Impunity Inc. Reflections on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of corporate capital http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/impunity_inc_0.pdf
Forty years after Salvador Allende(overthrown and assassinated by cia) denounced corporate power at the
United Nations General Assembly (December 1972), millions of people all
over the world are involved in struggles against the social and
environmental injustice generated by transnational corporations.Working together or in parallel, in multiple ways, and in all sectors
of the economy, people are defending their territories, seeds, water,
forests, food, biodiversity, health, culture, etc., from the aggressive
actions of the transnational corporations, which expand their power in a
system of “accumulation by dispossession.”
Impunity Inc. is a report produced as part of the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
Through three case studies, it aims to provide inputs for reflection on
the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of transnational corporations. The report describes the abuses and violations of fundamental labour
rights taking place on a day-to-day basis in the export-oriented garment
factories in Morocco, highlighting the responsibility of the Spanish transnational Inditex. It outlines a similar situation in Nicaragua, focusing on the role of Pescanova.
In both cases, it explains how all this occurs in the framework of the
Association Agreements imposed by the European Union (EU), in a context
where Lex Mercatoria and the protection of corporate interests continue
to take priority over the basic needs of human beings. The report also
looks at Europe’s social metabolism, examining the
consequences of the EU’s substantial dependence on the increasingly
strategic raw materials that it imports from impoverished countries. The
cases of zinc mining in Bolivia, coal mining in Colombia and
cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, together with soya
and sugar cane production in Argentina and Brazil, are used to illustrate the harmful impact of Glencore’s operations,
analysing the extent to which trade agreements ensure the impunity of
the large corporations. Glencore’s involvement in financial speculation
on commodities is also described. Impunity Inc. then goes on to
look at the physical scaffolding of free trade, focusing on the
roll-out of the infrastructure mega-projects in South America (IIRSA-COSIPLAN), and highlighting the European Investment Bank (EIB) involvement, as well as European capital’s responsibility in these infrastructure projects and their financialisation. A separate section is devoted to the case of the mega-dams being built on the River Madeira in the Amazon, with the participation of Banco Santander, GDF-Suez, Abengoa, Voith, Siemens and other European companies.
SAMPLE: Chapter 2 delves into Europe’s social metabolism to examine the EU’s
substantial dependence on the import of increasingly strategic raw
materials from impoverished countries. It describes the structure of
exports from South America and Africa to Europe and how this keeps these
countries in the role of primary commodity exporters and thus in
poverty. Emphasising that raw materials are important to capital not
only from the metabolic point of view but also on the business side, the
chapter describes how European companies are consolidating their
monopoly position and their control of the international trade in raw
materials. They use Europe as a political platform to ensure that their
interests are defended through its “raw materials diplomacy,” but it is
also the destination for their products. This is why they are
particularly interested in maintaining the model of consumption and
capitalist production that currently prevails in the EU. By examining
Glencore’s mining operations in Colombia, Bolivia and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, on which the EU’s metabolism depends, the chapter
describes how a giant transnational like this is able to obtain enormous
profits while also provoking serious social and environmental
conflicts. A review of its activities in MERCOSUR countries, where it
has taken over thousands of hectares of fertile land, provides evidence
of Glencore’s control over practically the entire chain of production,
under the “vertical integration” model imposed by agribusiness. When
Free Trade Agreements, EPAs and AAs are placed under the microscope as
they relate to this company, it becomes clear how they benefit it and
only serve to increase its hegemony and impunity. Finally, the chapter
describes Glencore’s operations in different areas of the economy,
focusing on its role in financial speculation on commodities.
