What's
Being Done?
Global Standards |
Social Reform
Global Standard of Human
Rights
A
recent article in The Wall Street Journal detailed how several
energy and mining companies have combined efforts with human-rights
organizations to create "a set of voluntary guidelines
for respecting human rights while protecting operations overseas."
These companies - Royal Dutch/Shell Group, BP Amoco, Texaco,
Conoco, Chevron, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, and Rio
Tinto have realized the global imperative of preventing
abuses that have often been linked to energy and mining operations
abroad.
To learn more about civil societies and the amazing efforts
of these organizations, here are the names of those that are
involved with this global standards proposal and other amazing
efforts like it. Please explore their web sites and learn
about what they do for you, what you can do for them, and
what you can do for the world together.
Human Rights
Watch
Amnesty International
International
Alert
Lawyers Committee
for Human Rights
Fund
for Peace
Council on
Economic Priorities
Business for
Social Responsibility
Prince of
Wales Business Leaders Forum
International
Federation of Chemical, Energy Mine and General Workers
Unions
World
Economic Forum Addresses "Antiglobalization" Sentiment
The World
Social Forum is an organization that meets annually in
Brazil, bringing together antiglobalization activists to condemn
economic policies and "focus on the creation and exchange
of social and economic projects that promote human rights,
social justice and sustainable development." The group
has recently aimed its attacks on the World
Economic Forum, a group that hosts conferences around
the world, in hopes of influencing the many business and government
leaders that attend. In late January when world leaders met
in Davos, Switzerland for the World
Economic Forum, the World Social Forum countered with
its own conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Visit the web
site of the World
Social Forum to learn about their initiatives, concerns,
and plans to promote civil responsibility.
At the World
Economic Forum in Davos, the influence of the protesters
was evident in discussions about what must be done in business
and government. "Globalization is a fact. Our goal is
make it more human," explained Laurent Fabius, Frances
left-wing finance minister. As said in an article from the
Dow Jones Newswires on January 1, 2001 about the Davos Forum,
"Business is no longer just about profits. Its
about social responsibility and tackling poverty as well.
And governments, particularly those in the industrialized
world, must listen to what their people are saying or else
the noble cause of globalization will be lost."
Visit
the web site of the World
Economic Forum to learn about their initiatives geared
towards "improving the state of the world."
To
learn more about environmental concerns and what the World
Economic Forum is doing to create a balance between these
and economic concerns, check out the VTM web page devoted
to the every important issue of the Environment.
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