Human Rights Risks in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas Policies

Resolution Text

RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board of Directors commission an independent third-party report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, assessing the effectiveness of the company’s implementation of its Human Rights Statement (HRS) related to operations in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA).[1]

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Shareholders seek information, at board and management discretion, through a report that: 

Discusses how human rights and financially material risks in CAHRA are assessed, mitigated, and reported upon; and
Assesses if additional policies, practices, and governance measures are needed to mitigate risks.

WHEREAS: The number and intensity of CAHRA are increasing, with the World Bank estimating that by 2030, two-thirds of the world’s poor will live in settings characterized by fragility, conflict, and violence.[2] Recent examples include the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war between Hamas and Israel, the coup in Myanmar, and the crisis in the Xinjiang Region, China.

CAHRA are characterized by widespread human rights abuses and violations of national or international law and by a higher prevalence of material risks – legal, operational, and financial – for companies and their shareholders. The International Finance Corporation notes that companies in these areas “face business risks that are much greater than those in other emerging markets,” including destruction of physical capital, deaths and injuries, weak state control, and supply chain disruptions.[3]A recent survey of 1,200 CEOs indicated 97 percent of respondents altered investment plans due to geopolitical volatility and over one-third relocated operations based on conflict-related risks.[4]

Companies failing to conduct human rights due diligence (HRDD)[5] and report on their risk mitigation efforts are exposed to potential violations of evolving laws and normative standards. National legislation and accounting standards are increasingly requiring mandatory HRDD[6] and calling on companies to report on human rights as material risks. [7][8]

Marriott’s operations include over 8,000 properties in 138 countries, including numerous CAHRA, exposing the company and shareholders to significant human rights and material risks. Examples include: Marriott’s relationship to Bangladeshi security forces and threats to local communities’ housing, cultural heritage sites, and safety in Bangladesh[9]; the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh being used by the Saudi government to detain, torture, and extort over 400 local business leaders[10]; and the joint venture by Marriott and Alibaba Group to deploy facial recognition technology in Chinese hotels despite Alibaba’s track record of working with the state to conduct surveillance of ethnic minorities.[11][12] Marriott hotels in Qatar were also connected to numerous labor rights abuses.[13]

Marriott’s Modern Slavery Statement notes, “Marriott carries out due diligence and compliance checks … before entering into relevant agreements”, however, there is no further information on if and how Marriott conducts enhanced HRDD and considers specific human rights and material risks associated with CAHRA.[14] Further information on how Marriott is conducting HRDD in CAHRA will give investors meaningful insight into their governance of these material risks.

[1] http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264185050-en

[2] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/fragilityconflictviolence/overview

[3] https://www.ifc.org/en/what-we-do/sector-expertise/fragile-and-conflict-affected-situations

[4]https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_us/topics/ceo/ey-ceo-outlook-pulse-survey-january-2023-global-report.pdf

[5]  https://www.undp.org/publications/heightened-human-rights-due-diligence-business-conflict-affected-contexts-guide 

[6] https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/doing-business-eu/corporate-sustainability-due-diligence_en 

[7] https://finance.ec.europa.eu/sustainable-finance/disclosures/sustainability-related-disclosure-financial-services-sector_en 

[8] http://www.entegreraporlamatr.org/tr//mailing/25122020/images/Reporting-on-enterprise-value_climate-prototype_Dec20.pdf 

[9] https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-statement-issued-against-illegal-construction-of-marriott-resort-without-prior-informed-consent-from-mro-community/ 

[10] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/19/saudi-accounts-emerge-of-ritz-carlton-night-of-the-beating 

[11] https://news.marriott.com/news/2018/07/11/joint-venture-of-alibaba-group-and-marriott-international-trials-facial-recognition-check-in-technology 

[12] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/technology/alibaba-china-facial-recognition-uighurs.html 

[13] https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/qatar-2022-facilities-mgmt-contractor-to-world-cup-hotels-hosting-fifa-football-stars-reportedly-abusing-migrant-workers-incl-co-comments/ 

[14] https://serve360.marriott.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Marriott_Statement_2023.pdf