We examined the manifestos of UK political parties’ contesting the European elections, to be held in the UK on 23 May 2019. What do they say about protection of human rights and the environment with regard to the global operations of UK companies?

Brazil is losing ground on eradicating modern slavery from its supply chains. Lessons learned from the implementation of the UK Modern Slavery Act could be the starting point for future legal developments in South America’s largest country.

In her blog, Caroline Emberson of the Rights Lab, University of Nottingham, describes findings from a research project investigating the supply chain effectiveness of modern slavery legislation.

CORE and more than 20 organisations are launching a call for legal reform to make UK multinationals accountable for human rights abuses and environmental damage linked to their global operations and supply chains.

Claire Bright, Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) write about the obstacles to justice for victims of corporate human rights abuses, and how they might be overcome.

50 people from NGOs, academia and law firms gathered at The Foundry in London on Wednesday 13th February for CORE’s annual partners’ meeting. Below is a brief summary of the very wide-ranging expert presentations given on the day.

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

The second interim report by the Modern Slavery Act Independent Review makes a series of far-reaching recommendations to remedy the shortcomings of the Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) clause (section 54), echoing CORE’s submission.

Almost four years on from the introduction[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

This article was originally published by Africa is a Country.

In January 2019, a group of Zambian farmers brought their fight for justice to the UK Supreme Court, in a case with far-reaching implications for multinational companies.

Zambia’s economic development since the 1920s[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

A new report published today by the Alliance for Corporate Transparency Project – of which CORE is a member – shows that companies in the UK and across Europe are failing to report meaningful information about their impacts on society and the environment.

The Alliance for[…]

Carlos Lopez, Senior Legal Adviser at the International Commission of Jurists, and Marilyn Croser, Director of CORE.

This blog was originally published by OpinioJuris.

The United Kingdom Supreme Court is presently considering an interlocutory appeal by the company Vedanta Resources and its Zambian subsidiary KCM challenging a Court of[…]

Marilyn Croser, Director of CORE

CORE and the ICJ have been granted permission to intervene in an appeal before the United Kingdom Supreme Court (Vedanta Resources PLC and another v. Lungowe and others).

The two organizations’ submissions provide evidence on comparative law and international standards regarding the responsibilities of[…]

Anirudha Nagar, Asia Director, Accountability Counsel

CORE Coalition, Accountability Counsel, Nazdeek, and other civil society organisations concerned about labour exploitation on Assam tea plantations are writing to 12 major British tea brands and retailers that source tea from Assam, urging them to use their purchasing power to help[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

Last week I attended my first UN Forum for Business and Human Rights in Geneva. Here are some impressions from a Forum ‘newbie’.

The Forum has been held every year since the UN Human Rights Council’s endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011.[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

Last week, CORE Coalition along with our partner organisations Amnesty International UK and RAID were interviewed as part of the peer review of the UK’s National Contact Point (NCP).  

What is the UK NCP and why does it matter? 

You’d be forgiven for not having heard of[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

The protection of human rights and the environment from corporate abuse is a serious challenge in the 21st century. But will redefining the “purpose” of corporations ensure that their actions align with the interest of people and planet?

Last Thursday, I joined over a[…]

Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

In response to pressure from civil society, European governments are beginning to introduce laws to require companies to respect human rights.

Last week, I attended an event on ‘Using the Corporate Toolkit to Address Public Ills’ at University College London (UCL) Faculty of[…]

A new report published by CORE and ICAR reveals that that a third of companies that have supplied uniforms for UK public sector workers, including the armed forces and prison officers, have not reported on what they are doing to tackle slavery in their supply chains.

Our report ‘Who Made Our Uniforms?’ reveals that few contractors[…]

CORE and over 200 other civil society organisations from around the world have signed onto a letter endorsing the Nobel Peace Prize for the global community of Human Rights Defenders.

Since 1998, over 3000 human rights defenders have been killed for defending the fundamental values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[…]

This article was commissioned by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and originally published on their website

The UK is home to some of the largest multinational corporations in the world operating through integrated networks of subsidiary companies and complex supply chains. Through their global activities, UK companies are[…]

CORE and 35 other organisations, including NGOs Anti-Slavery International, Unicef and Oxfam, Supermarkets Tesco and the Co-op, and Unions the TUC and Unison have signed a joint statement published by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner calling on the Government to establish a central modern slavery registry.

