Human Rights

In a move activists hoped would lead to a flood of affordable AIDS medication to Africa, the pharmaceutical industry dropped its suit Thursday challenging a South African law many say would allow the government to import or produce generic versions of the drugs. Read More

Demonstrators in dozens of cities throughout Brazil and around the world marked International Day of Farmers' Struggle on Tuesday, protesting police massacres of rural workers, genetically modified seeds, and agricultural trade that jeopardises food security. Read More

Several related events recently took place that highlight the seriousness of the trade in torture weapons such as electroshock weapons, and the role that private companies in some countries, notably the United States and the United Kingdom, have in it. Read More

Nike's website allows visitors to create custom shoes bearing a word or slogan -- a service Nike trumpets as being about freedom to choose and freedom to express who you are. Confronted with Nike's celebration of freedom and their statement that if you want it done right, build it yourself, I could not help but think of the people in crowded factories in Asia and South America who actually build Nike shoes. Read More

CorpWatch is holding a contest to name the phenomenon of human rights themed or humanitarian advertising and PR campaigns. Read More

Oil companies operating in Sudan are complicit in the systematic depopulating of large areas of the country and atrocities against civilians, tens of thousands of whom have been killed and displaced from the areas around the oil fields, according to a report to be published today. Read More

The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy was occupied this morning by 1,500 people who came from all across the country to protest the negative effects of large dams. Read More

Rights activists are unhappy with the Labour Ministry's plan to amend labour laws to introduce 80 hours of overtime every month for factory workers, including those in export processing zones (EPZ). Read More

Marc Kasky, a self-described environmentalist, viewed the Ernst and Young audit as an opportunity. Enlisting the support of San Francisco attorney Alan Caplan, he filed a suit against Nike in April of 1998. The suit claims that Nike's assertions about the labor conditions in its Asia factories amounted to false advertising. Read More

But Senne's ambitious plans have been replaced by fears of severe budget cuts. When President Bush announced a ban last month on aid to international organizations that perform or promote abortions, it signaled the end of U.S. funding to Planned Parenthood of South Africa, Senne says. Read More