Unity Platform on Corporate Accountability
Over 200 organizations have signed onto the statement which outlines an agenda for an overhaul of corporate governance, stronger labor and environmental obligations and an end to international corporate welfare. The Unity Platform demonstrates the growing public demand for stronger and deeper corporate accountability measures.
For
instance:
Philip Morris, responsible for Marlboro – the #1 cigarette brand
among youth
Nike, widely condemned for its use of sweatshop labor
British Petroleum, which is driving a socially
and environmentally destructive gas extraction project in
Tibet
Unocal, the oil giant currentl being sued for human rights
abuses in Burma
The United States has earned a reputation for
shunning international agreements on human rights and environmental issues. At
the fifth round of talks on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC), the US fought to undermine progress in most of the treaty’s key
areas. The tobacco industry’s $7 million in campaign contributions in the
2001-2002 election cycle appear to be paying off.
Total Ban on Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship: Over 90 countries spoke in
favor: the US opposed.
Liability and Compensation for Harms Cause by
Tobacco: almost 70 countries called
for even stronger measures than in the current draft text; the US opposed
Prioritizing Health Over Trade: over 100 countries spoke in
favor: the US opposed.
Protecting Health Policy from Tobacco Industry
Interference:
the Pacific
Islands and the African Region advocated stronger measures; the US raised
“confidentiality” issues similar to those raised by Phillip Morris.
Presenters
who will lead the discussion include represnentives from:
Infact, Challenging corporate abuse, Building grassroots power
–www.infact.org
United Students Against
Sweatshops, www.usasnet.org
Coke Cola Strike in Columbia
Sustainable Business Network