Uutiset

More than a hundred groups from all over the world oppose to UPM2
Uruguayan, Finnish and International social organizations and environmental groups sent to Finnish parliamentary members and distributed widely a joint declaration rejecting the installation of UPM’s new pulp mill in Uruguay

In response to the recent announcement by the transnational company UPM that it will install a second pulp mill in Uruguay, one of the largest in the world, more than a hundred organizations sent a document to Finnish parliamentarians in which they point out the economic, environmental and social negative effects the project can produce. In the context of a global socio-environmental crisis, they point out that this project represents a step in the wrong direction and explain the reasons.

Among those reasons they point out the following:
UPM’s new megaproject will contribute to environmental degradation promoting the expansion of monoculture tree plantations, that were and will be established in Uruguay’s natural grasslands. These tree plantations are less efficient as carbon sequestration than natural pastures and native forests and negatively impact biodiversity. The worst environmental impact will be to an already compromised water system. These impacts on water and soil characteristics compromise Uruguay’s future capacity to cultivate food.

UPM’s new megaproject will further economic inequality. The company will invest 2.4 billion dollars, while Uruguay will spend an estimated 4 billion dollars to improve infrastructure to meet the company’s requirements. UPM will be in a free zone, exempt from paying various taxes and will sell its excess energy to Uruguay, which is obliged to buy it even if it is not necessary. The transnational company obtains great benefits in exchange for a few thousand temporary workers. The jobs generated by the plant outside the two years of construction do not compensate for lost jobs as a result of industrial tree plantations and the displacement of rural producers from the territory.

UPM’s new megaproject weakens community participation. This project does not have a social license. The agreement between UPM and Uruguay was not approved by the Uruguayan Parliament and citizens did not have access to information and participation in the decision-making process. The project will completely disrupt people’s lives, with a freight train that transports highly toxic substances, divides cities and towns in the countryside and fragments working-class neighborhoods in the country’s capital. In addition, the contract includes requirements for the reduction of labor rights and influence in educational policies.

The statement concludes that there is no planet B, pointing out it is unsustainable to continue promoting projects that consider environmental impacts, social justice and human rights as secondary issues. They support collaborations between countries that result in equitable good quality jobs that serve to regenerate and protect our environment.
August 5, 2019
Declaration with signatures at sidebar and here.
ULOS UPM2! NO UPM2
Contacts in Uruguay:
Mariana Achugar mariana_achugar(at)yahoo.com +598 92010568 (English and Spanish)
Ana Filippini anafili2(at)gmail.com +598 98407572 (English and Spanish)

International contacts:
Merel van der Mark merel(at)environmentalpaper.org EPN+ 351 915 264 382 (English and Spanish)
Noora Ojala noora.ojala(at)maanystavat.fi Friends of the Earth Finland +358-45-6730713 (English and Finnish)

Maan ystävät tukevat laillisesti sitovia ihmisoikeussääntöjä monikansalliselle yhtiötoiminnalle. Sitovaa ihmisoikeussopimusta on vaatimassa laaja joukko verkostoja, järjestöjä ja toimijoita, lue lisää täältä: www.treatymovement.com/about-us.

Sitovia ihmisoikeussääntöjä tehdään YK:n ihmisoikeusneuvoston alla (UNHRC) ja tavoitteena on laillisesti sitovat ihmisoikeussäännöt, YK:n alaisessa ihmisoikeussopimuksessa, jotka suojelisivat vastuuttomalta yhtiötoiminnalta. Monikansalliseen yhtiötoimintaan ulottuvan uuden ihmisoikeussäännöstön luonnospaperia on tällä viikolla päivitetty YK:n toimesta. Maan ystävät, muiden tahojen ohella, toivottavat tervetulleeksi työn ihmisoikeussopimusluonnoksen edistymiseksi, mutta esittävät huolen siitä, että EU on pyrkinyt jarruttamaan sopimuksen käsittelyä. EU:n tulisi toimia sen puolesta, että yritykset kunnioittavat ihmisoikeuksia, joiden avulla pyritään estämään kansainvälisten yritysten ja muiden yritysten ihmisoikeusrikkomukset sekä poistamaan esteet uhrien oikeussuojan saatavuudessa. Tiedote asiasta englanniksi alla.

Citizens demand the EU stops stalling on a treaty to ensure that businesses respect human rights

This week saw the publication of the landmark revised draft of a UN treaty which aims to prevent human rights abuses by transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and close existing gaps in access to justice for victims. 

A coalition of European civil society groups welcomes the publication of the revised draft UN Treaty on business and human rights and calls on the EU to conduct a thorough analysis of it. This is particularly important as the revised draft addresses many of the EU’s previous concerns, by building on the existing UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and defining which business activities should be covered. A new analysis should build the basis for a determined, proactive EU engagement in the upcoming 5th session, taking place in October 2019 in Geneva.

The undersigned therefore urge the EU and its Member States to analyse the content of the revised draft and work in a transparent, inclusive process. This includes sharing their legal analysis, consulting civil society groups and working towards preparing the EU’s participation in the formal negotiation session. 

Communities have struggled for decades against corporate abuses – such as environmental damage, landgrabs, discrimination and harassment, or appalling working conditions in the bottom of global value chains. Facing many barriers to justice, victims struggle to hold corporations accountable, and often experience threats, intimidation and violence when they try to do so – with women facing particular gender-based rights violations.

The ongoing process for a UN Treaty is a historic opportunity to address the fragmentation of international law and change the current asymmetry of power between people, the planet and corporations, by regulating business activities in international human rights law. Regrettably, the EU has so far engaged reluctantly in this important international process, despite numerous calls from the European Parliament and from over 580,000 European citizens that it should do so.

As the world’s largest economy and trading block, the EU has a crucial role to play with regards to holding its businesses accountable. The lack of substantive EU engagement in the UN Treaty process is in stark contrast with the EU’s strong push for the expansion and enforcement of investor rights in bilateral agreements. Rather than further prioritising corporate interests over people’s rights and the environment, the EU should invest that level of effort and engagement for protection against harmful business activities. We need the EU’s political commitment to address the issue of corporate impunity for human rights abuses.

Should the EU fail to organise a joint position on the UN Treaty, Member States must fulfill their responsibility, speak up during the negotiations and bring their experience and perspectives to the international discussion. 

The undersigned call on the EU to live up to its commitments to champion human rights and gender equality and accordingly negotiate with other countries, to ensure that the treaty will adequately serve to protect the women and men suffering from business-related abuses, and to grant them appropriate remedy for harms caused. We are ready to support our government delegations, the European Commission, parliamentarians and MEPs in this historic task.

—  Signatories below

ActionAid International

CAFOD (England & Wales)

CCFD-Terre Solidaire (France)

Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) 

CIDSE – International family of Catholic social justice organisations

Clean Clothes Campaign International Office

Commission Justice et Paix Belgique

Ekumenická akademie (Czech Republic)

FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)

Friends of the Earth Finland

Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND)

Global Justice Now 

Global Policy Forum

IUCN NL

Latinamerikagrupperna/Solidaridad Suecia-América Latina (SAL)/Solidarity Sweden-Latin America

Mani Tese (Italy)

NaZemi (Czech Republic)

Sherpa

SÜDWIND-Institute 

TROCA – Plataforma por um Comércio Internacional Justo

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