: Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), DOW Chemicals and the Bhopal

 Communities in India (Amnesty International)                                               12

 

• Case Study 3: Placer Dome and the Marinduque Mine, the Philippines (Oxfam

 Community Aid Abroad)                                                                                 15

 

• Case Study 4: SHELL Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) and the

 Community of Rukpokwu, Rivers State, Nigeria (Amnesty International)     17

 

• Case Study 5: Use of Caterpillar Bulldozers in House Demolitions in the Occupied

 Palestinian Territories (Human Rights Watch)                                             19

 

 

 

Appendixes on Specific Aspects of the UN Norms

 

• Appendix 1: Engendering the UN Human Rights Norms for Business (WEDO)                 21

 

• Appendix 2: Environment, Communities, and the UN Human Rights Norms

          for Business (CEDHA)                                                                                     22

 

Information Sheet 1: Why We Need the UN Human Rights Norms for Business: An Overview

 

With the recent wave of economic globalization, corporations have become powerful actors, able to shape policy and to operate across national boundaries, limiting the capacity of individual governments to consistently regulate corporate activities.  Largely due to challenges from civil society against corporate human rights abuses, a number of voluntary initiatives have been developed over the past couple decades.  While representing a valuable first step, these voluntary standards often lack international legitimacy; have no independent monitoring; and do not provide adequate accountability mechanisms.  Very few codes refer to human rights, and if they do so, it is only in general terms.  The UN Human Rights Norms for Business (UN Norms) represent an important step forward, providing a common and comprehensive international statement of the human rights responsibilities of companies.

 

What are the UN Human Rights Norms for Business?

Written in consultation with unions, business and NGOs, the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (UN Norms), were adopted by the Sub-Commission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in August 2003.  While recognizing the primary role of States in guaranteeing human rights, the UN Norms identify the key human rights responsibilities of companies (Article 1).  In doing so, the UN Norms create an important advocacy tool for NGOs, assist government efforts to establish compatible and socially beneficial regulatory regimes across national boundaries, and can be used as a benchmark for corporate conduct, helping corporations to improve their human rights performance. This common, minimum standard will create a level-playing field for all companies, while leaving ample scope for the more enlightened and progressive companies to adopt higher standards.

 

What issues do the UN Norms cover?

The UN Norms address the human rights responsibilities of businesses within their ‘spheres of activity and influence.’  These responsibilities include ensuring equal opportunity and non-discrimination; not violating or benefiting from the violation of the security of persons; protecting workers’ rights, including freedom from forced labor and exploitation of children, safe and healthy working environments, adequate remuneration, and freedom of association; avoiding corruption and maintaining transparency; respecting economic, social and cultural rights; and ensuring consumer protection, public safety, and environmental protection in business activities and marketing practices, including observance of the precautionary principle.  The UN Norms also outline potential steps for implementation and enforcement.

 

What is the legal status of the UN Norms and how do they relate to other standards and initiatives that address the human rights responsibilities of corporations?

The UN Norms are not an international treaty open to ratification by States; therefore, they are not legally binding on states or corporations.  However, for the most part, the text of the UN Norms draws on existing human rights law and principles, which embody moral and political commitments of governments and corporations and represent standards of law in development.  The UN Norms were drafted with a normative tone via a formal, consultative UN process.  By compiling and framing the human rights responsibilities of business, the UN Norms provide a comprehensive document that can be used by human rights advocates, companies and governments and referred to by national and international tribunals.

 

How can the UN Norms be strengthened by the Commission on Human Rights?

From 14 March-22 April 2005, the UN Commission on Human Rights will consider the UN Norms and the report that it requested from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).  This report will outline the scope and legal status of current standards and initiatives regarding the human rights responsibilities of business, as outlined in consultations with diverse stakeholders.  In response, the Commission can request the continuation of consultations led by OHCHR.  These consultations would ideally strive for regional and gender balance and the inclusion of impacted communities.  Most importantly, the Commission can work towards adopting and implementing a universally applicable set of norms, built on the UN Norms.

Information Sheet 2: History of Efforts in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business

 

Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID), Amnesty International, and ESCR-Net launched a campaign in support of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business in 2004, in concert with other corporate accountability groups and coalitions.

