GMW: Job at Monsanto - Human Rights Manager

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GMW: Job at Monsanto - Human Rights Manager

" GM WATCH " <info

Tue, 4 Oct 2005 10:53:09 +0100

 

 

 

 

 

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http://www.gmwatch.org

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1.Human Rights Manager, Monsanto Company

2.Potecting whose rights?

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http://www.bsr.org/Jobs/CSR/index.cfm?fuseactions=Jobdetails & jobpkey=354

 

Human Rights Manager, Monsanto Company

 

Job Description

 

Monsanto Company is committed to corporate social responsibility, led

by its Pledge, Code of Business Conduct and stand for human rights. The

specific commitment to human rights is expressed through the Company's

recently developed Human Rights policy. The Human Rights Manager will

coordinate the tactical effort to implement, monitor and report on the

policy for the advancement of human rights within Monsanto's sphere of

influence. The manager will serve as the primary liaison with both

internal and external teams working to implement and ensure compliance

with

the policy; create and enforce operating guidelines to effectively

apply and assess the policy; and design and conduct training and

education

sessions

 

Qualifications/Competencies

 

*Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree desired

*Critical thinking skills that facilitate analysis of the interaction

between company policy, business issues and operations, and external

positions/standards is essential

*Excellent oral and written communication skills. Presentation

experience

*Demonstrated success at engaging and partnering with different sectors

(i.e. corporate, non-governmental, government)

*Inclusive work style with a commitment and ability to operate in a

multicultural environment.

*Highly organized with strong project management skills as well as

technical and administrative problem solving skills

*Relevant experience preferred (i.e. corporate social responsibility,

labor practices, law, human rights).

*Excellent internal and external relationship-building skills

- Attention to detail and follow-up

- Ability to read, analyze and assess complex and, at times, lengthy

documents

- Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information

 

Key Responsibilities

 

Development and execution of strategy and plan for management system to

implement company human rights policy including, as illustration and

not limitation of the responsibilities:

 

*Leadership of accountability team in setting of goals and actions;

*Draft guidelines in support of plan and requisite communication and

training materials;

*Monitor, assess and report on company efforts;

*Design and coordination of remediation plans, as necessary; and

*Recommend adjustments, alterations and improvements to plan.

 

Engagement with internal and external teams and business partners

working to implement company human rights policy.

*Active role with the Public Policy Team on general issues of public

policy and corporate and social responsibility.

*This role will require international travel.

 

The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature

and level of work performed by this role. It is not designed to contain

or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties,

responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to

this job.

 

To view a more complete and detailed job description of this exciting

position, please visit our website at www.monsanto.com and respond

online. The direct link for this role is

http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/careers/job3.htm We offer

very competitive salaries and an extensive benefits package. Monsanto

values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.

 

Additional Information

 

POSITION TYPE: Full-Time

 

Contact Information

Monsanto Company

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2.Potecting whose rights?

 

" Monsanto Company is committed to corporate social responsibility, led

by its Pledge, Code of Business Conduct and stand for human rights. "

(item 1 above)

 

MONSANTO'S HONESTY PLEDGE

http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=58 & page=1

 

In early 2004 Monsanto was named Best Multinational Company in the

first International Business Awards competition, whose aim is to raise

the

public " profile of exemplary companies " . In making the award specific

reference was made to the Monsanto Pledge that Monsanto says guides all

its business activities.

 

" Integrity is the foundation for all that we do, " Monsanto boasts on

its website. And " integrity " , the company says, includes " honesty,

decency, consistency and courage " . These are all part of the Monsanto

Pledge.

 

THE MONSANTO BRIBERY SCANDAL

 

In January 2005 it was announced that Monsanto is to pay $1.5m in

penalties to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and

Exchange

Commission (SEC).

 

According to a criminal complaint by the Department of Justice under US

anti-bribery laws, the company paid $50,000 to an unnamed senior

Indonesian environmental official in 2002, in an unsuccessful bid to

amend or

repeal the requirement for an environmental impact statement for new

crop varieties.

