Weekly Update 15 August
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
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Politico, AP, Der Standard
In the latest of nearly 50 protests, 30,000 marchers demonstrated on 10 August to call for the Serbian Government to halt the Jadar lithium project, citing concerns it could cause environmental harm, including land and water pollution in the region.
On 19 July, President Aleksandar Vucic, together with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic, signed a deal over access to raw materials mined in Serbia. In addition, Rio Tinto's licence to extract lithium in the Jadar Valley in the west of Serbia was restored in July. At the beginning of August, thousands rallied in Belgrade and other Serbian cities against lithium extraction in Jadar by Rio Tinto.
The protest on 10 August ended with the blockage of two train stations. Serbian officials called protests politically motivated and said they were an effort to bring down the president and the government.
?? The Resource Centre previously contacted Rio Tinto in April over concerns relating to the Jadar project. The company has provided updates and a factsheet in response to questions and inquiries regarding the proposed project in Jadar; it can be read here.
FROM US
Guidance | KnowTheChain Good Practice Guide 2024
BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS IN FOCUS
HEAT IN THE WORKPLACE: The UN Secretary-General issued a Call to Action on Extreme Heat, recognising?70% of the global workforce - or more than 2.4b workers - are ‘at risk from death or injury as a result of extreme heat’. Meanwhile, a report finds a lack of reliable data tracking heat-related deaths undermines efforts to mitigate heat exposure for vulnerable groups, including outdoor, migrant and gig workers. A Mexican farmworker in the USA allegedly died from heatstroke while a court in South Korea ruled a production worker’s heatstroke death to be an occupational accident, highlighting the worker’s temperature and humidity levels were ‘significantly higher’ than workplace measurements. In the Gulf states, government regulations are deemed inadequate to protect workers who reported symptoms of heat-related illness while workplaces are not equipped with water and employers ignore mandated breaks. In the USA, an increase in bird flu among poultry workers was attributed to the challenge of wearing personal protective equipment correctly with industrial fans in use, while California farmworkers who left work early to protect their health amid extreme heat allege they were fired as a result.
? We invited Gracia & Sons to respond to allegations published on a GoFundMe page from the farmworker’s family the worker ‘tragically succumbed to a heatstroke brought on by the severe weather conditions in North Carolina’; the page also alleges the company had assured the worker’s family it would cover medical, funeral and repatriation expenses but attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful. Gracia & Sons did not respond.
CONFLICT & DIVESTMENT: Hugo Boss is the latest European company to complete the sale of its business in Russia, exiting the country over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Hugo Boss had closed its stores, suspended online sales and stopped advertising in Russia shortly after the invasion, nevertheless an analysis of Russian customs data published inJune 2023 found Hugo Boss profits increased in the year following the invasion. Meanwhile the UK’s largest private pension fund – the GBP9b Universities Superannuation Scheme – sold GBP80m of its Israeli assets following ‘sustained pressure’ from members who raised concerns of rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories since 7 October last year. The development is the latest in investors scrutinising rights risks of portfolio companies as the divestment movement is reportedly given ‘new impetus’ by Israel’s war on Gaza.
?? USS published a statement following reports of its divestment in the media clarifying that it ‘can only make investment decisions on financial best interest grounds’.
?? The head of responsible investment at Norway’s biggest pension fund KLP – which said it would sell a USD69m stake in Caterpillar over concerns regarding the company’s activities in the West Bank and Gaza – said it was required by Norwegian and EU law to undertake ‘extensive due diligence around human rights risks surrounding its investments’.
AROUND THE WORLD
AFRICA
Spotlight:
The Voice
471 of 3,008 Batswana miners were compensated a total of over USD2m as of the end of June 2024 following diagnoses of occupational lung disease. They are some of the thousands of Batswana miners who worked in South African mines in the second half of the 20th century seeking compensation on medical grounds. The compensation follows a class-action lawsuit against six mining companies – AfricanRainbow Minerals, Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater – and years of negotiating to reach a settlement agreement of 1bRd (approx USD55m).
Other news from the region:
AMERICAS
Spotlight:
Grist
The first emergency chemical ban from the Environmental Protection Agency in 40 years was hailed as a ‘major victory’ for environmental justice, pregnant farmworkers and local communities who suffered severe, unmitigable and adverse health impacts from pesticide DCPA. MilyTrevi?o-Sauceda, executive director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, an organisation of female farmworkers, said the children of farmworkers would be spared lifelong harm with the suspension’s immediate effect. Advocates have highlighted how they are ‘eager’ to see the EPA use this authority to suspend other toxic pesticides.
Other news from the region:
领英推荐
ASIA & PACIFIC
Spotlight:
Japan: Youth plaintiffs file country’s first climate change lawsuit against 10 major energy companies
The Asahi Shimbun
Japan’s first climate change lawsuit – filed by 16 plaintiffs aged between 15 and 29 – was filed in Nagoya District Court to stop greenhouse gas emissions hindering international climate goals. The 10 Japanese company defendants are Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Tohoku Electric Power Co., Hokuriku Electric Power Co., Kansai Electric Power Co., Chugoku Electric Power Co.,Shikoku Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., Plaintiffs also named Electric Power Development Co. (J-Power, headquartered in Tokyo), Kobe Steel Ltd., and JERA Co., jointly funded by the Tokyo Electric Power Group and Chubu Electric Power Co.?The plaintiffs claim the companies’ current goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions do not meet the target carbon budget from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Other news from the region:
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
Spotlight:
EU Observer
Poor working conditions – including excessive working hours, high risk of injury and low wages – in Europe’s maritime industry mean the industry depends on migrant labourers from Indonesia, the Philippines and North Africa whose wages support whole families at home. European shipping companies often rely on agencies to recruit labour, which seek out ‘cheap’ crewing agents who treat sailors poorly. The Intl. Transport Workers’ Federation negotiates minimum wage collective bargaining agreements with employers and shipping companies but these are not mandatory. Moreover, the industry is protected by legal opacity, difficult access to workers by unions and the threat of unofficial ‘blacklisting’ for sailors who raise complaints.
Other news from the region:
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA
Spotlight:
As part of an initiative to reduce the incidence of wage theft among migrant workers and ensure employers comply with wage payment regulations, Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced newly arrived migrant workers will receive International Bank Account Numbers. NGO Migrant-Rights.org acknowledges the initiative will ‘improve the functionality of the Wage Protection System’ in the country but emphasises workers remain vulnerable to abuse due to the bureaucratic nature of filing labour complaints and the lack of mechanisms to remedy cases of unpaid wages.
Other news from the region:
EVENTS
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