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Investors are keeping the pressure on companies still operating in Libya by calling on firms to publicly ensure their products are not reaching the country’s dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, or face divestment.
The Italian refiner Saras has been targeted by the Conflict Risk Network, a group of around 100 institutional investors and SRI firms, following the organizations earlier call to companies to halt their operations in the country or commit to stopping their products reaching areas controlled by the Qaddafi regime, which is charged with killing civilians as part of its repression of a recent uprising.
Most big oil firms have already pulled out of the country. Investors, however, are no so much concerned that Saras remains but that its corporate policy is not fit to deal with the situation, and does not necessarily prohibit the abetting of Qaddafi’s atrocities.
Shin Furuya of Domini invoked the human rights norms recently established by John Ruggie: “The company’s actions do not appear to violate existing sanctions on Libya, but we expect companies to do more than just comply with the law. They have a responsibility to respect human rights, and under UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights this means avoiding complicity in abuses committed by others. Saras seems to have neglected its responsibility in this case and risks undermining its reputation as a responsible corporate actor.”
Libya is a huge exporter of oil, and had been particularly open to foreign companies exploiting its reserves shortly before the current civil war.
The Italian refiner Saras has been targeted by the Conflict Risk Network, a group of around 100 institutional investors and SRI firms, following the organizations earlier call to companies to halt their operations in the country or commit to stopping their products reaching areas controlled by the Qaddafi regime, which is charged with killing civilians as part of its repression of a recent uprising.
Most big oil firms have already pulled out of the country. Investors, however, are no so much concerned that Saras remains but that its corporate policy is not fit to deal with the situation, and does not necessarily prohibit the abetting of Qaddafi’s atrocities.
Shin Furuya of Domini invoked the human rights norms recently established by John Ruggie: “The company’s actions do not appear to violate existing sanctions on Libya, but we expect companies to do more than just comply with the law. They have a responsibility to respect human rights, and under UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights this means avoiding complicity in abuses committed by others. Saras seems to have neglected its responsibility in this case and risks undermining its reputation as a responsible corporate actor.”
Libya is a huge exporter of oil, and had been particularly open to foreign companies exploiting its reserves shortly before the current civil war.
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