We call on the State Department to engage constructively in the existing UN open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (the ‘IGWG’).

April 24 marked nine years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Just the day before, dangerous structural cracks were discovered in the building and although the stores in the lower floors of the building closed immediately, the garment factories forced their workers to return to work the next day. That day the building collapsed, killing at least 1,132 people and injuring more than 2,500.

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) applauds Senators Richard Durban and Sherrod Brown for introducing the Alien Tort Statute Clarification Act (ATSCA). If passed, the bill would clarify that the ATS applies to any defendants with personal jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of where the activity in question took place.

Over the next several months, ICAR will facilitate the development of a Corporate Accountability Agenda that will aim to detail the business and human rights movement’s legislative goals and serve as a guidepost for community advocacy.

In the Bangladeshi garment factories, 80% of workers “have experienced or witnessed sexual violence and harassment at work.” Further, 10% of women surveyed said, “they were currently being subjected to sexual harassment, molestation, and assault in the workplace.” Unfortunately, stories abound of women who were sexually assaulted or harassed while working at a Bangladeshi garment factory.

Garment workers working in factories in Bangladesh that supply to international fashion brands face systematic wage theft, including through (1) punishments for late arrival or absence from work, regardless of the reason, (2) receiving wages below the national minimum wage, (3) cancellation of bonuses, and (4) unfair dismissals due to Covid-19 or involvement in union activity. In 2020, Garment workers in Bangladesh reported a 27% overall theft of wages.

In the Bangladeshi garment factories, workers are used to management using intimidation and violence in the workplace. Due to high production demands, workers are prevented from taking restroom breaks, drinking water, leaving at reasonable hours, getting leave for medical emergencies, and much more. Additionally, the wages are so low they are “effectively trapped in abusive conditions,” while also being subjected to sexual harassment and abuse.

To support enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), ICAR urges the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) to require companies that import goods into the United States to accurately trace their supply chains for those goods and report comprehensive supply chain information to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a condition of entry.

In October 2021, Reuters reported that U.S. remote control maker Universal Electronics Inc (UEI), took part in an agreement with Xinjiang authorities for the transport of Uyghurs to work in their plant in southern China. While many global corporations, including American companies and many others which trade on the United States stock exchange, are reportedly linked Uyghur forced labor through their supply chains, this is the first confirmed instance of an American corporation directly employing and transporting Uyghur forced laborers in China from Xinjiang.

A new report by the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) finds that leveraging existing conservation tools to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing increases the U.S. government’s ability to stop goods produced by forced labor from entering our ports.

On January 7, Assemblywoman Dr. Anna R. Kelles and State Senator Alessandra Biaggi introduced the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (A8352/S7428) into the New York State legislature. Although the bill, termed the New York Fashion Law, rightly aims to improve transparency surrounding human rights practices in the fashion industry, it falls short of driving real accountability.

As part of ICAR’s Capitol, Inc. Campaign, four new augmented reality art pieces will be unveiled today on iconic Washington landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, highlighting corporate and government abuse of people and the planet.

Big money and corporate power dictate how agricultural workers are treated, how our food is grown, whether family farmers are able to earn a living, and whether rural communities thrive or decline. Read our fact sheet to learn more about how agricultural powerhouses manipulate policy in their favor and sabotage progress on a host of social justice issues.

The climate crisis we are currently facing is largely a product of the notoriously profit-hungry fossil fuel industry. They knew about the climate risks 60 years ago and spent billions to cover up the truth, all to protect their profits. Read our fact sheet to learn more unchecked political influence within the oil & gas the industry that is being used manipulate the government into prioritizing industry profits above public interest.

For-profit corporations are involved in nearly every aspect of the criminal justice and immigration systems in the United States. Private prison have a powerful financial incentive both to cut corners when it comes to the services they provide, and to push for policies that fuel mass incarceration. Read our fact sheet to learn more.

This policy memo provides an overview of some of the core ways corporations exert influence over government in the United States and discusses legislation and policy solutions that would help start to rein in corporate influence and combat corporate capture.

Since our founding in 2010, ICAR has hosted members and partners from the Business and Human Rights and Corporate Accountability movement for an annual two-day conference in Washington, D.C. to freely explore new ideas, share tactics, and strategize for the future.

On June 16, 2021 the Biden administration announced its plans to update and revitalize the 2016 U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). In response, ICAR and several civil society partners issued a joint submission to the Department of State with concrete recommendations regarding the U.S. NAP revision process.

With the objective of developing consensus on meaningful supply chain reporting requirements, Frank Bold coordinated the Supply Chains Transparency Project in 2020. The work of this project has resulted in a joint civil society statement which outlines recommendations for standardizable supply chain data and indicators applicable across high-risk sectors.

200 rights organizations demand brands fix their broken industry by respecting labour rights and putting the money on the table to ensure workers can feed their families. For only ten cents more per t-shirt, companies like Amazon, Nike, and Next can make sure workers survive the pandemic.