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Comprendre la responsabilit茅 des entreprises avec Thomas Gauthier - YouTube
Channel: AmnestyFrance
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Understanding
corporate responsibility
[6]
To produce our mobile phones,
[8]
children work in cobalt mines.
[11]
For our shampoos,
[12]
forced labour is practiced
in Indonesia,
[15]
and to keep making cement,
[17]
the Larfage company
even had links
[20]
with the terrorist
organisation Daesh.
[22]
These examples show
that the impact of multinationals
[25]
on populations
and the environment
[27]
is not always positive.
[29]
Yet these companies
operating worldwide
[31]
are rarely challenged.
[33]
How can this be?
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You've heard
of these multinationals,
[38]
located in several countries
at once
[41]
thanks to subsidiaries operating
almost independently.
[44]
So, let's make it simple:
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Let's imagine a company,
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we'll call it Chossepi茅,
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Yes, the Chossepi茅 company.
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It's a French company
that sells shoes,
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with headquarters in France,
let's say in Bordeaux.
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So far, so good.
[60]
Like many companies,
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Chossepi茅 wants
to optimise its profits
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by reducing
production costs.
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So, it locates its factories
in other countries
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where labour is cheaper.
[72]
It calls such a factory
a subsidiary.
[74]
It can also use
subcontractors
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who are also located abroad.
[78]
Naturally these subsidiaries
must report
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to the parent company
in Bordeaux,
[83]
but they have a certain freedom.
[85]
Financial freedom
with their own funds,
[88]
and legal autonomy:
[90]
their obligations
are subject to the law
[92]
of the country where they are.
[94]
The sub-contractors
are even more independent
[97]
with no direct subordination
to the parent company,
[101]
just commercial contracts.
[104]
So, to make its shoes,
our shoe company
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opens a subsidiary in China
to make its laces,
[110]
another in Senegal
for its soles,
[112]
and assembles it all
in its Portuguese subsidiary.
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Congratulations!
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Our shoe company is now
a multinational!
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It also uses a subcontractor
in Hanoi,
[124]
to increase production.
[126]
And when a fire breaks out
[129]
due to defective machinery
in the Vietnamese factory
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killing and injuring
many employees,
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our French shoe company
is in no way responsible.
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Scandalous, you say?
[142]
But our example
is not far from reality.
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In 2013 in Bangladesh,
the Rana Plaza,
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a building housing
many garment factories,
[153]
collapsed.
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The day before,
despite staff warnings
[157]
of cracks appearing
in the walls,
[160]
the bosses made the workers
keep on working.
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When the building collapsed,
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almost 4,000 workers
were inside.
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A shocking figure:
1138 people died.
[172]
Yet none of the multinationals
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that had their garments
made in that building
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were ever brought to court.
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To maximise their profits,
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some companies
will go to any lengths,
[182]
in perfect impunity.
[184]
They've got it worked out!
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Human rights abuses
are not committed by them,
[188]
but by the subsidiary
or subcontractor.
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This has a high cost
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for populations
and the environment,
[195]
despite the existence
of Corporate Social Responsibility.
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known as CSR.
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It's a model for companies
to integrate
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social, environmental
and ethical concerns
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in their business activity.
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Companies must
therefore respect
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the rights of all the persons
that work with them
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and protect the environment
in which they locate.
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A noble principle, you say?
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Yes, but on paper.
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Because for companies,
CSR is a voluntary commitment.
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They are free to apply it,
or not.
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Amnesty International
would prefer the application
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of corporate responsibility
in the matter of human rights.
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It's not a question
of vocabulary:
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we are fighting
for more universal rules
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that will apply
to all multinationals,
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in whatever country
they may be.
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There is presently a legal vacuum
at the international level
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that must rapidly be filled,
[257]
given the growing impact
of multinationals worldwide.
[260]
In 1995, the UN reported
44,000 multinationals
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and almost 300,000 subsidiaries.
[268]
In 2005, 77,000 multinationals
for 770,000 subsidiaries.
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Finally, in 2015,
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an estimated
80,000 multinationals,
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and 840,000 subsidiaries,
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which represents
more than 75 million employees.
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These companies,
subsidiaries and subcontractors
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are independent
of each other,
[290]
so that multinationals
too often avoid liability
[292]
for illegal or criminal activities,
[296]
and this legal vacuum
is the major obstacle
[298]
for obtaining justice
for thousands of victims.
[303]
Yet many texts already exist,
[306]
like the UN guiding principles
[312]
recognising the responsibility
of multinationals
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in the matter of human rights.
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But again, this text
is a recommendation
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which multinationals
are not obliged to apply.
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In February 2017, France
took a major, historic step
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by passing a law
obliging multinationals
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to the duty of diligence.
[333]
For the first time, any company
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with over 5,000 employees
in France
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must implement a diligence plan.
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But with its small scale
[342]
this new law
will have limited impact.
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And this is the point:
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when they are too restricted
and insufficiently binding
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these texts cannot have
all the desired effect.
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It is therefore vital
to create binding legislation
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at the national
and international level
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so that companies
are accountable
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and victims can obtain redress.
[365]
Finally, it is for companies
themselves
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to be alert to the impacts
caused by their operations,
[371]
whether on employees
[373]
or on those living
near business zones.
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It is vital that each and every one
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be responsible for their acts
[380]
so that human rights abuses
can be avoided.
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As Margaret Mead said:
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"Never doubt that a small group
of citizens can change the world.
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"Indeed, it is the only thing
that ever has."
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