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Up one levelDriven by Corporate Social Responsibility?
The situation in the DRC might be the gravest example of how mineral extraction can fuel conflict and suffering, but is certainly not the only one. Throughout the global south, local communities, workers and the environment are suffering from the consequences of mining operations. Issues such as land expropriation, mining in environmentally fragile areas, contested water use and contamination, community tensions, child labour and forced labour, and hazardous working conditions can be found in numerous mining operations. Examples include the mining of cobalt in the southern region of the DRC, platinum mining in South Africa, tin mining in Indonesia, etc.
Mobile Phone Production in China
One of every two mobile phones is manufactured in China. In 2008 makeITfair published a report about factories supplying the big brand name companies with components for their mobile phones. This follow-up re-examines two of the factories where workers took to the streets in 2007 protesting against unacceptable and illegal working conditions. Since then a new owner, who took over the plants in 2008, has invested and made efforts to set up management systems and to improve conditions at the sites.
E-Waste
In the past two years the often illegal export of waste from electric and electronic equipment (‘e-waste’) to developing countries has received considerable attention. Partly thanks to agenda-setting efforts of NGOs like Greenpeace and the Basel Action Network, concern has arisen regarding the hazardous environmental and health effects of irresponsible disposal and recycling of these wastes at Asian and African destinations (e.g. China, Nigeria, Ghana).
OECD Watch Quarterly Case Update Autumn 2009
One new OECD complaint has been filed by NGOs since June 2009. Wake Up and Fights for Your Rights, Madudu Group, supported by FIAN, lodges complaint against Neumann Kaffee Gruppe with the German NCP regarding forced evictions in Uganda. Two OECD complaints have been closed. The Australian NCP has issued a final statement in Cerrejón Coal case against BHP-Billiton, Anglo-American, and Xstrata. An agreement has been reached with one local community, however, the issues at five other communities remain unresolved. The Dutch NCP has closed the Shell Pandacan case in the Philippines without a mediated resolution. The detailed final statement upholds the claim that Shell has violated OECD Guidelines’ clause on disclosure of non-financial information but dismisses the two other claims made by the complainents. Final statements are expected soon in the BTC case.
The deficits of the EU financial reforms
Almost one year after financial market turmoil triggered a financial and economic crisis in the countries of the European Union (EU), many reforms of the financial sector are still not in place and destabilising practices are continuing.
Rethinking Liberalisation of Banking Services under the India-EU Free Trade Agreement
The European Union (EU) and India are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) which encompasses liberalisation and deregulation of financial services. This paper wants to raise policy issues that run much deeper than the current liberalisation debate and consider who will benefit and who will lose from the FTA.
An Oversight of Selected Financial Reforms on the EU Agenda
This working document provides an overview of some important decisions and discussions about the reform of the financial sector which still needs to take place at the level of the European Union (EU) from September 2009 onwards. Most of them were already announced in the Commission Communication of 4 March 2009 for the Spring European Council, 'Driving European Recovery’. This working document does not deal with the rescue packages of banks and insurance companies, nor with the stimulus packages to deal with the economic crisis that resulted from the financial crisis.
buy IT fair
Sustainable procurement can be a powerful tool in the drive towards more sustainability in the Electronics supply chain.
OECD Watch Quarterly Case Update Summer 2009
NGOs have filed three new complaints against companies for the breach of the OECD Guidelines. CIPCE has just filed a new case against Skanska for its involvement in a gas pipeline project in Argentina. In May ForUM and Friends of the Earth Norway have filed a complaint against Cermaq ASA for unsustainable production, bad employment conditions and human rights violations in Canada and Chile. Survival International has already filed a complaint against Vedanta Resources for prospective environmental and human rights violations from the construction of a bauxite mine in India. Final statements are expected in the cases against Shell in the Philippines and Cerrejón Coal in Colombia.
Computer Connections
Only 15 years ago most families in the Western world did not own even one PC. Nowadays, in many European countries we find multiple computers per household, with even individuals sometimes owning more than one PC. The recent production of small and relatively cheap notebooks, like the Acer EEE PC, is contributing to this trend.
OECD Watch Quarterly Case Update Spring 2009
A new case is filed by Framtiden i våre hender (Future in Our Hands) against Intex Resources for environmental violations relating to the construction of a nickel mine and factory in the Philippines. The complaints filed against Netherlands-based SHV Holdings, Shell Argentina, Shell, Statoil and Marathon Oil are recently accepted. The Korean NCP rejects complaint against Daewoo International and Korea Gas Corporation on all counts. Cases against the BTC Consortium, Skanska, Cerrejón Coal, Shell Philippines are still pending. The cases against Alcoa/Votorantim (Brazilian NCP), Toyota Motor Corporation (Japanese NCP) and BAE Systems/Airbus S.A.S./Rolls Royce (UK NCP) have been inactive for several years and are now considered “blocked”.
End WTO financial deregulation of finance
Since the current financial crisis started, none of the governments, experts or media who have called for new regulations for the financial industry have taken into account rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which actually impose extreme financial service deregulation on many WTO member countries.
The financial crisis does not justify a WTO deal
Many political leaders have been calling for the conclusion of the ‘Doha Round’ negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a solution to the financial crisis, in order to provide a boost to the world economy and a signal of confidence to multilateralism. They argue that WTO rules prevent “protectionist measures”, closing of borders, and beggar-thy-neighbour policies, which led to the economic depression in the 1930s and the consequent wars.
'Free Trade' agreements contribute to financial and other crises
While the financial crisis and its consequences are spreading around the world and even the most erstwhile ‘free market’ governments are discussing how to re-regulate the financial sector, bilateral and regional ‘free trade’ agreements continue extreme deregulation of the financial industry.
De Beperkte Reikwijdte van Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Beleggen
Financiële instellingen verkeren momenteel in zwaar weer. De afgelopen maanden is gebleken dat banken jarenlang onverantwoorde financiële risico´s hebben genomen. Niet alleen met verstrekkende negatieve gevolgen voor de banken zelf, maar ook voor de wereldwijde economie en daarmee voor miljoenen mensen in ontwikkelde en ontwikkelingslanden. Maar naast financiële risico´s hebben banken ook te maken met de milieu-, sociaaleconomische en politieke risico’s van hun bedrijfsvoering.
