Courting international business: what are the human rights obligations of global capitalism?

• Author: Aaronson, Susan Ariel
• Position: Capitalism

In recent years, many of America's largest and most prominent multinational companies have been called to court to defend their international business practices. For example, Exxon Mobil was sued by the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) for allegedly aiding and abetting human rights violations by the military in Indonesia. Del Monte has been sued by the for allegedly permitting local managers to torture union leaders in Guatemala. And Coca-Cola has been sued by the United Steel Workers for allegedly hiring right-wing death squads to frighten workers at its bottling plant in Colombia.

These cases have been brought under two laws, the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1992. The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) provides federal courts with jurisdiction over violations of the "law of nations," and the Torture Victim Protection Act applies only to torture and extrajudicial killing. The plaintiffs seek to determine whether corporations can be held accountable in U.S. courts for human rights and other abuses carried out by foreign governments against non-U.S, citizens. Although many of these cases have progressed in U.S. courts, not one has yet proceeded to trial. Nonetheless, business leaders are very concerned.

Most of these cases have been brought by international human rights organizations such as the Earth Rights Institute, Amnesty International, and the ILRF mentioned above. However, last year, attorneys brought two broad class action lawsuits under the ATCA which allege injury based on vicarious or indirect liability. The plaintiffs allege that some of the world's most visible multinationals indirectly caused injury when products or services they sold to the South African government were used to undermine human rights during the apartheid era. The first suit was filed in June, 2002, by Ed Fagen (one of the lawyers who pioneered the lawsuits against insurance companies, banks, and corporations that profited from property and labor stolen during the Holocaust). This suit seeks damages for personal injuries inflicted on the plaintiffs through a variety of means during the apartheid era (1948-1993) based on the theory that the defendants' actions caused the injuries by perpetuating the apartheid regime. The defendants were charged with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the apartheid regime. On November 11, 2002, a similar case was brought against some of America's...