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1 september 2002
johannesburg
media advisory
“art action” voices need for binding
corporate accountability
Johannesburg, Sep 1 -- A giant
installation of sculpture and sound called
“hear our voice” was unveiled today to
illustrate the need for governments to
introduce binding rules for
multinationals.
Friends of the Earth International
installed this “art action” only few meters
away from the main entrance of the Earth
Summit in Johannesburg. [1]
The installation consists of 6,000
biodegradable statues representing the
diverse voices of people struggling to defend
their lives, their communities and their
environment and a ‘soundscape’ representing
the voice of the people. [2] The statues face
one giant metal statue symbolising the
unbridled power of the big corporations with
logos from multinationals such as Exxon and
Monsanto.
“This installation reflects how the
corporations are becoming the rulers of the
world, with the complicity of governments,”
said today Salvadorean Friends of the Earth
International chair Ricardo Navarro.
Friends of the Earth has been collecting
thousands of messages in a global three-month
campaign under the slogan “don t let big
business rule the world” and the statues
represent these demands by civil society
worldwide. [3]
" Despite big companies' green public
relations efforts, for many companies
sustainable development means business as
usual. Without global rules to check this
behaviour, the environment is not going to
figure on the corporate bottom line - and it
would be naïve to expect otherwise,” said
Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth
International Vice-Chair.
Launched as world leaders gather for the
Earth Summit, the art installation
illustrates how even some of the top
international companies who claim to be
developing sustainable policies, are still
causing major damage to the planet.
Friends of the Earth International is
calling for world leaders meeting
Johannesburg to introduce global rules for
business, to protect people and the
environment.
“We demand that governments listen to the
voice of the ordinary people of Africa and
the rest of the world,” said Bobby Peek of
Friends of the Earth South Africa /
GroundWork.
Daniel Mittler, Earth Summit coordinator
for Friends of the Earth International today
revealed that a leading transnational
corporation with a poor social and
environmental record (and one of the world’s
largest mining companies) Anglo-American Plc,
is a major funder of the Johannesburg Earth
Summit. [4]
Notes:
[1] The UN World Summit on Sustainable
Development takes place in Johannesburg,
South Africa from 26th August to 4th
September 2002.
[2] The statues were produced by local
deprived communities. For more information
contact Donald Pols at +27 72-2966 740
Pictures in printable quality and details of
the installation available
www.rio-plus-10.org
[3] Messages were collected via actions in
15 countries via the internet (
www.rio-plus-10.org
).
Individuals around the world also sent their
sounds and messages through
www.radioearthsummit.org
[4] Friends of the Earth today published a
briefing which reveals that the company is
planning an extensive new copper mine in Peru
against the wishes of much of local community
who fear will leave them without water and
damage their local economy and agricultural
resources – despite the claims of the mining
industry to have cleaned up its act. Anglo’s
record in Zambia and South Africa has been
heavily criticised. The company is presently
facing a case under the OECD guidelines on
multinational enterprises over its Zambian
operations. Yet executives from the company
have managed to secure close influence with
governments – one is on the official UK
Johannesburg delegation.
Contacts in Johannesburg:
Ricardo Navarro, Friends of the Earth
International(FoEI) Chair +27 72 4015392
Tony Juniper, FoEI Vice-Chair +27 72
40115393
Bobby Peek, GroundWork +27 82 4641383
Daniel Mittler, FoEI Earth Summit
coordinator +27 72 4015394
Media officers:
Ian Willmore +27 72 4015386
Eugene Van Haaren +27 72 4015389
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