The Ethical Funds Company has urged the United Nations to create an International Civil Court with the power to hear lawsuits against corporations complicit in human rights violations.  Such a court would enable victims to hold corporations accountable and to secure damages for human rights violations.

In a letter written on September 28 to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ethical Funds argues that national courts for lawsuits for human rights violations are inadequate.

 

"We believe that it is necessary to establish an International Civil Court in order to set in place incentive mechanisms necessary to prompt companies to adopt the UN Norms and to respect international human rights law set out in numerous international instruments, " states the letter, written by Robert Walker, Vice President, SRI Policy and Research. 

"The Ethical Funds Company believes that we are at an historic moment.  The UN High Commission has an opportunity to take a significant step forward in promoting the observation of international human rights by "all organs of society" as stated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.  Absent the adoption of the UN Norms, sixty years of convention-writing and standard-setting will ring hollow and the protection of human rights will suffer.  We urge the Commission to adopt the UN Norms and advance the case for establishing an International Civil Court to ensure that the UN Norms are observed by state and non-state actors alike."

 

For more information, visit www.ethicalfunds.com