 

Advocacy at the Commission on Human Rights 2004

The objective of the first phase of the campaign was to ensure that the UN Commission on Human Rights refrained from any rushed judgment or consideration of the UN Norms, approved by the Sub-Commission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in August 2003.  A Statement of Support (available at: http://www.escr-net.org/EngGeneral/unnorms2.asp) was endorsed by nearly 200 NGOs, trade unions, businesses, and 175 individuals from around the world, and was delivered during the 60^th Session of the Commission (April 2004). Due to this strong endorsement – together with the critical push of NGOs in Geneva –and despite opposition from business associations and some governments, the Commission decided for the first time to place the human rights responsibilities of companies on their agenda.

 

Collective Submissions to and Consultations with OHCHR 2004

The Commission on Human Rights requested that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) compile a report that identifies options for strengthening corporate accountability standards and for possible means of implementation regarding companies' responsibilities with respect to human rights. OHCHR consulted with multiple stakeholders, including ESCR-Net. In response, we drafted and compiled a collective report, composed of the contributions of thirty ESCR-Net members.  Based on our final report and collective recommendations, the ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Working Group is beginning to undertake advocacy and lobbying efforts in preparation for the next Commission.

 

As an initial step, over fifty groups and individuals endorsed the Joint Submission to OHCHR on the Human Rights Responsibilities of Business (http://www.escr-net.org/GeneralDocs/Joint_Submission%20_en.pdf), which emphasizes the importance of the UN Norms and the need to strengthen corporate accountability with regard to human rights. The Joint Submission combines our shared recommendations and an overview of key issues; it was presented to OHCHR during two consultations in October 2004.

 

Education, Documentation, and Implementation

Discussions and seminars on the UN Norms at the Social Forum of the Americas, the European Social Forum, and the World Social Forum, have been complemented by expert meetings and the efforts of individual organizations.  Ongoing education of civil society groups and workers, as well as governments and corporations, is essential for the implementation and growing legitimacy of the UN Norms. 

 

Another important step is to roll out the UN Norms by beginning to use them in practice – for groups to be able to document their own cases as well as contribute toward the strengthening of the Norms by applying them.  Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) is analyzing and attempting to apply the UN Norms with reference to women.  Fundación Centro de Derechos Humanos y Ambiente (CEDHA) has proposed assessing and strengthening national legislation in light of the UN Norms.  Utilizing the framework of the UN Norms, ESCR-Net is eager to support communities impacted by corporate abuses in documenting, publicizing and advocating their cases.

 

Commission on Human Rights 2005

Prior to the 61^st Session of the Commission on Human Rights, from 14 March to 22 April 2005, civil society groups have an important role to play in ensuring that their government representatives to the Commission are aware of the UN Norms and their importance in protecting workers, communities, and national sovereignty while strengthening corporate accountability for human rights.  The Commission will consider the report of OHCHR and identify options for strengthening corporate accountability with regard to human rights.  As groups lobby their governments before and during the Commission in support of developing the UN Norms, the set of recommendations in this kit will hopefully serve as a common platform.  To take further action or to become involved in lobbying efforts, please see the sheet entitled: ‘How to Take Action.’

Information Sheet 3: Key Recommendations in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business

 

The following recommendations were outlined in a Joint Submission to UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Human Rights Responsibilities of Business, endorsed by over fifty organizations and individuals, and presented by NGOs to OHCHR during consultations in October 2004.  During these consultations, members of the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) and other NGOs emphasized the importance of a common, international standard setting out the human rights responsibilities of business, based on the UN Norms.  Recognizing the short timeframe and lack of resources for consultation, we noted that further time and resources for consultation should focus on grassroots civil society groups and social movements, particularly in developing countries.  Additionally, echoing multiple submissions to ESCR-Net, we stressed the importance of implementation and accountability, beginning with the use of existing human rights mechanisms.  As stated in the Joint Submission, we encourage OHCHR to:

 

• Call for an extension of the reporting and consultation process beyond the 2005 session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, to ensure that in-depth analysis of the issues can be developed by OHCHR, with a view to enabling the Commission to have the time and the research necessary to adequately address this important topic.

