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04 Sep 2002
Just minutes after the Summit formally adopted its plan, the US insisted on its highly individual interpretation of the text on big business being officially recorded. This followed a failed US attempt yesterday to get the same objection noted as a footnote – which would have appeared to have come from all governments. As reported earlier by Friends of the Earth International, that attempt failed following other governments’ expressions of outrage.
Specifically the US said it felt the paragraph of the Johannesburg Programme of Action regarding corporate responsibility and accountability referred to “existing” intergovernmental agreements and international initiatives. This is despite the fact that the word “existing” was explicitly removed during the negotiations. [1]
Matt Phillips of Friends of the Earth said:
“This crude attempt by the US to sneak away from better rules for holding US corporations accountable deserves contempt. The rest of the world must go ahead and develop binding rules to secure corporate accountability and put pressure on the US to abide by its negotiated agreement.”
[1] The paragraph reads: “Actively promote corporate responsibility and accountability, based on Rio Principles, including through the full development and effective implementation of intergovernmental agreements and measures, international initiatives and public-private partnerships, appropriate national regulations, and continuous improvement in corporate practices in all countries.”
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