Main, Blog
Charity Ryerson
A New Global Minimum Tax on Corporations and ...

This year, states will begin implementing a global minimum tax rate of fifteen percent on multinational corporations with more than €750 million (about $810 million) in revenues. If these tax reforms succeed in increasing tax revenues across the approximately 140 implementing countries as they intend, these additional funds could be used to advance the social and economic rights of their citizens, especially for the most vulnerable populations, including those whose rights have been abused by corporations historically. However, the coming tax reforms are still so riddled with gray areas regarding form and function that it is too early to call the initiative a victory in corporate accountability.  

A New Global Minimum Tax on Corporations and Human Rights Implications
Main, Blog
Charity Ryerson
Un año desde la prohibición del azúcar del ...

Durante los 365 días desde que se bloqueó la entrada de su azúcar a los Estados Unidos por trabajo forzoso, el Central Romana ha optado por implementar sólo cambios superficiales para los cañeros y utilizar estrategias políticas en un aparente intento de hacer desaparecer la WRO.

Un año desde la prohibición del azúcar del Central Romana en mercado EEUU por trabajo forzoso
Blog, Main
Charity Ryerson
One year since Central Romana sugar banned from ...

Over the 365 days since its sugar was blocked from entering the United States, Central Romana has chosen to implement only superficial changes for workers while pulling political strings in an apparent effort to make the import ban disappear. 

One year since Central Romana sugar banned from US market for forced labor
Avery Kelly
Enbridge and the Dangers of Extractive ...

Last month, The Guardian revealed that Canadian pipeline company Enbridge has paid Minnesota police more than two and a half million dollars for services including the surveillance and arrest of Water Protectors resisting the company’s construction of a new Line 3 pipeline. This post situates the Enbridge-police agreement in Minnesota and violent crackdown against Water Protectors at Line 3 within a disturbing global context rooted in colonialism.

Enbridge and the Dangers of Extractive Industry-Police Alliances
Main
Avery Kelly
CAL & EarthRights Launch Updated Guide to ...

In 2019, CAL partnered with EarthRights International to update their Guide to the Foreign Legal Assistance statute. Given that the US is an increasingly difficult jurisdiction for transnational human rights cases against companies, this tool provides an opportunity for workers and community members to access key evidence located in the US even where they may not have been able to bring suit there. 

CAL & EarthRights Launch Updated Guide to Foreign Legal Assistance Statute, Allowing Attorneys Suing Companies Access to Discovery Process in the US

In 2020, Halloween Candy is (Still) Scary for People and the Planet 

In 2020, Halloween Candy is (Still) Scary for People and the Planet 

How, in 2020, can it be possible that nearly every piece of candy in a trick-or-treater’s bucket arrived there after a long journey that harmed both people and the planet? This post focuses on a few of the negative impacts associated with key ingredients in Halloween candy: cocoa (forced child labor; deforestation), sugar (forced displacement; forced labor; excessive water use), milk (climate change; abusive working conditions), and palm oil (deforestation; human rights abuses). We offer some considerations for conscious consumers to take into account while candy shopping, all the while recognizing that we as a community of global citizens are not going to be able to buy our way out of this scary reality.

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CAL Files Two Amicus Briefs in the Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I Case at the Supreme Court

CAL Files Two Amicus Briefs in the Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I Case at the Supreme Court

On October 21, 2020, Corporate Accountability Lab filed two amicus briefs in support of Respondents in the upcoming Nestle v. Doe case, about corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). Passed in 1789 by the First Congress, the ATS gives federal courts jurisdiction over tort claims, including for abuses of human rights brought by non-US citizens.

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CBP Issues Five WROs Against Xinjiang Cotton, Hair Products, and Electronics

CBP Issues Five WROs Against Xinjiang Cotton, Hair Products, and Electronics

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released five Withhold Release Orders (WRO) banning products from the Xinjiang region in China, including cotton, electronics, and hair products. The WROs come amidst widespread criticism of the Chinese government on its treatment of the Uyghur and other Muslim and Turkic minorities in the Xinjiang region, which experts have stated represents “the largest-scale detention of religious minorities since World War II.”

