Katie Redford - Earthrights International

I chose to shadow Katie Redford and her Earthrights International organization. Katie is a human rights lawyer and activist. She has addressed a large oversight that many large global companies have swept under the rug. they tend to walk all over the less fortunate, and her organization has held these organizations accountable for their actions.

Katie is an innovator and a creative force to be reckoned with. She did her research and brought to light an old law that would work against these behemoth companies called the Alien Torts Claims Act of 1789.

The Wiki on it is located at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Torts_Statute

Much of my information below has been adapted from the Wiki on Katie Redford.

Anyone that can bring a behemoth of a company to their knees over civil rights violations deserves my admiration and respect. Katie Redford is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. She received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Human Rights and Public Service while there. She is also a member of the
Massachusetts State Bar and served as counsel to plaintiffs in ERI's
landmark case. Redford received an Echoing Green Fellowship, which provided her with the seed money
in 1995 to establish ERI. Katie continues to work on
ERI's litigation pursuits and is a teacher at the EarthRights Schools. Redford
currently serves as an adjunct professor of law at both UVA
and the Washington College of law at American UniversityUniversity"">.
In 2006, she was selected as an Ashoka Global Fellow.

Katie is also a published author. Her focus is on Human rights and corporate accountability. She also co-authors ERI reports such as In Our Court, Shock and Law, and Total Denial
Continues.

Earthrights International is a "nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of human rights and the environment—which it defines as “earth rights”—by doc**enting
abuses, mounting legal actions against the perpetrators of earth rights
abuses, providing training for grassroots and community leaders, and
launching advocacy campaigns."

I am following her company on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/EarthRights-International/158644819154 and I have sent her a private message asking if she has a blog elsewhere on the net that I might also be able to follow.

The first company that Earthrights International tackled was Unocal, winning the case in 2004 after a long protracted uphill battle. "In the landmark settlement, the company agreed to compensate the Burmese villagers who sued the firm for complicity in forced labor, rape, and
murder." The 2006 Doc**entary "Total Denial" is about this situation.

Redford and ERI are currently working with the victims of human rights abuses associated with the activities of the oil company Chevron in Nigeria. She has litigation started in San Fransisco against Chevron.

Current Projects from the ERI website (http://www.earthrights.org ):

Burma - Currently, the Burma Project focuses on large-scale dams, oil and gas development, and mining. We share experiences and resources with local
communities, as well as provide assistance relevant to community needs.
Over the past 10 years the Burma Project has raised awareness about the
alarming depletion of resources in Burma and their relationship to a
vast array of human rights abuses, as well as the local, national, and
regional implications of these practices. http://www.earthrights.org/campaigns/burma-project

Transparency - ERI supports mandatory transparency disclosure requirements in the extractive sector, and works in coalition with organizations and
governments to accomplish this important goal.

Defend ATCA - The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), which permits victims of international human rights abuses to sue in U.S. courts, is now under attack from
organizations representing powerful multinational companies. In recent
years, victims have sued multinational corporations for complicity in
human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killing,
forced labor, and genocide. Believing that such companies should be
immune from suit, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and the
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) are seeking to repeal or sharply
limit the law.

Protect the Amazon - ERI is developing a long-term, integrated education initiative in Peru to be focused on building the capacity of indigenous, campesino, and
urban leaders, living in areas with extractive industries or who are
threatened with such industries’ imminent arrival on their territories. More... http://www.earthrights.org/campaigns/protecting-amazon

Latest Litigation:
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/wiwa-v-royal-dutchshell
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/bowoto-v-chevron
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/maynas-v-occidental
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/doe-v-unocal
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/doe-v-chiquita-brands-international
http://www.earthrights.org/legal/bano-v-union-carbide

Here too is a list of publications from ERI
http://www.earthrights.org/publications