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Human Rights have become an important business consideration.
In the 4/6/2000 New York Times article "A Call
to Put Social Issues on Corporate Agendas," the
article concludes that if companies do not address human
rights issues, they face a new kind of corporate risk
with operations, reputation, retention of quality employees
and shareholders.
We believe this is currently the case with Unocal as
the human rights abuses associated with its Yadana pipeline
project in Burma are causing the company disproportionate
financial and reputational liabilities.
A report by the Harvard Business School titled "The
Burma Pipeline" states, "The controversy
that emerged around Yadana quickly became serious enough
to put Unocal’s involvement in the project - and the
firm’s reputation – into serious jeopardy."
Unocal’s Yadana gas pipeline project in Burma has produced
minimal revenues for Unocal, while involvement with
Burma's oppressive military regime and the human rights
and environmental controversies associated with this
pipeline project have created disproportionate financial
and reputational liabilities for Unocal.
Unocal is currently facing costly lawsuits in both
the State of California and a U.S. federal court for
human rights violations conducted on the Yadana project.
There is strong shareholder support for the Executive
Compensation resolution. Last year, 16.3% of the shareholders
voted in favor of the Executive Compensation resolution,
including such prominent shareholders as CalPERS.
In conclusion, we believe Unocal’s involvement in Burma
is inconsistent with its stated commitment to excellence
in corporate governance, human rights, and social accountability.
We are gravely concerned that Unocal’s continued presence
in Burma will place Unocal’s long-term profitability
at risk.
We urge you to vote for Proposal No. 5.
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