Published 09-09-13
Submitted by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Today the non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is launching in English and Spanish its first regional briefing on “Business & human rights in Latin America & the Caribbean – a round-up of recent developments.”
Download the briefing and its annex here
Mauricio Lazala, the Resource Centre’s Deputy Director, said:
“This briefing provides a reality-based snapshot of companies’ human rights impacts in the region over the past two years. It highlights concerns raised by civil society, company responses to allegations of misconduct, positive initiatives by business, and developments in law, policy, lawsuits, and the international business & human rights framework.”
Subjects in the briefing include impacts on indigenous and afro-descendant peoples, abuses of trade union rights, health & safety abuses, child labour, forced labour, workplace discrimination, industrial pollution and large infrastructure projects affecting health and causing displacement, and tax avoidance affecting human rights. The briefing also refers to human rights lawsuits against companies, for alleged abuses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru.
The briefing’s introduction notes which companies headquartered in the region had the best and worst response rates for the period 4 January 2012 to 7 August 2013, when Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited them to respond to human rights concerns raised by civil society. Of those companies that were invited to respond on more than one occasion, the following six had a 100% response rate: Cerrejón, Emgesa, Grupo Pellas, Grupo Vicini, Minera Real Bonanza and Vale. The following seven companies had a 0% response rate: Capital en Crecimiento, Cemex, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, EcuaCorriente, PDVSA, Telmex and Vetra Energy.
The briefing and annex also show response rates country-by-country for the same time period. Companies headquartered in the following countries in the region responded 100% of the time: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru. Companies headquartered in Ecuador and Venezuela responded 0% of the time, though in each case it was just one company failing to respond. The annex also notes which companies headquartered outside the region responded 100% of the time to civil society concerns regarding their impacts within Latin America & the Caribbean, and which responded 0% of the time – the largest number of firms with a 0% response rate are headquartered in Canada. The annex provides details of all the company responses.
Amanda Romero Medina, the Centre’s Latin America & Caribbean Researcher based in Bogotá, commented:
“There are many challenges in this region: significant abuses by some companies impacting individuals and communities, especially vulnerable populatıons such as indigenous peoples, afro-descendants, women, children and migrant workers. Many civil society organızations work under difficult cırcumstances; some face violence in response to their efforts to protect victims of corporate abuses.
Yet there are positive signs in some countries, including greater awareness that companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, and governments have a duty to protect against corporate abuses. Some governments are providıng better avenues for remedy and redress, and introducing free, prior and informed consent into their public policies. Some companies are embedding the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into their operations. Many NGOs in this region do outstanding work to combat corporate abuses.”
Julia Mello Neiva, the Resource Centre’s Brazil, Portugal & Portuguese-speaking Africa Researcher based in São Paulo, said:
“Many Brazilians have experienced human rights abuses related to businesses’ operations in both urban and rural areas; cases in the briefing from Brazil range from harms related to mega infrastructure projects in cities and the Amazon, to displacement by agribusiness in the vast rural steppes. The country faces many challenges, including in protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to their ancestral lands. There are positive developments as well. Some government agencies have been credited for effective work to combat forced labour. And some companies have started to take steps to embed human rights principles into their operations.”
We will disseminate the briefing worldwide including to civil society groups, companies and governments in the region. We will submit the briefing to the Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, United Nations Working Group on business & human rights, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, IFC, IMF, UNDP and World Bank. We will contact various governments to express concern about those companies headquartered in their country that fail to respond to civil society when human rights concerns are raised, and to note which companies have a good response rate.