Section 54 of the[…]

Tuesday, July 17th, 2018. Marilyn Croser, CORE Director

Unilever must provide remedy to the Kenyan workers and their families who suffered serious human rights abuses on the firm’s tea estate. In seeking to hide behind its corporate structure to avoid accountability, the company risks undermining the very principles that it claims to[…]

On 11 June 2018, the Government tabled new reporting requirements for large companies. Companies will now have to publish the ratio between their CEO pay and the pay of their average worker.

The new law also requires directors to report on how they have had regard to the interests of other stakeholders, including employees and[…]

CORE, Sherpa, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice and the International Federation for Human Rights have written to the CEO of Boliden Mineral, a Swedish mining company, calling on Boliden not to block the Appeal Court in Sweden from hearing the case of Arica Victims v Boliden Mineral.

In 1984, Boliden dumped over 20,000 tons[…]

CORE and 45 civil society organisations from around the world have called on the UK Supreme Court to allow 40,000 people from two Nigerian fishing communities to appeal against a ruling that oil giant Shell cannot be held responsible for pipeline spills that have devastated the environment in the Niger Delta.

The Ogale and Bille[…]

Last week, CORE and 45 civil society organisations from around the world wrote to urge the UK Supreme Court to allow two Nigerian fishing communities to appeal against a ruling that oil giant Shell cannot be held responsible for pipeline spills that have devastated the environment in the Niger Delta.

In February the Court of Appeal ruled[…]

CORE, and NGOs REDRESS, Kituo Cha Sheria and the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability, have written to Unilever CEO Paul Polman to express their concern with how Unilever is handling a case brought by tea workers in Kenya who suffered horrific abuses under their watch.

Unilever UK argue that they have very little to do with[…]

The Home Secretary says there are ‘no excuses’ for businesses not to meet the gender pay gap reporting deadline. It’s time for Government to send the same message on modern slavery.

Today all private sector companies with 250 or more employees must have published details of their gender pay gap. Last week the deadline passed for[…]

CORE and more than twenty other human rights organisations have written to Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox to stop the export of surveillance equipment to Honduras.

The UK Government has sanctioned the sale of telecommunications interception equipment to the Honduran Government despite the well-documented accounts of[…]

CORE, alongside other civil society organisations, independent experts, Members of the European Parliament and trade unions have written to the President of the European Commission to urge the Commission to include a human rights mandate for the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance.

The Commission’s Action Plan on Financing[…]

Sanctions for asset stripping and individual director accountability for presiding over corporate failures are long overdue. But too many company boards continue to prioritise short-term profit over long-term value creation. A positive obligation on directors to take steps to prevent serious impacts on employees, suppliers, customers,[…]

On the 15th February CORE held its 2018 Annual Partner Meeting, bringing together partner organisations, NGOs, academics and government officials to discuss corporate accountability issues and strategies for the year ahead.

Much of the day was devoted to panel discussions on different topics, allowing attendees to find out more about[…]

Yesterday, Leigh Day solicitors acting on behalf of Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) launched formal legal action against the UK government in an attempt to force it to designate security company G4S a ‘High Risk’ strategic supplier in the wake of a number of catastrophic failings.

These failings, many of which were highlighted[…]

On Friday 12^th January the Joint Committee on Human Rights published the Government’s response to the Committee’s 2016 report, ‘Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability’. While the inquiry and subsequent report were very thorough, the Government response over-emphasises the impact of[…]

As part of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2017 (which took place in 28 November in Geneva, Switzerland), CORE was involved in a parallel session on effective remedy and women’s rights.

The session consisted of three panel discussions. CORE, along with Womankind Worldwide, UK Gender and Development Network, AWID, Landesa and[…]

This month, the Australian Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade published the findings from its inquiry into introducing a Modern Slavery Act, ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’, following an Australian government consultation paper containing a proposed model for the Act, released last summer.

In its preamble, the[…]

CORE, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and Repórter Brasil are partners in a University of Nottingham and Fundação Getulio Vargas research project funded by the British Academy on ‘The Interaction of Law and Supply Chain Management in Cross-Judicial Supply Chains: Supply Chain Effectiveness of Modern Slavery[…]

By William Meade

Multinational corporations headquartered in the UK operate via subsidiaries all over the world. When UK companies are linked to human rights abuses in the jurisdictions in which they operate it is essential that victims can still access judicial remedy, and that the UK-headquartered parent company is held to account.[…]

As a member of OECD Watch, CORE and other member organisations have launched a campaign calling for the improved effectiveness of OECD National Contact Points (NCPs) so that NCPs can provide access to remedy for victims of business related human rights abuses.

