Distribution Network
Content
Most countries in the Asia-Pacific region show a willingness to respond politically to human rights violations by corporations, says a report prepared for Professor John Ruggie, the United Nations special representative for business and human rights.
The report was drawn up by Allens Arthur Robinson, an international law firm, for Ruggie as he considers UN policy on business and human rights.
The Allens Arthur Robinson report names the Indian government as possibly the most active in the region, particularly in its legal response to the Bhopal incident. After the 1984 pesticide disaster that killed thousands the government enacted legislation to protect victims' rights and to process compensation claims.
However, there are reservations about Burma, China and Papua New Guinea. Burma, the report points out, has effectively no independent judiciary, and in China claims taken to court against companies may not be heard for long periods, if at all.
The report states that all countries in the region should have a legal system under which companies can be held criminally responsible if human rights are violated. There is concern that in Papua New Guinea the criminal liability of corporations is still being debated.
Ruggie is due to deliver his report to the UN's human rights commission next spring.
The report was drawn up by Allens Arthur Robinson, an international law firm, for Ruggie as he considers UN policy on business and human rights.
The Allens Arthur Robinson report names the Indian government as possibly the most active in the region, particularly in its legal response to the Bhopal incident. After the 1984 pesticide disaster that killed thousands the government enacted legislation to protect victims' rights and to process compensation claims.
However, there are reservations about Burma, China and Papua New Guinea. Burma, the report points out, has effectively no independent judiciary, and in China claims taken to court against companies may not be heard for long periods, if at all.
The report states that all countries in the region should have a legal system under which companies can be held criminally responsible if human rights are violated. There is concern that in Papua New Guinea the criminal liability of corporations is still being debated.
Ruggie is due to deliver his report to the UN's human rights commission next spring.
Super Featured
No
Featured
No