Countries: The briefing refers to Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Companies mentioned in this briefing and annex include:
47 Brand | Ecopetrol | Mineros de Colombia |
Abbott | EcuaCorriente | Mitsubishi Corporation |
ADM | Electricaribe | Molinos |
Aeromar | Emgesa | Monsanto |
Aeromexico | Empresa General de Combustibles | Monterrico Metals |
Agencia Nacional de Petróleos (ANP) | Empresas Públicas de Medellín | Motel Marín 014 |
Agrojell | Enami-Ventanas | MPX |
Alcoa | Endesa | Muriel Mining Company |
Anglo American | Enel | Nestlé |
AngloGold Ashanti | Excellon Resources | New Balance |
Antamina | Ferrominera Orinoco | Newmont |
APM Terminals | First Majestic | Nicaragua Sugar Estates |
Aramark | Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas | Nidera |
Arcor | Ford | Nike |
Asomucan | Fortuna Silver | Occidental Petroleum |
Banco Castilla-La Mancha | Forza | Oro Blanco |
Banco do Brasil | Frito-Lay | Pacific Rim |
Banco Espirito Santo | Gas Natural Fenosa | Pacific Rubiales |
Banco Hipotecario | General Motors | Pan American |
Banco Santander | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | PDVSA |
Banpro Grupo Promerica | Gipsyes | PepsiCo |
Barrick Gold | GlaxoSmithKline | Petrobras |
Baterías Record | Glencore Colquiri | Petroperú |
Bavaria | Glencore Xtrata | Petrotrin |
Bayer | Goldcorp | Pfizer |
Benetton | Gran Colombia Gold | Philip Morris |
BHP Billiton | Grand Hotel Tijuana | Piedra de Águila |
Bioparques de Occidente | Grupo El Comercio | Plaza Agua Caliente |
BP | Grupo Eulen | Pluspetrol |
BP Biocombustíveis | Grupo México | Prodeco |
Bradesco | Grupo Pellas | PVH Corp |
Bridas | Grupo San José | Radius Gold |
Buenaventura | Grupo San Pedro Tarapacá | Refinor |
Bunge | Grupo Vicini | Renco |
Caixabank | Guardagolfo | Repsol |
Candente Cooper | Heineken | Río Blanco Copper |
Capital en Crecimiento | Hidralia Energia | Rio Tinto |
Cargill | Hidro Santa Cruz | Samic |
Carlos Casado | Higia | Santa Rita de Autopeças |
Castro-Limón | Holcim | Seaboard |
Catatonia | HSBC | Servicios Mineros de Centroamérica |
CDP El Cuero | Hudbay Minerals | Shell |
Cementos Argos | Incovi | Siderúrgica Paz del Río |
Cemex | Inditex | Sodexo |
Cerrejón | Infinito Gold | Southern Cross |
Chevron | Ingenio Azucarero Guabirá | Syngenta |
China Railway | Inland & Offshore Contractors Limited | Tahoe Resources |
Chiquita | Invercaixa | Teck |
Cirigliano Group | ISA | Telefónica Telecom |
CMPC | Isagen | Telmex |
Coca-Cola FEMSA | Itaú Unibanco | Total |
Codelco | Jumi | Total Austral |
Colmotores | Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA) | Transocean |
Comisión Federal de Electricidad | Kinross Gold | Trenes de Buenos Aires |
Consorcio Duquesa | La Cumplida | US Capital Energy |
Consórcio Norte Energía | La Nación | Vale |
Constructora González | La Veloz del Norte | Venalum |
Cosan | Lafarge | Vestas |
CPFL Energia | Life is Good | Vetra Energy |
Daimler | Macquarie | VF Corporation |
Del Monte | MAG Silver | Walmart |
DJ Orthopedics de México | Maple Energy | Welch Allyn México |
Doe Run | Mareña Renovables | Wilson Sons |
Dole Food | Mattos Filho Advogados | Xstrata |
Dreyfus | McDonald’s | Xstrata Copper |
Drummond | Medanit | Yanacocha |
DuPont Pioneer | Mercedes-Benz | Ypacaraí |
DynCorp International | Minera Cuzcatlán | YPF |
Eco Oro Minerals | Minera Real Bonanza | Zara |
To discuss the briefing, please contact:
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre tracks the human rights impacts (positive & negative) of over 5000 companies in over 180 countries. We seek responses from companies when concerns are raised by civil society. The response rate is over 70% globally. Advocates thank us for bringing global attention to their concerns and for eliciting responses from companies. Companies thank us for providing them the opportunity to present their responses in full. This process often leads to real improvements on the ground. We also provide guidance materials to assist NGOs, companies, governments and others.
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Mary Robinson chairs our 70-member International Advisory Network. Our 23 Academic Partners include leading academic institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
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The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is a Registered Charity in England & Wales (no. 1096664), and in the United States is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Resource Centre is an independent non-profit that promotes greater awareness and informed debate about human rights issues relating to business. Our website is updated hourly with news and reports about companies’ social and environmental impacts worldwide, including alleged abuses, positive steps, and company responses to concerns raised about their conduct. The site has sections on over 4000 companies. It also includes special resources such as all materials issued by the UN Special Representative on business & human rights; a list of companies with human rights policies; profiles of lawsuits against companies. Mary Robinson is Chair of our International Advisory Network. Visit the website for further details and to sign up for free Weekly Updates. See website for contact details of our New York office and team members in Hong Kong, India, South Africa, UK, Ukraine, USA
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