 

• Ensure that the process of consultation is open, transparent and effective, and that the consideration of the human rights responsibilities of transnational corporations and related business enterprises will be continued.  Ideally, this will lead to growing awareness and clarification amongst different actors of the human rights responsibilities of business.

 

• Recognizing the limits of diverse voluntary standards and initiatives, press for the establishment and endorsement of a common, international standard setting out the human rights responsibilities of business.  The UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, approved by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, should form the basis for this normative framework, as the leading example of a detailed code of human rights standards applicable to companies.

 

• Clarify that while states have primary obligations to promote, respect, protect, and fulfill human rights, transnational corporations and other business enterprises have corollary human rights responsibilities within their spheres of influence.  These human rights responsibilities are not new; however, they are beneficially outlined in The UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights.

 

• As an initial step towards implementation and enforcement of greater corporate accountability with regard to human rights, develop mechanisms to review and assess the success of individual corporations in meeting their human rights responsibilities.

 

In accepting these recommendations, we encourage the UN Commission on Human Rights to pursue a process that will lead to the adoption of a universal, international standard based on the UN Norms.  In order to address outstanding issues and to further explore mechanisms for implementation, we encourage the Commission to continue multi-stakeholder consultation led by OHCHR.  Consultation should be transparent and open to all stakeholders, with OHCHR ensuring regional and gender balance and the participation of impacted communities.  We also encourage the appointment of a special advisor to the Secretary General, recommended by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in order to provide expert advice on existing international law relating to business and human rights, to clarify concepts like corporate complicity and sphere of influence, and to offer options for future development.  This process should be reviewed yearly by the Commission until the adoption of a common international standard, based on the UN Norms and able to ensure protection of human rights and effective remedies and redress in the case of violations.

 

Information Sheet 4: How to Take Action in Support of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business

 

• Share this briefing kit with other groups in your region or networks.  Join and encourage others to join the ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Discussion Listserv to stay informed about efforts in support of the UN Norms.  We encourage you to copy and distribute this briefing kit.  An electronic copy of this briefing kit is available at: http://www.escr-net.org/EngGeneral/unnorms1.asp.  Our hope is that it will serve as a resource for communities and workers, while inspiring groups to begin to utilize the UN Norms in their analysis and advocacy.  In order to participate in ongoing discussions and efforts in support of the UN Norms, we encourage you to join the ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Discussion Group by sending a blank email to: ESCR-corp-accountability-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

• Agree to lobby your government officials in support of the UN Norms prior to the next UN Commission on Human Rights and send the outcomes of your meetings with government representatives to ESCR-corp-acct-wg@yahoogroups.com.  Before the UN Commission on Human Rights, from 14 March to 22 April 2005, we hope that many groups will become active in lobbying their government in support of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business.  Lobbying efforts could be directed to heads of country delegations to the Commission on Human Rights, heads of missions in Geneva, key parliamentarians, and national human rights institutions.  A list of the Member States of the 61^st Commission on Human Rights is available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/docs/61chr/2005members.doc.  Efforts might valuably be focused on Regional Coordinators for the Commission: Mr. Fisseha Yimer (Ethiopia) for Africa, Mr. Hyuck Choi (Republic of Korea) for Asia, Mr. Zhorab Mnatsakanian (Armenia) for Eastern Europe, Mr. Luis Alfonso de Alba (Mexico) for Latin American and the Caribbean, and Ms. Mary Whelan (Ireland) for the Western Group.  The Commission also has a Bureau, chaired by Mr. Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia, which might be addressed; the full membership is available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/docs/61chr/2005bureau.doc.

 

The materials in this kit will ideally provide a basis for lobbying.  However, we also encourage you to send an email to ESCR-corp-acct-wg@yahoogroups.com if you are planning to undertake lobbying efforts, so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available.  During the Commission, the support of groups in their home countries will continue to be vital.

 

• Attend the 61^st UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.  Although lobbying prior to the Commission on Human Rights is particularly important, we are eager to have a significant presence in Geneva to support the UN Norms, to meet with delegations, and to attend sessions of the Commission.  Our hope is to have a coordinated effort during the Commission, with regular NGO meetings in Geneva and email briefings for groups working in their home countries.  If you are able to be in Geneva, from 14 March to 22 April 2005, please let us know by sending an email to ESCR-corp-acct-wg@yahoogroups.com. 

 

• Begin to use the UN Norms as a tool for education, monitoring, documentation, implementation and advocacy.  We encourage you to join a strong number of groups eager to find collective ways to advocate for greater corporate accountability for human rights.  These efforts might include organizing common days of action, collecting and publicizing case studies regarding corporate violations, or participating in solidarity actions with affected communities.  The UN Norms provide a common, international framework that can be used for documenting and challenging corporate abuses, for strengthening government legislation, and in advocacy for greater implementation of corporate accountability.  A number of groups working to strengthen corporate accountability are connecting through the ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Discussion Group and its associated Working Group; please join us by sending a blank email to: ESCR-corp-accountability-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  We are eager to support and share applications and analyses of the UN Norms, building on the Case Studies and Appendixes below.

Information Sheet 5: Further Resources regarding

 the UN Human Rights Norms for Business

 

The following resources may be beneficial for those who want to learn more about the UN Human Rights Norms for Business (UN Norms) or who wish to be involved in strengthening corporate accountability by supporting and applying the UN Norms.  Importantly, hundreds of organizations are working to strengthen corporate accountability and to support and utilize the UN Norms.

 

UN Human Rights Norms of Business with Commentary

If you are receiving a printed copy of this briefing kit, the UN Norms and their associated commentary are contained at the end of Amnesty International’s 2004 report, ‘The UN Human Rights Norms for Business: Towards Legal Accountability.’  Otherwise, the UN Norms and their commentary are available at:

English
UN Norms: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/08/PDF/G0316008.pdf?OpenElement
Commentary: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/18/PDF/G0316018.pdf?OpenElement
Spanish
UN Norms: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/11/PDF/G0316011.pdf?OpenElement
Commentary: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/17/PDF/G0316017.pdf?OpenElement
French

UN Norms: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/09/PDF/G0316009.pdf?OpenElement

Commentary: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/15/PDF/G0316015.pdf?OpenElement

Arabic

UN Norms: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/06/PDF/G0316006.pdf?OpenElement

Commentary: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G03/160/13/PDF/G0316013.pdf?OpenElement

 

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights & UN Commission on Human Rights

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has a homepage on the UN Norms, including links to the submissions that it received in preparation for its report to the 2005 Commission on Human Rights, at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/globalization/business/reportbusiness.htm.  For those eager to learn more about the 61^st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Member States, available documents, and possibilities for NGO participation, OHCHR hosts a homepage at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/sessions/61/index.htm.

 

The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net)

ESCR-Net has a Working Group on Corporate Accountability, coordinated by Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) and members of Amnesty International and World University Service-Forum Menschenrechte.  Information on their Campaign to Strengthen Corporate Accountability, documents related to the UN Norms, and copies of this briefing kit in English, Spanish, and French are available at: http://www.escr-net.org/EngGeneral/unnorms1.asp.  To get involved in the campaign and to share information on the UN Norms and other efforts, please join the Corporate Accountability Discussion Group by sending a blank email to ESCR-corp-accountability-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Amnesty International

Amnesty International’s Economic Globalization and Human Rights homepage is available at: http://web.amnesty.org/pages/ec-index-eng.  This site contains a series of reports and case studies, as well as resources on the UN Norms, including their 2004 report, ‘The UN Human Rights Norms for Business: Towards Legal Accountability,’ in English, Spanish, and French.

 

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre is an independent, international, non-profit organization, which strives to promote greater awareness and informed discussion of important issues relating to business and human rights.  Its online library covers over 1800 companies, 160 countries, and 150 topics, including a large section on the UN Norms, at: http://www.business-humanrights.org/Home.

 

Case Study 1: The Construction of the Candonga Dam and the Communities of Santa Cruz do Escalvado, City of Rio Doce (Minas Gerais, Brazil)[1]

 

Prepared by the Global Justice Center, et. al.

