Earthrights International and its Legal Team will join other leading minds to speak to Congress about corporate human rights abuses, and the justice systems that are increasingly failing victims

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Earthrights International combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and environment.   This Thursday, members of the EarthRights Legal team will join other leading minds to speak to Congress about corporate human rights abuses, and the justice systems that are increasingly failing victims. Presentations by EarthRights, Amnesty International, and the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) will discuss the various ways corporations are evading accountability, and how courts around the world are shutting their doors to communities who have been mistreated. The briefing will be open to the public, so if you are in the area, we welcome you to join us as we take our message directly to halls of power. Briefing: Addressing Barriers to Human Rights Victims' Recovery Thursday, March 6th, 4-5 p.m. 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building First and C streets NE, Washington, DC 20510 (Map) To attend, please R.S.V.P. to [e-mail] The following morning, members of Amnesty International, EarthRights, and ICAR will be at Georgetown University to publicly present three new publications which explore different facets of the corporate accountability problem. This event is also open to the public, but if you are unable to attend, we hope you'll take a moment to check out the publications below: Injustice Incorporated: Advancing the right to remedy for corporate abuses of human rights is a major new book by Amnesty International. The book examines what happens when poor communities confront powerful multinational corporations in an effort to secure justice. It focuses on four emblematic cases and exposes how corporate political and financial power, intertwined with specific legal obstacles, allow companies to evade accountability and deny, or severely curtail, a victim’s right to remedy. Out of Bounds: this publication presents a summary of the history, jurisprudence and politics of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), explaining how this obscure law became one of the most important and hotly-contested tools in the area of business and human rights and the target of attack by the corporate lobby, the Bush Administration, and eventually even the Obama Administration. In the report, EarthRights International tracks the rise of the ATS through its highs, including the Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, to its recent holding in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell). The report considers the future of ATS claims and other avenues for human rights litigation more broadly to hold corporations accountable. The Third Pillar: Access to Judicial Remedies for Human Rights Violations by Transnational Business was launched in December 2013 by the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), CORE Coalition, and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ). The report shows that, two years from the agreement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, States are failing to ensure effective access to judicial remedies to victims of corporate abuses, and provides recommendations to States to address those barriers. Access to Justice: Report Launches Friday, March 7th, 9:00-10:30 a.m. Hotung International Law Building, Room 1000 Georgetown University Law Center 550 First Street NW, Washington D.C. (Map) To attend, please R.S.V.P. to [e-mail] We would love to see our D.C. area supporters in person at either event. To everyone who can't make it, have a great week and thank you for your continued support of EarthRights and the struggle for universal human rights.  All the best, EarthRights International