Store vestlige tøjfirmaer, der får produceret billigt i det fattige land, har alt for længe kørt på frihjul og må nu leve op til FNs retningslinjer for god forretningsskik og agtpågivenhed overfor grundlæggende menneskerettigheder, mener ekspertgruppe – nu 800 døde for industrikatastrofen.
GENEVA, 8 May 2013 (UN News Service): A United Nations expert group Wednesday urged global clothing brands to work with Bangladesh, international organizations and civil society to improve working conditions in the country’s garment sector.
This followed the collapse last month of a factory in the capital that left hundreds dead and wounded.
“The international brands sourcing from Bangladesh have a responsibility to conduct human rights due diligence (udvise agtpågivenhed) to identify and address their own impacts on human rights,” said Pavel Sulyandziga, who currently heads the five-strong UN Working Group on business and human rights.
“De må lægge pres på som købere”
“If they are linked with negative impacts on human rights through their suppliers, they have the responsibility to exercise their leverage (lægge pres på) as buyers to try to effect change.”
Last month, the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing more than 800 people, mostly female workers. The garment industry employs some 3-5 million workers in the South asian country.
“International clothing supply chains are increasingly complex and addressing systemic issues is not an easy task, but the scale of the efforts must be commensurate with (svare til) the challenge,” Mr. Sulyandziga said.
The expert noted that several of the factories operating in the building had reportedly been audited (her: inspektion) in the past. However, these audits either overlooked or excluded altogether the structural problems with the building.
The Working Group stressed that the Government of Bangladesh has the duty to protect human rights from violations by business actors.
It must take action to ensure a thorough investigation of how the affected factories were allowed to operate, bring those responsible to account, ensure reparations (erstatning) for victims, and take strong action to improve protection for workers’ rights.
“We strongly urge international clothing brands sourcing from Bangladesh to address human rights risks in their supply chains with the involvement of workers, other relevant stakeholders, and human rights experts, and to share publicly what they are doing to mitigate their risks,” Mr. Sulyandziga said.
He urged brands to address how buyer behaviour and pricing strategies may prevent investments in safer factories and living wages for workers, and called on the international garment sector to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