 

The bribe in question was just the tip of the iceberg and the trail of

corruption leads back to the U.S..

 

BRIBE APPROVED BY SENIOR MONSANTO EXEC

 

A senior Monsanto official based in the US ordered the bribing of the

environmental official. According to the Security and Exchange

Commission, " When it became clear that the lobbying efforts were

having no

effect on the Senior Environment Official, the Senior Monsanto Manager

told

the Consulting Firm Employee to 'incentivize' the official with a cash

payment of $50,000. " The Monsanto manager then concocted a scheme

" involving false invoices " to hide the bribe.

 

According to the Financial Times, " The company also admitted that it

had paid over $700,000 in bribes to various officials in Indonesia

between 1997 and 2002, financed through improper accounting of its

pesticide

sales in Indonesia. "

 

The bribes were financed, at least in part, through unauthorized,

improperly documented and inflated sales of Monsanto's pesticide

products in

Indonesia, the company admitted.

 

The Financial Times notes, " The attempt to circumvent environmental

controls on genetically-modified crops in a developing country is a

significant embarrassment for Monsanto, which is engaged in an ongoing

campaign to win public support in the European Union for its genetically

modified crops. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4773

 

MONSANTO GAVE BRIBES TO " AT LEAST 140 " OFFICIALS

 

Over a five year period, it seems, Monsanto gave bribes to " at least

140 " current or former Indonesian government officials and their family

members.

 

The recipients are said to have included a senior official in the

environment ministry, a senior official in the agriculture ministry,

and an

official in the National Planning and Development Board (Bappenas).

 

The largest single set of bribes was for the purchase of land and the

design and construction of a house in the name of a wife of a senior

Ministry of Agriculture official, which cost Monsanto $373,990.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4776

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4780

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4793

 

HOW MONSANTO'S GM COTTON WAS BROUGHT TO INDONESIA

 

It's interesting, in the context of the corruption scandal, to revisit

the extraordinary way in which Monsanto's GM seed was first brought

into Indonesia in March 2001. It happened with the Indonesian military

riding shotgun for Monsanto.

 

According to the Jakarta Post, " A total of 40 tons of genetically

modified Bollgard cotton seed arrived at the Makassar airport from South

Africa amid strong protests from environmentalists... A number of

activists, waving banners... tried to intercept the convoy of trucks

carrying

the cotton seeds, which contain Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and block

them from leaving the airport...

 

" The authorities had apparently concealed the seed's arrival from the

press... but at approximately 1pm on Thursday The Jakarta Post noticed a

Russian Ilyusin transport plane ... unloading the seed in the airport's

military area. The wide-bodied plane ... was tightly guarded, and

reporters and photographers were barred from approaching the plane.

Members

of the Indonesian Air Force guarding the area said that reporters must

back off for security reasons. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4782

 

MONSANTO'S LEGACY IN INDONESIA

 

The farmers who grew Monsanto's GM seed did far less well out of it

than the Indonesian officials who took Monsanto's bribes.

 

Monsanto's entry into the region in 2001, through its Indonesian

subsidiary PT Monagro Kimia, was marked by a concerted campaign of

promotion

of its Bt cotton among farmers. The company claimed that Bt cotton was

environmentally friendly, used less pesticide, and would ensure an

abundant harvest and increase farmers' welfare.

 

In the first year of planting, there were reported failures of Bt

cotton - the crop succumbed to drought and hundreds of hectares were

attacked by pests. The drought had led to a pest population explosion

on Bt

cotton, but not on other cotton varieties.

 

As a result, instead of reducing pesticide use, farmers had to use

larger amounts of pesticides to control the pests. Furthermore, the Bt

cotton - engineered to be resistant to a pest that is not a major problem

in the area - was susceptible to other more serious pests.

 

Moreover, it did not produce the yields Monsanto had boasted about. The

poor yields trapped farmers in a debt cycle; some 70% of the 4 438

farmers growing Bt cotton were unable to repay their credit after the

first

year of planting.

