Engagement with UNGC – December 2008 and January 2009

Formal complaint filed with the UN Global Compact against PetroChina, 12-15-2008

  • A formal complaint was filed with the UN Global Compact (UNGC), led by Investors Against Genocide (IAG) and Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)

  • Text of formal complaint, sent to Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, 12-15-2008

  • The complaint provided an extensive case against PetroChina of “Systematic or Egregious Abuses” of the UNGC’s founding principles which call for support and respect of human rights and avoid complicity in human rights abuses. The complaint asks the UNGC to formally apply its established Integrity Measures to address the complaint, and if, after three months, there is no satisfactory resolution of the issues raised, to consider PetroChina’s participation to be detrimental to the reputation and integrity of the Global Compact and remove the company from the list of participants.

NGOs support formal complaint to the UNGC on PetroChina, 01-07-2009

  • A broad-based international set of over 80 civil society organizations including human rights, corporate accountability, religious and anti-genocide groups from 25 countries have signed an open letter to the United Nations Global Compact, supporting the formal complaint against PetroChina. The letter was also signed by members of the US Congress, members of the Canadian Parliament and other distinguished individuals.

  • Text of the sign-on letter, sent to Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, 01-07-2009

  • Full sign-on list included at the bottom of this page.

  • Press release about the sign-on letter, 01-07-2009.  Also at CSRwire and Global Compact Critics among many others.

    • Eric Cohen – Chairperson, Investors Against Genocide
      “The UNGC must take a strong stand against the abuse of its founding principles.  PetroChina is in violation of UNGC principles for its failure to respect human rights, its lack of due diligence in avoiding human rights violations, its widespread recognition as a major contributor to the conflict in Darfur, and its continuing refusal to correct the abuses.”
    • Bart Slob – Senior Researcher, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
      “Unfortunately the Global Compact has admitted companies with dubious humanitarian and environmental records. These records are in stark contrast to the principles advocated by the Compact. Those Compact participants, such as PetroChina, who merely pay lip service to the principles, will inevitably be denounced by civil society organizations and will have to abandon the UNGC. The public image of the UN should not be used by companies to cover up irresponsible behaviour.”

  • Click here for “PetroChina, the UN and Blood Money” in the HuffingtonPost, 01-07-2009

  • Click here for “Rsc. más de 80 ong piden a naciones unidas que expulsen a petrochina del pacto mundial por su papel en sudán” on elEconomista.es, 01-07-2009

UNGC responded to formal complaint against PetroChina saying that the UNGC decided to do nothing

  • Response from Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, 01-13-2009

    “After having received the advice and guidance of a number of Board Members, we have decided not to handle this matter as an integrity issue of an individual company, PetroChina. The matters you raised in your correspondence could equally apply to a number of companies operating in conflict prone countries. As you have previously confirmed to us, PetroChina has been singled out largely because it, unlike many of the other companies that your coalition has been focusing on, has recently taken the step of joining the Global Compact.  Since we are a learning initiative, this is a step that should be welcomed instead of criticized.”

  • Letter from CNPC, referenced by Georg Kell in his response, 01-09-2009

Full sign-on list to letter of support for the complaint against PetroChina

* Since January 6, 2009, additional groups have signed-on to the letter. Those groups are flagged with an asterisk *

Aegis Trust
Nick Donovan, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research
London, UK; Kigali, Rwanda

American Jewish World Service
Ian Schwab, Senior Associate, National Grassroots Organizer
New York, NY, USA

Americans Against the Darfur Genocide
Nikki Serapio, Director
Palo Alto, CA, USA

Aquinas Associates
Frank Rauscher, Senior Principal
Dallas, TX, USA

Armenian Assembly of America
Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Armenian National Committee of America
Aram Hamparian, Executive Director
Washington, DC

BanglaPraxis and Solidarity Workshop
Zakir Kibria, Director and Coordinator
Bangladesh

