Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights
In 2003, the Crowley Program traveled to Bolivia to examine two cases framing questions of corporate responsibility for violations of economic and social rights. The first involved a massive oil spill in the Desaguardero River; the second involved the “water wars” that took place in the city of Cochabamba after a multinational consortium took control of the city’s newly-privatized water system. Mission participants interviewed congressmen and government ministers, industry representatives, corporate officials, local activists, and members of indigenous communities along the Desaguardero River.
The final report critiqued international human rights protections for economic and social rights in the context of globalization, and suggested avenues for improvement. The Bolivia mission report, “No Recourse: Transnational Corporations and the Protection of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in Bolivia” (PDF), was published in 27 Fordham Int’l L.J. 1663 (2004).
For more information on the current human rights situation in Bolivia, please consult: