Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Impunity Inc. has been undertaken as part of the Campaign Dismantle corporate power and stop impunity!. It aims to provide, through three case studies, tools for reflection on the “super” rights and “super powers” of transnational corporations. We report abuses and labour rights violations that occur daily in the clothes factories in Morocco, stressing the responsibility of the Spanish corporation Inditex. The report evidences a similar situation in Nicaragua, pointing out the role of Pescanova. In both cases, the report highlights how all this happens in the context of partnership agreements imposed by the European Union (EU), in a context in which the Lex Mercatoria and protection of corporate interests continue to take precedence over human beings.

Impunity Inc. also focuses on the European social metabolism, discussing the implications of EU dependence regarding increasingly strategic raw materials situated in impoverished countries. Through cases of exploitation of zinc in Bolivia, coal in Colombia, cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, soy-bean and sugar cane in Argentina and Brazil, the report illustrates the negative impacts of Glencore and discusses how trade agreements ensure impunity of large corporations. The report also talks about Glencore’s role in financial speculation on commodities Commodities The goods exchanged on the commodities market, traditionally raw materials such as metals and fuels, and cereals. . Impunity Inc. offers also a look at the “natural veins” of trade liberalization, considering infrastructure mega-projects in South America (IIRSA-COSIPLAN), highlighting the case of European capital and institutional responsibility in infrastructure and in its financialization. There is a special section on the case of Amazon mega-dams being built on the Madeira River, involving the Santander Bank, GDF-Suez, Abengoa, Voith, Siemens and other European companies...

We hope the report is useful for the ongoing campaigns against Investment Agreements, corporations impunity, infrastructure mega-projects, and financial speculation.

Executive Summary (Spanish only)

To download the full report (80 pages, 4 MB, Spanish only), click on the image below , or by chapters, at this link.
As a novelty, the report also features an interactive online MAP