Global Governance Watch

ON THE ISSUES

Roadmap Announced for Human Rights Global Governance of Transnational Businesses

June 24, 2009

For the past six years, the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights has been encouraging transnational businesses to voluntarily implement human rights standards. Though the formal mandate of the organization concluded on March 31, 2009, BLIHR plans to continue its work through four “key initiatives” that are designed to institutionalize the human rights global governance of businesses.

ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS

UN Report Recommends Human Rights Global Governance of Trade Negotiations

June 17, 2009

Each nation is free to negotiate with another nation regarding the manner in which trade will be conducted between their countries. As part of a free trade negotiation, officials from each country may consider how the trade agreement provisions might impact human rights. The question is: should United Nations officials and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations be permitted to undermine national sovereignty by funding and training local civil society organizations to demand that ambiguous or fiscally unattainable economic rights, such as the right to health, be addressed in trade agreements?

HUMAN RIGHTS

Transnational Litigation Network Fails in Attempt to Undermine Democratic Development of Human Rights Norms in Developing Countries

June 9, 2009

At the 2009 annual meeting of the shareholders of Chevron, trial lawyers and environmental activists who are members of what has been described as a transnational litigation network failed in their attempt to secure passage of a resolution that would have required Chevron to assess the laws of each country in which it does business to determine whether they adequately protect human health, the environment, and the company’s reputation.

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Seeds of NGO Activism: Shell Capitulates in Saro-Wiwa Case
By Jon Entine

On June 9th, Royal Dutch Shell reached an out-of-court agreement to pay $15.5 million to settle allegations that it should be held liable for alleged human rights violations in Nigeria dating back to the 1980s and 90s. By paying the fine, Shell circumvented what was sure to be a circus trial, as it was charged with crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention, and the execution in 1995 of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People.

Shell denied any involvement in the deaths, stating that the settlement was part of a reconciliation process. The agreement was reached just days before the trial, which had been brought by Ken Saro-Wiwa's son, was due to begin in New York.

The execution of Saro-Wiwa and the international protests it spawned was a defining moment for the left in its efforts to target multinationals as a proxy for human rights problems in dictatorial regimes. It also helped unleash the slumbering political power of advocacy non-governmental organizations. At the time, activist NGOs from Amnesty International to Greenpeace, were perceived as gadflies that harassed corporations and governments, but largely stood outside the political process. Two high profile confrontations with Shell changed that.

Find out more at NGO Watch, where we monitor the monitors.