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Rights Groups Ask CBP to Stop the Importation of Forced and Prison Labor Goods From Xinjiang, China

Rights Groups Ask CBP to Stop the Importation of Forced and Prison Labor Goods From Xinjiang, China

For years, human rights defenders, journalists, and the international community have documented and denounced human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region in China, including what experts believe to be “the largest-scale detention of religious minorities since World War II.” Yet a number of major brands—including Adidas, H&M, Nike, and Patagonia—are still suspected of using forced labor from Xinjiang in their supply chains.

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Using the Master’s Tools to Dismantle the Master’s House: 307 Petitions as a Human Rights Tool

Using the Master’s Tools to Dismantle the Master’s House: 307 Petitions as a Human Rights Tool

On July 15, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) for rubber gloves produced by two subsidiaries of Top Glove, the world’s largest rubber glove company. CBP issued the WRO based on reasonable belief that the subsidiaries were using forced labor, in this case debt bondage, to produce rubber gloves. In issuing this WRO, CBP blocked all imports of these rubber gloves into the US, closing the companies’ access to the US market.

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Private Companies Producing with US Prison Labor in 2020: Prison Labor in the US, Part II

Private Companies Producing with US Prison Labor in 2020: Prison Labor in the US, Part II

This post follows on from our post exploring the use of prison labor during the Covid-19 pandemic. It details the current forms that prison labor can take and, using what little public data is available, highlights some of the companies using prison labor in the United States.

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If Prison Workers are Essential, We Should Treat Them Like It: Prison Labor in the US, Part I

If Prison Workers are Essential, We Should Treat Them Like It: Prison Labor in the US, Part I

This post explores the lessons that we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic about the prison labor system in the United States and includes personal accounts from Charity Ryerson, CAL’s Executive Director.

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Going Full Circle: The Parallels between Student Activism and Creative Legal Design

Going Full Circle: The Parallels between Student Activism and Creative Legal Design

Legal Intern Amy Kato explores the parallels she’s discovered between the strategies she used as a student organizer in undergrad and CAL’s approach to fighting corporate impunity through legal design.

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If Corporate Support of Black Lives were more “Walk” than “Talk”

If Corporate Support of Black Lives were more “Walk” than “Talk”

What would the world look like if big businesses actually implemented Black Lives Matter (BLM) values throughout their business models? The short answer: very different. This post gives examples of the hypocrisy between corporate PR and business impacts on people of color. It imagines steps companies could take towards creating a world where anti-racist statements align with operations.

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More Trouble Ahead for the ATS? SCOTUS Grants Cert in Nestle Case

More Trouble Ahead for the ATS? SCOTUS Grants Cert in Nestle Case

The US Supreme Court just granted Nestlé’s cert petition in a case based on forced child labor in Côte d’Ivoire. Implications for the plaintiffs--former child slaves-- and the future of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) are significant.

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Using the False Claims Act as a Human Rights Tool

Using the False Claims Act as a Human Rights Tool

This post explores the viability of using the FCA in conjunction with the TVPRA to hold perpetrators of forced labor and human trafficking accountable.

Imagine that a company had a contract to provide food to US military personnel based in a foreign country. The company employed workers from a third country. However, the company held onto the workers’ passports, did not allow them to leave the facilities, and did not pay them for the full hours that they worked.

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The Bostock Decision & Protections for LGBTQ+ Workers

The Bostock Decision & Protections for LGBTQ+ Workers

Last Monday, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Even though there are limitations in Bostock's application, we should still see it as a victory for equal rights. There are real exceptions to these federal protections (RFRA, small employers, etc.), and we need to continue to fight to close those loopholes so that no workers experience discrimination. But with such a conservative -- and often ideological -- Court, this is a big win that we should celebrate.

