Module 8

Case studies – Canadian mining companies abroad

Silhouette of two soldiers on the ground and two helicopters in the air
2013 Savar building collapse, Bangladesh. On Wednesday, 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh where an eight-story commercial building named Rana Plaza, collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,129.
Source: Wikipedia

Go to the Human Rights Map. Open the entry for Bangladesh – Rana Plaza Building Collapse. Read about the tragic circumstances in which over 1000 garment workers were killed when the building they were working in collapsed due to shoddy construction. Most were making clothes for foreign brands, to be sold in Europe and North America.

In response, Bangladeshi unions, the employers, the foreign brands all signed the Accord in Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Read about the Accord here.

Bearing in mind the Guiding Principles, and the strengths and weaknesses of both litigation and multi-stakeholder approaches to ensuring businesses respect human rights, do you think the Accord is an effective response to the Rana Plaza incident? Why or why not?

Discussion

Post a maximum 300-word comment on the Discussion Board. Comment on the post of at least one other of your classmates.