Reflections on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of corporate capital
Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalitzación (ODG) & Transnational Institute (TNI)
Forty years after Salvador Allende denounced corporate power at the
United Nations General Assembly (December 1972), millions of people all
over the world are involved in struggles against the social and
environmental injustice generated by transnational corporations. Working
together or in parallel, in multiple ways, and in all sectors of the
economy, people are defending their territories, seeds, water, forests,
food, biodiversity, health, culture, etc., from the aggressive actions
of the transnational corporations, which expand their power in a system
of “accumulation by dispossession.” - See more at: http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article23385#sthash.Gilqjk89.dpuf
Impunity Inc. Reflections on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of corporate capital Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalitzación (ODG) & Transnational Institute (TNI)
Forty years after Salvador Allende denounced corporate power at the
United Nations General Assembly (December 1972), millions of people all
over the world are involved in struggles against the social and
environmental injustice generated by transnational corporations. Working
together or in parallel, in multiple ways, and in all sectors of the
economy, people are defending their territories, seeds, water, forests,
food, biodiversity, health, culture, etc., from the aggressive actions
of the transnational corporations, which expand their power in a system
of
“accumulation by dispossession.”
Impunity Inc. is a report produced as part of the
Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
Through three case studies, it aims to provide inputs for reflection on
the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of transnational corporations.
The report describes the abuses and violations of fundamental labour
rights taking place on a day-to-day basis in the export-oriented garment
factories in
Morocco, highlighting the responsibility of the Spanish transnational
Inditex. It outlines a similar situation in
Nicaragua, focusing on the role of
Pescanova.
In both cases, it explains how all this occurs in the framework of the
Association Agreements imposed by the European Union (EU), in a context
where Lex Mercatoria and the protection of corporate interests continue
to take priority over the basic needs of human beings. The report also
looks at
Europe’s social metabolism, examining the consequences
of the EU’s substantial dependence on the increasingly strategic raw
materials that it imports from impoverished countries. The cases of
zinc
mining in Bolivia, coal mining in Colombia and cobalt mining in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, together with soya and sugar cane
production in Argentina and Brazil, are used to illustrate the harmful impact of
Glencore’s operations,
analysing the extent to which trade agreements ensure the impunity of
the large corporations. Glencore’s involvement in financial speculation
on commodities is also described.
Impunity Inc. then goes on to
look at the physical scaffolding of free trade, focusing on the roll-out
of the infrastructure mega-projects in South America (
IIRSA-COSIPLAN), and highlighting the
European Investment Bank (EIB) involvement, as well as
European capital’s responsibility in these infrastructure projects and their financialisation. A separate section is devoted to the case of the
mega-dams being built on the River Madeira in the Amazon, with the participation of
Banco Santander, GDF-Suez, Abengoa, Voith, Siemens and other European companies…
- See more at: http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article23385#sthash.Gilqjk89.dpuf
Impunity Inc. Reflections on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of corporate capital Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalitzación (ODG) & Transnational Institute (TNI)
Forty years after Salvador Allende denounced corporate power at the
United Nations General Assembly (December 1972), millions of people all
over the world are involved in struggles against the social and
environmental injustice generated by transnational corporations. Working
together or in parallel, in multiple ways, and in all sectors of the
economy, people are defending their territories, seeds, water, forests,
food, biodiversity, health, culture, etc., from the aggressive actions
of the transnational corporations, which expand their power in a system
of
“accumulation by dispossession.”
Impunity Inc. is a report produced as part of the
Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
Through three case studies, it aims to provide inputs for reflection on
the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of transnational corporations.
The report describes the abuses and violations of fundamental labour
rights taking place on a day-to-day basis in the export-oriented garment
factories in
Morocco, highlighting the responsibility of the Spanish transnational
Inditex. It outlines a similar situation in
Nicaragua, focusing on the role of
Pescanova.
In both cases, it explains how all this occurs in the framework of the
Association Agreements imposed by the European Union (EU), in a context
where Lex Mercatoria and the protection of corporate interests continue
to take priority over the basic needs of human beings. The report also
looks at
Europe’s social metabolism, examining the consequences
of the EU’s substantial dependence on the increasingly strategic raw
materials that it imports from impoverished countries. The cases of
zinc
mining in Bolivia, coal mining in Colombia and cobalt mining in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, together with soya and sugar cane
production in Argentina and Brazil, are used to illustrate the harmful impact of
Glencore’s operations,
analysing the extent to which trade agreements ensure the impunity of
the large corporations. Glencore’s involvement in financial speculation
on commodities is also described.