NCPs were established as a means to ensure business compliance with the OECD[…]

Burma Campaign UK is planning to name and shame companies linked with human rights violations in Burma, publishing a revived version of its ‘Dirty List’ in early 2018.

The call for a treaty comes from a network of activists and states demanding that corporations be required to uphold human rights, labour and environmental standards when conducting business at home and abroad.

CORE, along with six leading human rights organisations, has signed a letter to the President of Tanzania, calling for an urgent investigation into human rights abuses at Acacia’s North Mara Gold mine.

The letter highlights the numerous detailed reports and complaints about violent attacks by police and security at the mine. One[…]

CORE has joined 169 human rights organisations in signing an open letter to Honduran Embassies across the globe, calling for an end to the attacks against women human rights defenders in Honduras.

The European Coalition for Corporate Justice, along with The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and Human Rights Watch have written an open letter to the Ecuadorian Mission to Geneva, calling for stronger remedy provisions for victims of corporate abuse.

CORE is among a coalition of 87 civil society groups, worker organisations, businesses and European Parliamentarians which have sent an open letter sent to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha regarding criminal defamation charges brought against Myanmar workers.

Early September marked the return of Parliament and saw peers scrutinise new proposals to strengthen support available for victims of modern slavery.

Lord McColl’s Modern Slavery Bill which received its 2^nd Reading on Friday 8 September aims to enshrine in law victims’ entitlement to support during the reflection and recovery period, while the competent authorities are deciding whether there is evidence that they have been a victim of modern slavery. This would be accompanied by a statutory duty to provide confirmed victims of modern slavery with ongoing support and leave to remain for a period of 12 months.

Today the Government published its response to the Corporate Governance Green Paper consultation.

Over the weekend, proposals on executive pay captured the headlines. Government has backed away from giving shareholders a binding vote on executive pay, but plans instead to establish a public register of companies that have experienced a shareholder revolt – defined as a one-fifth vote against proposed top pay packets.

In an effort to curb sports-linked abuses, the 85,000 player affiliated union World Players Association has released a human rights policy aimed at protecting those in the sporting profession. This comes two months after FIFA published its own policy on human rights standards and marks a growing awareness of the varying threats posed to players’ welfare.

Leading NGO and trade union representatives from UK organisations including Oxfam, the Trade Union Congress, Cafod, Homeworkers Worldwide and Fairtrade Foundation came together at UNISON’s head office this month to advance work on labour rights in global supply chains.

The G20 has endorsed a set of High Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption and committed to ensuring that companies benefitting from corruption can be held liable.

Blog by Patricia Carrier from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

Modern slavery is pervasive across corporate supply chains in all regions of the world, generating approximately $150bn a year in illegal profits. Sectors that are vulnerable include: agriculture, apparel & footwear, construction, food & beverage, manufacturing[…]

In the run up to this year’s general election, the three main UK-wide political parties have now unveiled their manifestos.

There are many commonalities across three, with parties professing a desire to confront labour abuses such as modern slavery, and respond to new labour vulnerabilities driven by the “gig economy” and zero hour contracts. However, there are some notable differences on Brexit, corporate governance and the use of procurement to encourage better practice.

The SNP supports the creation of a robust regulatory framework to ensure that the UK economy is not vulnerable to a re-run of the 2008 financial crisis. The SNP will support measures including the reinstatement of the reverse burden of proof which, before being removed by the Tories, required senior bank managers to demonstrate they had done the right thing where wrongdoing had emerged on their watch.

We do not accept that either a “hard” Brexit or an exit from the EU without a deal is in the interests of the British people. We will be actively campaigning to safeguard jobs, uphold basic rights and put environmental protection at the heart of any future trade deals.

The Green Party would set an inspiring vision…. ensuring the environment is top of the political agenda.

The Conservative 2017 Manifesto shares a number of similarities with pledges made under the 2015 Manifesto. These include: reducing red tape, addressing tax avoidance and evasion, and requiring companies to publish information on executive pay.