 

One of the Indonesian farmers who grew Monsanto's GM cotton commented,

" The company didn't give the farmer any choice, they never intended to

improve our well being, they just put us in a debt circle, took away

our independence and made us their slave forever. "

 

More at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4783

 

MONSANTO'S BOSS IMPLICATED AND URGED TO QUIT

 

In the light of evidence that Monsanto tried to illegally circumvent

environmental controls in Indonesia, Monsanto's president and chief

executive, Hugh Grant, has been called on to quit the International

Advisory

Board set up by Scottish Enterprise, which helps Scottish companies

develop their businesses abroad.

 

Jonathan Matthews of GM Watch told the Sunday Herald, " This man is

steeped in a company culture that allowed this to happen. " He added,

" What

has emerged about corrupt practices in Indonesia may just be the tip of

the iceberg. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4779

 

Following on from the Sunday Herald's report, Robin Harper, a Member of

the Scottish Parliament (MSP), drew to the attention of Scotland's

First Minister the fact that Monsanto's President bore a direct

responsibility for what had gone wrong in Indonesia:

 

" During 1997-1998, Mr Grant was managing director of Monsanto's Asia

Pacific division and was promoted to having global responsibility for

agriculture. He was not on holiday with Monsanto; he had overall

responsibility during most of that period of corrupt practice. "

 

Harper objected to " the fact that the CEO of a corporation convicted of

systematic bribery in its international dealings is on a government

sponsored advisory committee " . He called for action, " Ministers must

intervene now and demand the resignation of Hugh Grant from SE... Hugh

Grant

has got to go. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4816

 

Given that the bribes scandal got underway while Grant had overall

charge of business operations in Indonesia, there are clearly questions

about his suitability to be in charge of a company which claims,

" Integrity is the foundation for all that we do. "

 

How can Monsanto ever hope to meet that pledge while it is run by a man

known to have already failed to deliver honest business dealings in the

area of company operations for which he had specific responsibility?

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4811

 

MONSANTO STONEWALLS ENQUIRIES

 

In summer 2005 Harrington Investments Inc. (HII) filed a shareowner

resolution with Monsanto asking its board to create an ethics oversight

committee of independent directors to monitor compliance with laws as

well as the Monsanto Pledge and Code of Business Conduct, in view of the

company's violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

 

" Bribery is illegal, and Monsanto's violation of federal law and the

company's own voluntary code of conduct prove that management cannot be

trusted to protect shareholders, " said John Harrington, CEO of HII, a

Napa, California-based socially responsible investment (SRI) firm.

" Monsanto's management has once again shown its disregard for its

fiduciary

duties and for U.S. law. "

 

After several attempts to contact Monsanto for comment, SocialFunds.com

- the largest personal finance site dedicated to socially responsible

investing - spoke briefly with Monsanto Public Affairs Director Chris

Horner. The phone call abruptly ended before Mr. Horner answered any

questions and he did not respond to follow-up phone calls and email.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5675

 

MORE DIRTY TRICKS

 

This is not the first time that Monsanto's Pledge to integrity,

transparency, honesty, candour and decency has been brought into question.

 

In late 2002 an article in The Guardian revealed that Andura Smetacek -

the principal

" anonymous " e-mail attacker behind a campaign of character asssination

against a Berkeley scientist over his research on GM contamination of

Mexican maize - had operated off an Internet Protocol address belonging

to the Monsanto Corporation. Smetacek had posted around 50 such attacks

on scientific and other critics of Monsanto - all of them during the

period of the Pledge.

 

If covert poison pen attacks hardly smack of integrity, courage,

respect, candor, or honesty, they can at least be put down to

consistency!

For Andura Smetacek was no lone assassin but part of a corporate

communications strategy operating from Saint Louis to Johannesburg,

from Manila

to New Delhi. In short, despite the Monsanto Pledge the company's

corporate communicators were engaged in a relentless dirty tricks

campaign,

often in association with Monsanto's PR firm The Bivings Group .

 

More at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=117

 

 

 

 

 

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