Impunity Inc. then goes on to
look at the physical scaffolding of free trade, focusing on the roll-out
of the infrastructure mega-projects in South America (
IIRSA-COSIPLAN), and highlighting the
European Investment Bank (EIB) involvement, as well as
European capital’s responsibility in these infrastructure projects and their financialisation. A separate section is devoted to the case of the
mega-dams being built on the River Madeira in the Amazon, with the participation of
Banco Santander, GDF-Suez, Abengoa, Voith, Siemens and other European companies…
- See more at: http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article23385#sthash.Gilqjk89.dpuf
Impunity Inc. Reflections on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of corporate capital Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalitzación (ODG) & Transnational Institute (TNI)
Forty years after Salvador Allende denounced corporate power at the
United Nations General Assembly (December 1972), millions of people all
over the world are involved in struggles against the social and
environmental injustice generated by transnational corporations. Working
together or in parallel, in multiple ways, and in all sectors of the
economy, people are defending their territories, seeds, water, forests,
food, biodiversity, health, culture, etc., from the aggressive actions
of the transnational corporations, which expand their power in a system
of
“accumulation by dispossession.”
Impunity Inc. is a report produced as part of the
Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
Through three case studies, it aims to provide inputs for reflection on
the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of transnational corporations.
The report describes the abuses and violations of fundamental labour
rights taking place on a day-to-day basis in the export-oriented garment
factories in
Morocco, highlighting the responsibility of the Spanish transnational
Inditex. It outlines a similar situation in
Nicaragua, focusing on the role of
Pescanova.
In both cases, it explains how all this occurs in the framework of the
Association Agreements imposed by the European Union (EU), in a context
where Lex Mercatoria and the protection of corporate interests continue
to take priority over the basic needs of human beings. The report also
looks at
Europe’s social metabolism, examining the consequences
of the EU’s substantial dependence on the increasingly strategic raw
materials that it imports from impoverished countries. The cases of
zinc
mining in Bolivia, coal mining in Colombia and cobalt mining in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, together with soya and sugar cane
production in Argentina and Brazil, are used to illustrate the harmful impact of
Glencore’s operations,
analysing the extent to which trade agreements ensure the impunity of
the large corporations. Glencore’s involvement in financial speculation
on commodities is also described.
Impunity Inc. then goes on to
look at the physical scaffolding of free trade, focusing on the roll-out
of the infrastructure mega-projects in South America (
IIRSA-COSIPLAN), and highlighting the
European Investment Bank (EIB) involvement, as well as
European capital’s responsibility in these infrastructure projects and their financialisation. A separate section is devoted to the case of the
mega-dams being built on the River Madeira in the Amazon, with the participation of
Banco Santander, GDF-Suez, Abengoa, Voith, Siemens and other European companies…
- See more at: http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article23385#sthash.Gilqjk89.dpuf
Another non-report on human rights and free trade with Colombia http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article23455
On June 14th, the Canadian government quietly tabled its second report
on the human rights impacts of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade
Agreement. So quietly, in fact, that even those who had been
anticipating its release almost missed it. The report was deposited with
the clerk at the end of the day, rather than during routine proceedings
in the House.The reporting obligation was enshrined into law in 2010 to
address widespread concerns that the FTA would exacerbate the alarming
human rights crisis in Colombia. The government has touted the reports
as a meaningful way to ensure human rights accountability in trade with
the troubled Latin American country.[[[Unfortunately,
this latest report’s tone and content — and the quiet way in which it
was tabled — seem intent on avoiding scrutiny and leave us wondering
what the government is trying to hide.]]]][[[[[[[[[[The report’s narrow
scope limits itself to an
analysis of actions taken under the FTA’s Implementation Act, the act
that governs Canadian domestic implementation of the agreement. By
interpreting its reporting obligation this way, the government avoids
any examination of the impact of Canadian investment — including oil,
gas and mining – in Colombia. This arguably defies the very spirit of
the exercise. Canadian extractive interests in Colombia were one of the
government’s primary motivations for signing the FTA. They were also the
most pressing concern voiced by human rights groups worried about the
FTA’s impacts]]]]]]
