Press Releases

For media inquiries please contact Rachel Cohen: racohen78 [at] gmail.com

ILRF Welcomes Investigation of Drummond for Paramilitary Links

03/20/07

March 20, 2007

Concerns raised about safety of key witness in Drummond trial

The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) welcomes the announcement that law enforcement officials in Colombia will investigate the murder of three trade union leaders working at a coal mine owned by US-based Drummond after allegations that company officials paid right-wing paramilitaries to conduct the assassinations.

Dole worker tells of labor rights violations in Colombian flower industry

02/12/07

For immediate release

International Labor Rights Fund

Contact: Nora Ferm, 202-347-4100

Says US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will not protect rights of women workers

Beatriz Fuentes, a 29-year-old mother of two with nine years of work experience in Colombian rose plantations, is in the US for Valentine’s Day to share with consumers her first hand account of the issues facing women workers.

Strong advocacy for justice of the slain bishop and labor activists’ causes deportation

12/08/06

Fr. Jose Dizon, executive director of the Cavite-based Workers

Assistance Center (WAC), strongly believed that US labor lawyer Brian

Campbell was denied entry in the country because the government wants

to get even with him and with his Washington DC-based organization

International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) for spearheading a strong

justice campaigns in the USA for the slain Bishop Alberto Ramento of

the Philippine Independent Church, Nestle union president Diosdado

"Ka Fort" Fortuna, and other activists murdered in the Philippines.

NZ rights lawyer to join protests at ASEAN summit

12/07/06

A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was able to get into the country to take part in protest actions at the ASEAN Summit in Cebu starting Sunday, ANC's The World Tonight reported Thursday.

“I would rather be called a terrorist than be cowed into silence,” said Jane Kelsey of the Action Research and Education Network who flew into Cebu to add her voice to the anti-ASEAN protests.

Kelsey feels the summit is focusing too much on broad economic and political issues and neglecting the plight of laborers and small workers.

ILRF sues Nestle for Complicity in Colombian Union Murders

10/26/06

Wife Claims Food & Beverage Giant Retaliated for Husband’s Exposure of Company’s Use of Expired Milk in Popular Drink

LABOR WATCHDOG GROUP MAY ASK MAJOR USERS OF DEER PARK BRAND NOT TO RENEW CONTRACTS

Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverage company, has been sued for complicity in the murder of a Colombian trade union leader by paramilitary forces with which the company has had a long-standing relationship.

Political Killings in Philippines

09/21/06

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, join our voices in a call for an end to the wave of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Over the past five years, a stark increase in politically-motivated violence has claimed the lives of pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders, political opposition figures, lawyers, teachers, peasants, students, union leaders, and religious leaders.

Governor Corzine Joins National Anti-Sweatshop Initiative

09/13/06

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has announced that he will participate in a path-breaking governors’ initiative to end sweatshop exploitation in apparel and other industries. Proposed by Governor John Baldacci of Maine, the Governors’ Coalition for Sweatfree Procurement and Workers’ Rights will use state government procurement as a catalyst to level the playing field for ethical businesses and advance justice for sweatshop workers.

Special Delivery: Letters to Firestone in DC Area and in 36 States Highlight Company’s Abuses in Liberia

07/26/06

National Day of Action on Liberia’s Independence Day Urges Tire Giant to End Child Labor and Improve Conditions on Liberian Rubber Plantation

Washington, DC - To mark Liberia’s Independence Day, Liberian-Americans and concerned consumers from 36

states are joining Friends of the Earth, International Labor Rights Fund, Institute for Policy Studies, TransAfrica

Mother’s Day Brings Extra Strain for Colombian and Ecuadorian Women Workers

05/10/06

Mother's Day is the second biggest day for cut flower sales in the US, but this heightened demand by US consumers puts extra pressure on the Colombian and Ecuadorian workers, most of whom are women, who are already subjected to harsh working conditions by their employers.

The International Labor Rights Fund’s (ILRF) Fairness in Flowers Campaign has found that women flower workers in these countries suffer from discrimination, sexual harassment, and health problems caused by the many toxic pesticides used on the plantations.

The True Cost of Cotton

12/08/05

A report released today, “White Gold - The True Cost of Cotton” reveals the extent of environmental damage and human rights abuses caused by the cotton industry of Central Asia, mainly to supply European demand. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is calling on governments, retailers, buyers and consumers to refuse to buy cotton sold by Uzbekistan produced by forced labour at devastating environmental cost.

Human Rights Watchdog and Civil Rights Firm Sue Nestle, ADM, Cargill, for Using Forced Child Labor

07/14/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Natacha Thys, Bama Athreya

202 347-4100, exts. 110, 106

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG AND CIVIL RIGHTS FIRM SUE NESTLE, ADM, CARGILL FOR USING FORCED CHILD LABOR,

Companies Import Cocoa Beans from Africa Harvested by Children

CHARGES INCLUDE TRAFFICKING, TORTURE, 14-HOUR DAYS

New Reports on Labor Conditions in Sugar Industry in Central America

06/29/05

ILRF and its partners are releasing new reports on labor rights violations of sugar workers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Over 1500 cane cutters and sugar refinery workers were interviewed throughout these countries. The research for these reports was conducted in early 2005 and thus reflects recent and ongoing abuses of workers in the Central American sugar industry.

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