Expropriation to make way for mining, forced resettlements due to infrastructure projects, and damage to health and the environment from the use of pesticides: in global competition for resources, transnational companies often assert their interests with reckless disregard. In taking these actions, companies can usually count on the support of political elites, while the rights of local populations are ignored and, in some cases, seriously violated. ECCHR sees itself as part of a broader civil society movement challenging such corporate abuses and undertakes legal action in support of these political and legal fights.
Cluster
Social Rights & Natural Resources
Cases (13)
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South America – Agro-Industry – Bayer
OECD complaint against Bayer's agricultural model in Latin America
For the first time, six civil society organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Germany have jointly filed an OECD complaint against Bayer AG in Germany for violating the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises through its agricultural business model in the Latin American Southern Cone. Bayer has been criticized for years for selling toxic pesticides bundled with its genetically modified soybean seeds, which have serious impacts on people and the environment.
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India – Shrinking spaces and authoritarianism – Resource exploitation
In the name of development: Indigenous rights violations and shrinking space in Chhattisgarh
In the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000 to facilitate state-sanctioned and corporate-led resource extraction, the rights of Adivasis (indigenous peoples of India) are systematically violated by powerful state, military and corporate actors.
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Paraguay – Investments – KfW
Development cooperation: German credit institution disregards human rights in Paraguay and must now disclose information
Germany’s largest development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), spends billions of euros abroad on so-called aid projects, such as on rural development. However, these projects often neglect human rights and environmental protections in the respective countries.
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Argentina – Social security – Pensions
Human rights must not be privatized: The case of MetLife v. Argentina
Since 2008, Argentina’s pension scheme has been in state hands – as it should remain. Social security is a human right that governments must guarantee, and cannot be secondary to corporate profit. ECCHR and Argentine partner organizations submitted an amicus curiae brief in ICSID procedures to point out Argentina’s human rights obligation to guarantee social security for its citizens.
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Mexico – Wind parks – EDF
Wind park in Mexico: French firm disregards indigenous rights
Big energy companies disrespect human rights and environmental protection time and again – as in the case of Électricité de France in Oaxaca, Mexico. The problem: wind power stations are planned on the territory of the indigenous Unión Hidalgo community. EDF is trying to secure a construction authorization from the Mexican state – but until now, the indigenous group was not effectively consulted.
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Western Sahara – Exploitation – Natural resources
Europe’s profits in occupied Western Sahara
Since the 1970s, the Western Sahara region has been militarily occupied by Morocco. Morocco thus violates the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people. Since 2018, ECCHR has been investigating if Germany is complying with its international obligations concerning the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
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Romania – Resource exploitation – Gold mining
Environmental Protection versus Investment Law – The goldmine in Roșia Montană, Romania
Local residents of the Romanian region of Roșia Montană successfully opposed the building of a gold mine. Now, mining company Gabriel Resources is suing the Romanian state. ECCHR and its partner organizations have filed an amicus petition and are supporting the community so that their rights continue to be taken into consideration.
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India – Pesticides – FAO/WHO
FAO/WHO fail to asses whether pesticide sales in India breach international standards
ECCHR and its partner organizations urged the FAO/WHO in an open letter and monitoring report to implement urgently needed changes to effectively address the widespread mismanagement of pesticides worldwide.
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India – Pesticides – Bayer
Bayer: Double standards in the sale of pesticides
Bayer CropScience sells highly toxic pesticides in India. The company fails to ensure that consumers are adequately informed of both the dangers of pesticides and the requisite protective measures.
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Indonesia – Pesticides – Syngenta I
Syngenta pesticides endanger farmers and plantation workers
Research by ECCHR showed: Syngenta’s pesticide Gramoxone – which is banned in many countries including throughout the EU – is used on plantations in Indonesia and the Philippines with almost no protective measures.
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Peru – Mining – Glencore
Mining in the Andes: Complaint and lawsuit filed against Swiss firm Glencore, Switzerland and Peru
Mining projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America often give rise to environmental problems and social conflict. Local communities near the Tintaya Antapaccay mine in Peru have raised concerns about heavy metals polluting the water and associated health problems. The mine is run by a Glencore subsidiary.
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Zimbabwe – Indigenous rights – Land rights
International and national forums neglect indigenous land rights
Border Timbers Limited, a company owned by European investors, challenged the Zimbabwe government’s expropriation of its timber plantations in national and international forums. Indigenous communities, supported by ECCHR, have tried to assert their rights in these proceedings.
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Sudan – Infrastructure – Lahmeyer
Reckless development: Forced displacement due to Lahmeyer dam construction
In 2010, those affected by the construction of the Merowe dam in North Sudan filed criminal complaints against Lahmeyer employees. The German company played a major role in the construction. Over 4,700 families lost their belongings and their means of subsistence.