In their 2017 Manifesto, the Conservatives pledge to introduce measures that ensure[…]

The Liberal Democrats’ 2017 Manifesto makes similar commitments to those pledged in 2015. These include: reforming laws to extend company reporting to ethical practices, environmental, worker and community protections; tackling tax avoidance and utilising public procurement to promote best business practice.

New pledges focus on[…]

Labour’s 2017 manifesto advances many of the party’s 2015 manifesto pledges. These include: introducing a Living Wage; working with companies to build sustainable supply chains; reforming the UK takeover regime; addressing shareholder short-termism; and targeting tax avoidance.

Some new proposals include: collaborating with businesses to[…]

Plaid Cymru will put an end to the unfair business rates system, by moving towards a turnover-based system. We will ensure there is a properly funded Welsh Development Bank to invest in Welsh businesses.

There is much about the Joint Committee on Human Right’s report on Business and Human Rights to commend. Building on 27 witness accounts and 53 written submissions, the Committee lists a series of bold and progressive recommendations, which include reforming an outdated corporate liability regime that’s proven ineffective at deterring malpractice and upholding human rights standards in UK business operations.

In the flurry of activity following the announcement of the 2017 general election, several bills were rushed through before the end of the parliamentary session. One of these was the Criminal Finances Bill, which meant that debates on its contents had to be curtailed.

A recent Workshop on Brexit Strategies for British & European Civil Society Organisations, organised by University of Exeter Business School in collaboration with CORE Coalition and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice has shed light into the potential implications of Brexit for the non-profit sector.

Following news last week that it has delayed the clean-up of oil spills in the Niger Delta, multinational giant Shell is now embroiled in what campaigners are calling one of the biggest corruption scandals in the history of the oil sector.

Corporate criminal liability reform and a proposed new offence of ‘failure to prevent economic crime’ were debated in the House of Lords yesterday (3 April), during the Criminal Finances Bill second Committee day.  You can read the Hansard here.

It’s day two of Committee Stage in the House of Lords. This involves detailed line by line examination of the separate parts of the bill.

As a reminder, the bill will create a new corporate offence of ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’, extending the ‘failure to prevent’ model in the UK Bribery Act 2010 to corporate tax evasion, although there is some question over what, if any, differences there are between ‘adequate procedures’ as specified by the Bribery Act and ‘reasonable procedures’ as specified in the new failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion offence.

Supermarket chain Tesco escapes prosecution and pays a £129m fine and £85m in compensation to shareholders over 2014’s accounting scandal.

Global risk analyst Verisk Maplecroft has published its annual Human Rights Outlook report, outlining ten human rights risks impacting business in 2017.

Verisk notes that modern slavery risks are set to increase as the United States toughens its immigration policy, pushing countless undocumented migrants further underground and exposing them to greater exploitation.

Last week (8 March) cross-party Peers debated much needed legal reform to tackle widespread corruption and human rights abuses committed by multi-national corporations.

Today we show solidarity with women worldwide, championing the efforts of those who’ve fought back against the social and economic inequality that has afforded women a secondary status to men.

Later this week the House of Lords will debate the Criminal Finances Bill.

This is a government bill to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The bill will create a new corporate offence of ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’, meaning companies could be prosecuted for not having procedures in place to stop tax dodging.

The UK’s political and economic journey creates opportunities for lobbying and collaboration across civil society. CORE will continue to work with our partners to defend standards and campaign for positive change.

Are decades of progressive EU legislation about to be done away with as the UK Government desperately tries to hang on to[…]

Over a year in, the Sustainable Development Goals show no sign of losing momentum. Ruth Mhlanga reflects on how businesses can support the SDGs to create a world free from poverty without breaking the planet.

Blog by Ruth Mlanga, Oxfam Private Sector Policy Advisor

The Thun Group of Banks has responded to a joint letter coordinated by international NGO Bank Track and co-signed by CORE and 31 other organisations, calling on the group to withdraw a paper that questions banks’ responsibilities for human rights abuses linked to finance.

The Thun Group of Banks represents 11 leading banks as[…]

CORE and our partner organisations are calling for the law to be changed so that companies and banks can be held to account for fraud and money laundering.

Tuning into last Wednesday’s JCHR Business & Human Rights evidence session, I watched Fiona Bruce MP questioning BEIS Minister Margot James about the UK National Contact Point for the OECD guidelines, and its ability to resolve complaints arising from alleged human rights abuses.

Around 40 people from partner organisations joined CORE board members and staff at The Foundry on 23 January for our Annual Partners’ Meeting.

This blog summarises Deborah Doane’s and Dr. Jennifer Zerk’s presentation of the findings from their short study into the implications of Brexit for corporate accountability, commissioned by CORE.

30 September 2016

CORE Director, Marilyn Croser, speaks to the Ethical Consumer conference about the successes and challenges in holding companies accountable.

Listen to CORE Director, Marilyn Croser, give a whistle-stop tour of CORE’s history and campaigns – all in nine minutes.

Here you can find out how CORE and our partners are demanding an end to corporate impunity, and seeking accountability for businesses responsible for gross economic, environmental and human rights abuses across the[…]

CORE welcomes the government’s announcement that it is considering requiring private companies to report on diversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and social and community issues.

CORE and our partner organisations have been pressing for the government to make private companies publish this information since 2014, when new European[…]

An important bill aimed at tackling the big issue of corruption is currently making its way through Parliament. It is called the Criminal Finances Bill.

Money laundering, recovering the proceeds of crime, tax evasion and terrorist funding are among the key targets for Home Secretary Amber Rudd. In her 10 November speech to the Financial[…]

This week the Danish National Contact Point for the OECD guidelines on multinational enterprises cast a damning light on Scandinavian company PWT Group for its failure to adequately assess dangers linked to the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 24 April 2013, killing 1,138 people and injuring more than 2,000[…]

In June the Joint Committee on Human Rights announced a new inquiry into human rights and business.

The inquiry is looking at the government’s progress on implementing the UNGPs through its National Action Plan (NAP), published in 2013 and updated in May 2016. This follows an earlier JCHR inquiry into business and human rights[…]

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires commercial organisations operating in the UK with an annual turnover above £36m to produce a statement setting out the steps they are taking to address and prevent the risk of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

A number of key stakeholders that were influential in securing the[…]

The Joint Committee on Human Rights has announced an inquiry into human rights and business. The inquiry will take into consideration progress made by the Government on implementing the UNGPs through its National Action Plan published in 2013 and updated in May 2016.

The inquiry will consider in particular what steps the Government takes[…]

The UK’s updated BHR action plan was published on 12 May, following a written ministerial statement in Parliament.

Visible, high-level political endorsement sends a powerful signal to business so it’s a pity that there’s no Ministerial Foreword included in the update, but despite this the plan clearly reasserts the UNGPs and the[…]

In a letter to the Honduran Ambassador in the UK, NGOs and individuals committed to social justice and human rights have condemned in the strongest possible terms the murder of Berta Cáceres, the inspiring and internationally-renowned social activist who spent her life fighting for and defending indigenous peoples’ rights to their[…]

On 3 March, after a two year negotiation process, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a set of Recommendations to its member States on Business and Human Rights.

The European Coalition for Corporate Justice, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and the International Federation for Human[…]

In autumn, following our successful campaign for the introduction of the Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) clause into the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we participated in discussions designed to inform the content of the accompanying Home Office statutory guidance for commercial organisations required to report under the new law.

While[…]

CORE and our partner organisations are preparing a response to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) consultation on the UK implementation of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive.

The directive aims to improve the transparency of EU companies in terms of non-financial and diversity information, requiring large[…]

In mid-2015, CORE carried out a strategic review to enable staff, board and coalition partners to understand the current state of play for the organisation and inform internal discussions of how CORE could and should develop over the next five years.

The CORE Board has issued a formal response to the review which you can read here.

The[…]

CORE’s report, The Bottom Line: UK Corporate Abuse Overseas, brings together ten recent case studies of serious abuses linked to UK corporations’ international operations.

Issues range from the appropriation of indigenous lands, the callous destruction of natural habitats, and corporate complicity in the violation of a litany of[…]

CORE’s written submission to the government’s review, focussing on key actions under Pillars I and III, calls for more action on access to remedy, human rights due diligence, and a robust regulatory response to UK company malpractice internationally. Other submissions, including from several CORE member organisations are available on[…]

Following a vote in favour of a resolution tabled by Ecuador and South Africa in the UN Human Rights Council last June, work has now started towards developing a new international treaty on business and human rights. Below are links to key documents and online updates from Geneva.

All official documentation is available at Read More »