“Social Monitoring of the Transnational Corporations�

Workshop – Enlazando Alternativas 3

May 2008

Date & Venue to be confirmed 

 

Summary: The project is aimed at organizing a workshop to form part of ¨Enlazando Alternativas¨ 3 (EA3) initiative, to be carried out from May 13th to May 16th in Lima, Peru, at the same time and in parallel to the 5th Summit of the Head of States and the Governments of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the European Union.

The one-day workshop will focus on the role of the European transnational companies in Latin America and aims at strengthening the role of the civil social organizations in the monitoring of the transnational companies. It will also establish a base from which to build a bi-regional network of monitors and set a strategy to achieve this objective.

 

 

Background and Presentation

 

The transformation of the transnational companies in powerful and important actors of the economic and social reality was one of the main results of the policies of economic liberalization implemented over the last years in several countries, influencing greatly the internal and external policy-making decisions of these companies.

 

Within this framework, the growing importance of the European transnational companies present in many countries of Latin America - especially on the secondary industry and other sectors of the economy-demonstrates the so-called “Global Europe, competing in the world� strategy, which promotes an aggressive trade agenda in order to improve the competitiveness of the European corporations; their position in the global market and their offensive in the domestic market, to the detriment of economic, political, social and environmental rights achieved by the people through years of work.

 

As a result, the social organizations and trade unions arranged different initiatives in order to deepen the knowledge of these companies and to assess the impact of their behavior over society, the economy and the environment.

 

Many workers’ organizations are developing specific plans for monitoring these companies in compliance with the OIT´s regulations of work protection and in defense of the workers´ rights.

 

Along with these initiatives, many social organizations encouraged the creation of specific programs to monitor the transnational companies as far as the environment, gender issues, trade, finance, corruption, corporate social responsibility, and other issues. European Social organizations, specially those dedicated to labor issues, began to work on monitoring and social control of the transnational companies and halt the offensive on labor, public and environmental rights.

 

An important step in this direction was the work done in the human rights field to move towards the adoption of the "Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights" and ensure they are incorporated as a legal framework to regulate the activity of the corporations in different countries.

        

The creation of the “Tribunal de los Pueblos� (People’s Court), which takes place in the Enlazando Alternativas´ meeting, was another important initiative with these purposes in which social organizations judge cases of violation of Human and Environmental Rights by a Transnational Company operating in the continent.

 

Acknowledging this background, FOCO`s Observatory of the Transnational Companies, in collaboration with Global Net and social organizations from Latin America and Europe dedicated to research on Transnational companies in Europe, organized a Workshop to be held in Lima, Peru next May.

 

Objetives

 

1)  To Submit, review, and analyze the improvements in methodology, information, research, and monitoring abilities of organizations from Europe and Latin America in order to deepen the understanding of the Transnational Companies and further the social surveillance of their activities.

 

2) Examine the opportunities to develop joint strategies among the organizations involved for information, research, monitoring, and systematic control considering previously selected strategies and indicators

 

3)     Discuss and lay foundations for the creation of a bi-regional network for research, monitoring and control of the European Transnational Companies that are operating in Latin America.

 

Main Activities

 

• To coordinate with the Organizing Committee of Enlazando Alternativas to address the workshop as part of their activities and to manage the logistics for the activities.

• To call organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile and from European countries to take part in the workshop. FDCL Berlin, Germany, will coordinate the participation of European organizations.

 

 

• To outline the workshop schedule and prepare documents for discussion and distribution.

• To coordinate the completion of the Workshop on the proposed date.

• To organize and publish the results.

 

 

Previous Activities

 

·         The preparation and execution/coordination of the workshop will be arranged by the Observatory of Transnational Corporations - FOCO - in Buenos Aires and the Regional Coordination of the Global Network in Lima, which will share the responsibility to carry out this initiative in the region.

 

·         FDCL of Germany will be in charge of the organization and coordination in Europe.