MEDIA ADVISORY

Global Experts to Speak on Taking Multinational Corporations to Court
Panel to spotlight developments in using courts as a tool for accountability

(Ottawa—October 27, 2014) International legal experts are gathering in Ottawa next Monday to speak about their work to hold multinational corporations accountable in their countries of origin for human rights abuses committed overseas.

In a public panel, “Lawsuits Against Multinational Corporations,” lawyers from South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will join Canadian experts to examine precedent-setting cases against the mining industry.

The experts will be speaking out on the eve of an international strategy meeting, which will include lawyers working with local populations seeking legal accountability—at the national and international levels—against multinational companies. One such case is the lawsuit against Canadian company, HudBay Minerals, by a small group of Guatemalan citizens. The plaintiffs seek to hold the company responsible for abuses that include murder and sexual assault, allegedly perpetrated by local staff at a HudBay-operated mine. The case is moving forward in Ontario courts.

Organized by the Halifax Initiative and Amnesty International, the global experts meeting is the second in Canada. It is a forum meant to share legal strategies currently used within different countries and devise tactics in challenging corporations through the legal system.

The public discussion will examine the cases and challenges in the United States (Tyler Giannini, Harvard International Human Rights Clinic), United Kingdom (Tricia Feeney, Rights & Accountability in Development), Australia (Lizzie O’Shea, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers), South Africa (Sayi Nindi, Legal Resources Center)—as well as similarities and differences to the Canadian experience (Matt Eisenbrandt, Canadian Centre for International Justice).

Media and the public are invited to attend this free event. Interview and photo opportunities are available with speakers at the event, as well as with international experts on the sidelines of the global experts meeting.

Monday, November 3: 6-8:00pm
Amnesty International
312 Laurier Ave. East Ottawa

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For more information, please contact:
Zuzia Danielski, Communications Consultant
zuzia.danielski@gmail.com or 613-263-0661