New Report on Corporate beHAVIOUR

The Reality of Rights: Barriers to accessing remedies when business operates beyond borders

On 1 May 2009 The Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) published a new report by Dr Kate Macdonald revealing how UK companies are getting away with human rights abuses overseas.

Reviewing examples from Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Georgia and Nigeria, The Reality of Rights demonstrates how very real political, social and economic obstacles leave victims of alleged human rights violations without remedy.

The report concludes that the UK Government has a responsibility to stop corporate abuse abroad and comes as a Parliamentary Inquiry on business and human rights is launched and leading charities propose a new UK Commission on Business, Human Rights and the Environment.

In the forward to the report, Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative and former President of Ireland, said:

“The innovative approach this report puts forward is a significant contribution to ongoing debates which should be taken seriously by governments and businesses committed to responsible action at home and abroad.”

Read:

The report

The press release

The media briefing

The Reality of Rights builds on evidence presented by CORE in Corporate Abuse 2007 on the current problems associated with UK companies behaviour abroad, and on the options for reform of corporate accountability presented in Filling the Gap