International Right to Know Campaign

Human Rights First is working with a broad coalition of labor, environmental and human rights groups to build support for an International Right to Know (IRTK) legislative proposal. Modeled on domestic U.S. Right to Know laws, IRTK would require U.S. companies to report on the key environmental, labor and human rights practices of their overseas operations. This information would be reported to U.S. government agencies and then be publicly available. For example, corporations would be required to provide information about the number of workers injured or killed in work-related accidents, workers' exposure to hazardous substances, child labor, forced labor and discrimination in the workplace. Corporations would also be obligated to disclose security arrangements with military, paramilitary or private security forces, as well as human rights complaints brought by local communities.

In all areas, the IRTK would require corporations to report the practices of their subsidiaries, suppliers and contractors - a provision Human Rights First considers central to the effectiveness of the legislation. Human Rights First believes that the greater transparency engendered by the IRTK will empower both consumers and local communities to demand that American corporations act responsibly both abroad and at home.

Why IRTK?

On December 3, 1984, over 40 tons of lethal gasses leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, killing over 2,500 people and injuring over 500,000. In response, the U.S. Congress enacted the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), which requires American companies operating in the United States to disclose vital information about the toxic chemicals they use to workers, communities and the public. Domestic manufacturers have credited EPCRA with spurring them to voluntarily and dramatically cut their toxic emissions, which has in turn enabled them to operate more economically, for instance by saving on clean-up costs. Labor and environmental advocates have praised EPCRA for providing workers and local communities with the information they need to protect their health and safety.

But domestic Right to Know laws such as EPCRA do not apply to U.S. corporations' operations abroad and are powerless to prevent future Bhopals. They are likewise powerless to prevent the scores of violations of internationally recognized labor rights that U.S. corporations commit daily outside U.S. territory, from Mexico to Cambodia to Indonesia. Nor do they address the grave human rights and environmental violations that U.S. corporations such as Unocal and Chevron are alleged to have facilitated in Burma and Nigeria.