The decision of a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles last week changes the rules for conglomerates and corporations. Judge Victoria Chaney ordered the oil giant Unocal " it stands for Union Oil of California " to stand trial for human rights abuses. The six-year-old lawsuit does not directly charge Unocal with employing slave labourers or abusing Burmese villagers. It says Unocal either enabled such abuse by Burmese authorities, or stood by knowing that it was occurring.
The suit is a serious warning to corporations. By sending the case to trial, Judge Chaney basically said that big business does not have to whip, mistreat or cheat its workers in order to be guilty of labour abuse. Standing by while it happens is enough. Should Unocal be convicted by the trial, currently scheduled for September, the verdict will send shudders through boardrooms around the world.
The background of this ground-breaking case is long and legally tortuous, but simple enough to understand. In 1994, Unocal joined Total of France, Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production and the Burmese government to develop the Yadana natural gas field in the Andaman Sea, and a pipeline through eastern Burma to the Thai border at Kanchanaburi. The project was hard work, cost $1.2 billion (50.6 billion baht at the current rate) and attracted court cases, human rights protests and environmental concerns from start to finish, and up to today.
In 1996, the International Labour Rights Fund of Washington filed a series of suits in the courts of California, Unocal's home. On behalf of allegedly abused Burmese villagers, the suits claimed Unocal entered into the contract with a brutal military regime and known human rights violator. Not only did Unocal have good reason to believe Burma would beat, shackle and force villagers to work on the pipeline, it continued work and collected its contract fees after hearing proof that such abuses took part. That is what the lawsuit claims, and what must be proved at the trial to make Unocal legally guilty in the case.
It must be noted Unocal claimed all along it was concerned about the potential for human rights abuses on the pipeline. The company claimed it vetted all workers on all sub-projects that concerned Unocal for signs of slave labour and physical abuse. Presumably the plaintiffs will scoff at such claims at the trial. It is known that the International Labour Organisation was gathering irrefutable proof of the use of slave labour and serial worker abuses by the military junta at the time of the Yadana pipeline construction but not on the project itself.
Still, no matter how the legal performance plays out, last week's court decision sets a new standard for big business. The judge said, in effect, that corporations are guilty of conspiracy if they merely stand by while others abuse their workers. It is not enough for businesses to try to treat their own workers well. In effect, Unocal will be guilty of human rights abuses if Burmese authorities used slave labour to build any part of the Yadana pipeline, not just the Unocal section.
This is still just a local California case with ramifications but no authority outside the state. But one must hope the message is heard clearly, and accepted, around the world. Companies that focus uniquely on their profit line will be held responsible for abuses.
Burma routinely violates the rights of its citizens and its neighbours. The regime is a documented, known user of slave labour and ally of drug traffickers. No one " Unocal or other companies from any country " can claim they are ignorant of such facts, which have been the subject of numerous reports by unbiased United Nations committees, for example. Those who enable or help such abuses by the Rangoon generals must be held accountable.