Human Rights -Develop
and Adopt Policies
2005 – Chevron Texaco
Corp.
WHEREAS:
We
believe transnational corporations operating in countries with repressive
governments, ethnic conflict, weak rule of law, endemic corruption, or poor
labor and environmental standards face serious risks to their reputation and
share value if they are seen as responsible for, or complicit in, human rights
violations;
Our
company has business operations in more than 180 nations, many of which have
consistently been noted by the U.S. Department of State as violating basic
human rights (February 25, 2004
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003);
Over sixty (60) companies have
already adopted human rights policies based upon the 1948 Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and;
In April, 2004, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights reviewed the document brought forth by UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights, “Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational
Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights.”
((http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/norms-Aug2003.html) The UN Commission
confirmed the importance and priority of the responsibilities of transnational
corporations related to human rights and requested the High Commissioner for
Human Rights to compile a report on the scope and legal status of the norms and
to identify options for strengthening the norms and means of
implementation;
Hewlett-Packard
together with 8 European companies has stated publicly that they will use the
UN Norms as a guide to develop and implement human rights policies;
We
believe significant commercial advantages may accrue to our company by adopting
a comprehensive human rights policy
based on the above mentioned UN
Human Rights Norms which would serve to
enhance corporate reputation, improve employee recruitment and retention,
improve community and stakeholder relations, and reduce risk of adverse
publicity, consumer boycotts, divestment campaigns and law suits and ;
On
June 30, 2004 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Alien Tort Statute of 1789
which permits foreigners to file suit in U.S. courts for violations of
international law that have “definite content and acceptance among civilized
nations”;
“In the post-Enron environment, every global
company’s board of directors, needs to
oversee its assessment and management of these risks. Given the magnitude of
potential claims, liability may even extend to individual directors if they are
not seen as exercising proper oversight.” (Harvard
Business Review, August 2003)
RESOLVED:
Shareholders
request the Board to prepare a report to shareholders describing the progress
toward development and implementation of a Company Human Rights policy and the
plan for implementation by October, 2005.
This
report to be prepared at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT:
The
proponents believe our company’s human rights policy should be comprehensive,
transparent, verifiable and based on the provisions contained in the
“Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises
with Regard to Human Rights.” We
believe such a policy will benefit our company by helping to ensure that it is
not associated with violations of human rights.
We
urge you to vote FOR this proposal.
Sponsors:
Lead: Society of Jesus -- Wisconsin Province,
Doris Gormley SRI Consultant; Catholic Equity Fund; Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the
Incarnate Word, Houston; Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic; Sisters of
Mercy of St. Louis Region; Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province; Society
of Jesus -- Chicago Province; Society of Jesus -- Missouri Province;