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In Solidarity with those Demanding Justice & an end to White Supremacy

In Solidarity with those Demanding Justice & an end to White Supremacy

As feet march, glass shatters, sirens blare, and weapons fire across Chicago, the United States, and the world, Corporate Accountability Lab stands in solidarity with those demanding an end to white supremacy and racist police violence.

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CAL & EarthRights Launch Updated Guide to Foreign Legal Assistance Statute, Allowing Attorneys Suing Companies Access to Discovery Process in the US

CAL & EarthRights Launch Updated Guide to Foreign Legal Assistance Statute, Allowing Attorneys Suing Companies Access to Discovery Process in the US

In 2019, CAL partnered with EarthRights International to update their Guide to the Foreign Legal Assistance statute. Given that the US is an increasingly difficult jurisdiction for transnational human rights cases against companies, this tool provides an opportunity for workers and community members to access key evidence located in the US even where they may not have been able to bring suit there. 

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Introducing our Colombian Transitional Justice Project & Newest Staff Member

Introducing our Colombian Transitional Justice Project & Newest Staff Member

CAL is excited to introduce our newest staff attorney, Tatiana Devia. In this introductory blog, Tatiana discusses CAL’s work related to Transitional Justice in Colombia, and how the Colombian armed conflict has played a role in her own story. You can reach Tatiana by email at tatiana.devia@corpaccountabilitylab.org.

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Landmark Nevsun Ruling Will Pave Way Forward for Other Victims of Corporate Abuse

Landmark Nevsun Ruling Will Pave Way Forward for Other Victims of Corporate Abuse

On Friday, the Canadian Supreme Court announced its decision on jurisdiction in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya, in which a Canadian company is being sued for alleged violations of Customary International Law (CIL) in the East African country of Eritrea. Global human rights and international law advocates are applauding this major decision, finding that CIL is part of Canadian law, even where the legislature has taken no action to codify it domestically.

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CAL and IRAdvocates Challenge Importation of Cocoa Produced with Forced Child Labor

CAL and IRAdvocates Challenge Importation of Cocoa Produced with Forced Child Labor

The Ivorian cocoa industry, which produces over 30% of the world’s cocoa, is notoriously rife with child labor. For years companies such as Nestlé, Mars, Hershey, and Cargill have promised to make real changes and eliminate child labor in their supply chains. And yet, despite these promises, little has changed.

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Sugar Companies Sued for Forcibly Evicting Sixty Families From Their Homes in the Dominican Republic

Sugar Companies Sued for Forcibly Evicting Sixty Families From Their Homes in the Dominican Republic

 On Monday, January 27, 2020, twenty-four men, women, and children sued the Central Romana Corporation and its parent company, the Fanjul Corporation, in U.S. district court for the companies’ forcible eviction of their homes in the Dominican Republic in January 2016.

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The Scary Truth About Halloween Candy

The Scary Truth About Halloween Candy

It’s Nearly Impossible To Buy Chocolate You Can Feel Good About

A lot of you have been asking for our recommendations on what chocolate to buy this Halloween, given the fact that forced labor and environmental abuse are so rampant in the cocoa sector. We wish we had better news. 

The sad and hard truth is that there is very little chocolate that is truly sourced ethically (and don’t get me started on the labor and environmental issues related to sugar and palm oil production, both key ingredients in Halloween candy).

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Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Ogonis push back on miltarization and moves to forcibly resume oil drilling in Ogonilands

Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Ogonis push back on miltarization and moves to forcibly resume oil drilling in Ogonilands

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we are reflecting on the steadfast nonviolent struggle of the indigenous Ogoni people in Nigeria and the human rights and environmental abuse they have suffered at the hands of the Nigerian government and Shell (Royal Dutch Shell’s subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC)).

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