 

The Case

On June 23, 2004, the Candonga Consortium - a Brazilian company formed by the Vale do Rio Doce company and the Canadian-owned Alcan Alumínio do Brasil, to administer the hydroelectric project on the Doce river - began to fill the reservoir with the intent to start operating the dam by September 2004.

 

For the Candonga Consortium, the operation of the dam represents the fulfillment of their project to generate cheap energy for their industrial operations in Brazil.  For Alcan in particular, which owns a 50% stake in the Consortium, this dam, represents one step towards a long-term project of generating their own energy for its aluminum factories. While Alcan generates only 10% of its own energy today, it aims to produce 60% in year 2007.[2]

 

Prior to reaching the operational stage of the dam project, a series of administrative and legal procedures are required by Brazilian authorities. Some of the legal requirements established in these proceedings have been satisfactorily fulfilled, and others have been only partially completed.  Nonetheless, many requirements remain unfulfilled.  With respect to the issues established in the pre-operations administrative and legal proceedings which remain incomplete, the report reveals a series of irregular practices and suspicious conduct on the part of Brazilian authorities.

 

Practically speaking, the commencement of operations at the dam is a tragedy for the families and workers who have lived in the Doce River Valley for over 300 years and for the environment of Minas Gerais, Brazil.  The flooding of their homeland represents a final defeat in their six-year struggle against the Candonga Consortium to preserve the River and their cultural heritage and to ensure their social and economic survival.   This case reveals the role played by multinational corporations in the developing world, where they pursue resources and projects in ways that would not be permitted in their home countries.

 

Responsibility of Alcan, the Candonga Consortium and the Brazilian government

Alcan and the Candonga Consortium have acted unfairly, abusively and violently towards the communities affected by the construction of the dam on the Doce River throughout the negotiation, installation, licensing, and operation processes.  The Consortium has shown a serious lack of transparency in their dealings with the families and the government in the Candonga project.  Their tactics for negotiating with residents in the affected communities have relied on psychological pressuring, creating a great deal of stress and anxiety and aggravating physical and mental health problems of members of the communities.  Indeed, Alcan and its partner have forcefully destroyed the residents’ houses, lands, and fundamental lifestyle in a rural Brazilian village, abruptly transferring the residents to a modern and urban city environment, where they now live completely detached from their social and cultural references, without any access to the river, with no means of subsistence and with no hope of economic prosperity and personal and professional development.  

 

Well aware of these occurrences, some of which were even officially sanctioned by opinions and reports issued by the Minas Gerais State Foundation for the Environment (FEAM), the Brazilian authorities should have put an end to the undertaking immediately.  Instead, the government abandoned its responsibilities and became complicit in the actions of the Consortium through its successive approval of licenses.  As such, by permitting those abuses, by choosing to endorse the option of constructing a hydroelectric project on the Doce River, by issuing all the approvals and administrative licenses and by lifting all legal impediments to the final operation of the dam, the municipalities of Santa Cruz do Escalvado and of Rio Doce, the State of Minas Gerais, and the Federative Republic of Brazil have failed to comply with their constitutional and legal obligations and in doing so have violated their duty to ensure adequate standard of living and adequate housing conditions to the population as provided for in international conventions.

 

Human Rights Violated in the Candonga Case: Violations to the Right to Adequate Housing

Since the first political decision to give to foreign private multinationals the power and legal authorization to build a hydroelectric project to the adoption, supervision and follow-up of compensation and resettlements policies, the whole process was permeated with irregularities and was characterized by a complete disregard for the local populations and the environment. It led to the complete exclusion and impoverishment of the communities, the degradation of their housing and sustainability conditions, the lack of access to natural resources and the loss of their material, cultural, historical and affective patrimony developed over 300 years in the Doce River Valley. Among various components of the rights to adequate housing, the case violates the following components:  Legal security of tenure; Threats, pressures, violence and harassment throughout the negotiation process and during the relocation process; Availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; Affordability; Habitability; Accessibility; Cultural Adequacy.

 

Other violated rights in this case were:  Right to a Healthy Environment[3] ; Human Dignity[4] ; Right to Work[5][6]; Public Participation[7].

 

The Candonga case points out the need for an international human rights mechanism that can be applied to companies directly. Such a norm would even strengthen domestic laws already in place, which are avoided or dumped all together because of poor law enforcement, supervision and transparency.