Berne Declaration-Erklarung von Bern
Oliver Classen, Media Officer/Public Eye Coordinator
Zurich, Switzerland

Catholic Health East
Kathleen Coll, Administrator, Shareholder Advocacy
Newton Square, PA, USA

Center for Reflection, Education and Action
Ruth Rosenbaum, Executive Director
Hartford, CT

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation
Undule Mwakasungura, Executive Director
Lilongwe, Malawi

Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (CEDEM)
Pamela Caro, Researcher
Santiago de Chile, Chile

Centro de Derechos Humano y Ambiente
Veronica Cipolatti, Program Officer Human Rights
Cordoba, Argentina

Chicago Darfur Coalition
Marion Morgan, Member
Chicago, IL, USA

Clean Yield Asset Management
Rian Fried, President
Greensboro, VT, USA

Civil Initative for Development and Peace (Cividep-India)
K. P. Gopinath, Director
Bangalore, India

Citizens for Justice (Friends of the Earth Malawi)
Reinford Mwagonde, Executive Director
Lilongwe, Malawi

Collectif Urgence Darfour *
Dr. Jacky Mamou, President
France

Corporacion DOMOS
Carolina Peyrin, Director
Santiago, Chili

Corporate Accountability International *
Kathryn Mulvey, International Policy Director
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Corporate Governance
James McRitchie, Publisher
Elk Grove, CA, USA

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Founder and Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Darfur Alert Coalition
Jim Remsen, Interim Executive Director
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Darfur Association in the United State of America
Mahmoud Braima, President
Baton Rouge, LA USA

Darfur Call
Ahmed M. Mohamedain, Director, Human Rights & Advocacy
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Darfur Metro
Sharon Silber, Co-founder
New York, NY, USA

Defend Darfur Dallas
Laura McCarthy, Director
Dallas, TX, USA

DECOIN (Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag
Carlos Zorrilla, Executive Director
Intag, Imbabura, Ecuador

Domini Social Investments *
Adam M. Kanzer, Managing Director & General Counsel
New York, NY, USA

EarthRights International
Katie Redford, Director
Chang Mai, Thailand

Earthworks
Bruce Baizel, Senior Staff Attorney
Washington, DC, USA

Enough Project
John Norris, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Foundacion Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)
Belen Esteves
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fundación El Otro
Marcelo Ugo, Presidente
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fundación SES
Roque A. Grunauer, Coordinator
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Foundation Centrum CSR.PL
Grzegorz Piskalaski, Director
Warsaw, Poland

Genocide Alert
Robert Schuette, Head Executive
Cologne, Germany

Genocide No More–Save Darfur of Redding
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator
Redding, California, USA

Global Gandhian Trusteeship & Corporate Responsibility Foundation, Member of the UNGC
Suresh Kr Pramar, Managing Trustee
Noida, India

Humanity United
Randy Newcomb, President
Redwood City, CA, USA

Idaho Darfur Coalition
Marcia Prasch, Co-founder
Boise, ID, USA

Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (Brazilian Institute for Consumer Defense)
Lisa Gunn, Executive Coordinator
São Paulo , Brazil

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Laura Berry, Executive Director
New York, NY, USA

Interrupción
Maria D’Ovidio, Director
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Investors Against Genocide
Eric Cohen, Founder and Chairperson
Boston, MA, USA

Italians for Darfur *
Antonella Napoli, President
Rome, Italy

Jewish World Watch
Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, Executive Director
Encino, CA, USA

Kentuckiana Interfaith Taskforce On Darfur
Bob Brousseau, Chair
Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Keokuk for Darfur
Julia Hays, Director
Keokuk, IA USA

Louisvillians Helping to Save Darfur
Dr. David Lowell Robinson, Chair
Louisville, KY, USA

Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Marie Lucey, Director of Social Mission
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
Susan Morgan, Director of Communications
Boston, MA, USA

Member of Canadian Parliament
Paul Dewar
Ottawa Centre, Ontario, Canada

Member of Canadian Parliament
Marlene Jennings
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Member of Canadian Parliament *
Dr. Keith Martin, M.D., P.C.
Esquimalt – Juan de Fuca, British Columbia, Canada

Member of Canadian Parliament
Anita Neville
Winnipeg South Center, Manitoba, Canada

Member of Canadian Parliament
John Rafferty
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Member of Canadian Parliament
Bill Siksay
Burnaby-Douglas, British Columbia, Canada

Member of U. S. Congress
Michael E. Capuano (MA-08)
USA

Member of U.S. Congress
Stephen F. Lynch (MA-09)
USA

Member of U.S. Congress
James P. McGovern (MA-03)
USA

Member of U.S. Congress *
Donald M. Payne (NJ-10)
USA

Mia Farrow
Actor and Human Rights Activist
USA

Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investments
Barbara Jennings, Director
St. Louis, MO, USA

My Sister’s Keeper
Gloria White-Hammond, Executive Director
Boston, MA, USA

National Association of Human Resource Specialists
Ioana Manaila, President
Bucharest, Romania

New York City Coalition for Darfur
Ellen Weiss, Co-founder
New York, NY, USA

North Jersey Coalition for Darfur
Tanya L. Simon, Coordinator
Randolph, NJ, USA

The Norwegian Forum for Environment and Development
Elin Enge, Managing Director
Oslo, Norway

Observatorio de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa
Orencio Vazquez Oteo, Director
Madrid, Spain

ONG La Lumiere
Aly Sagne, Program Manager
Tambacounda, Senegal

Organizacion de Consumidores y Usuarios (ODECU)
Stefan Larenas Riobo, President
Santiago de Child, Chile

Physicians for Human Rights
Frank Donaghue, Chief Executive Officer
Cambridge, MA, USA

Poder Ciudadano (Transparency International Argentina)
Laura Alonso, Executive Director
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Programa Laboral de Desarrollo (PLADES)
Giovanna Larco Drouilly, Executive President
Lima, Peru

San Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition
Susan Smylie, Coordinator of Advocacy
San Antonio, TX USA

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Martina W. Knee, Member, Executive Committee,
San Francisco, CA, USA

Save Darfur Coalition
Jerry Fowler, President
Washington DC, USA

Save Darfur Washington State
Deborah Jones, President
Seattle, WA, USA

Save My Future (SAMFU)
Robert Lawrence Nyahn, Program Office,
Forest & Human Rights Programs
Monrovia, Liberia

SETEM-Madrid
Annie Yumi Joh, Director of Campaigns
Madrid, Spain

Social Support Foundation
Louis Acheampong, Executive Director
Obuasi-Adansi, Ghana

SOMO—Centre for Research on Multinational Companies
Bart Slob, Senior Researcher
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Stop Genocide Now
Gabriel Stauring, Director
Redondo Beach, CA, USA

STAND Canada
Yoni Levitan, Executive Director
Canada

Sudan Advocacy Action Forum
Bill Andress, Moderator
Louisville, KY, USA

Sudan Divestment UK
Sam Burke, Director
London, England, UK

Sudan Organisation Against Torture
Hannah Logan, Coordinator
London, England and Sudan

Trillium Asset Management Corporation
Shelley Alpern, Vice President
Boston, MA, USA

Unitarian Universalist Association
Timothy Brennan, Treasurer
Boston, MA, USA

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Charlie Clements, President and CEO
Cambridge, MA

U.S. Campaign for Burma
Jeremy Woodrum, Director
Washington, DC, USA

Waging Peace
Louise Roland-Gosselin, Executive Director
London, UK

Walden Asset Management
Tim Smith, Senior Vice President
Boston, MA, USA

Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM)
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director
Tarkwa, Ghana

Westchester Darfur Coalition
Roberta Roos, Coordinator
Westchester, NY, USA

Workers’ Assistance Center (WAC)
Cecilia Tuico, International Relations Work & Campaign Program Officer
Rosario, Cavite, Phillipines