 

The UN Norms

Briefly, in relation to the present case, the following articles of the UN Human Rights Norms for Business would clearly apply to the violations committed by the Candonga consortium, thus providing the victims a further benchmark in their struggle for justice and human rights:

 

A. General obligations

1. States have the primary responsibility to promote, secure the fulfillment of, respect, ensure respect of and protect human rights recognized in international as well as national law, including ensuring that transnational corporations and other business enterprises respect human rights.

 

B. Right to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory treatment

2. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall ensure equality of opportunity and treatment, as provided in the relevant international instruments and national legislation as well as international human rights law, for the purpose of eliminating discrimination based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion, national or social origin, social status, indigenous status, disability, age - except for children, who may be given greater protection - or other status of the individual unrelated to the inherent requirements to perform the job, or of complying with special measures designed to overcome past discrimination against certain groups.

 

E. Respect for national sovereignty and human rights

10. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall recognize and respect applicable norms of international law, national laws and regulations, as well as administrative practices, the rule of law, the public interest, development objectives, social, economic and cultural policies including transparency, accountability and prohibition of corruption, and authority of the countries in which the enterprises operate.

 

11. (…) Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall refrain from any activity which supports, solicits, or encourages States or any other entities to abuse human rights.

 

12. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall respect economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights and contribute to their realization, in particular the rights to development, adequate food and drinking water, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, adequate housing, privacy, education, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and freedom of opinion and expression, and shall refrain from actions which obstruct or impede the realization of those rights.

 

G. Obligations with regard to environmental protection

14. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall carry out their activities in accordance with national laws, regulations, administrative practices and policies relating to the preservation of the environment of the countries in which they operate, as well as in accordance with relevant international agreements, principles, objectives, responsibilities and standards with regard to the environment as well as human rights, public health and safety, bioethics and the precautionary principle, and shall generally conduct their activities in a manner contributing to the wider goal of sustainable development.

 

H. General provisions of implementation

18. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall provide prompt, effective and adequate reparation to those persons, entities and communities that have been adversely affected by failures to comply with these Norms through, inter alia, reparations, restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for any damage done or property taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case Study 2: Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), DOW Chemicals and the Bhopal Communities in India

 

Prepared by Amnesty International (as PUBLIC ASA/20/005/2005)

 

The Case

On the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal owned by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)’s Indian affiliate Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). The gases that leaked consisted mainly of at least 24 tons of poisonous Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) and other reaction products, possibly including toxins such as hydrogen cyanide, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide. 

 

In the next 2-3 days more than 7,000 people died and many more were injured. Over the last 20 years at least 15,000 more people have died from illnesses related to gas exposure. Today more than 100,000 people continue to suffer chronic and debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective.

 

Efforts by survivors’ organizations to use the US and Indian court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful. The transnational corporations involved – UCC and Dow Chemicals (which took over UCC in 2001) – have publicly stated that they have no responsibility for the leak and its consequences or for the pollution from the plant. UCC continues to refuse to appear before the court in Bhopal to face trial and the Indian Supreme Court-endorsed final settlement has left survivors living in penury.

 

The impact on human rights

Thousands of people in Bhopal were denied their right to life, and tens of thousands of people have had their right to health undermined. Those struggling for justice and the right to a remedy in Bhopal have been frustrated in their efforts. Thousands of poor families have suffered illness and bereavement, further impairing their ability to realize their right to a decent standard of living. Women facing social stigma as a result of gas exposure have been denied their right to freedom from discrimination. Those who were exposed to the gas, and those around the plant who continue to be exposed to contaminated water, have been denied their right to a safe environment.

 

Role of Union Carbide Corporation

UCC owned 50.9% of the equity of UCIL, and maintained extensive corporate, managerial, technical and operational control over UCIL.  Despite that, since the leak UCC has argued that the Bhopal plant was not under its control or management, and that UCIL was responsible, prior to the leak

The company decided to store quantities of the “ultra-hazardous” MIC in the Bhopal plant in bulk, but did not equip the plant with the corresponding processing or safety capacity. On the night of the gas leak crucial safety systems were not functional.