16 ‘pro-LGBT’ businesses that operate in countries with poor human rights records
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| English: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) pride flag under a "No" symbol. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Big corporations have come out to criticize state religious
liberty measures in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina as discriminating
against those who aren’t heterosexual, some going as far as to propose
boycotting states that enact such laws.
However, several of the most vocal companies that say
they stand with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans also operate
in countries with troubling human rights records, including places where
homosexuality can result in a death sentence, a review by The Daily Signal
shows.
Details on the fate of the measures in Georgia, Mississippi,
and North Carolina are below. The following is a list of
16 corporations that publicly attacked religious liberty measures in
one or more of the three states, yet do business in countries that
blatantly and sometimes brutally discriminate against LGBT citizens or otherwise
have a poor record of defending human rights:
1. Unilever
Unilever CEO Paul Polman tweeted that
many businesses would boycott Georgia if its HB 757 religious liberty bill
were signed by the governor:
The multinational corporation earned top marks by
the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s most influential gay rights
groups, in what it calls its 2016 Corporate Equality Index for LGBT Workplace
Equality.
However, Unilever North
Africa Middle East has production facilities in countries such
as Tunisia and Algeria. A 2015
report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans,
and Intersex Association indicates that those countries
make homosexual activity illegal.
Unilever did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith tweeted
that he supported opposition to Georgia’s HB 757.
The tech giant complies with government search
engine censorship policies in China, according to Human Rights Watch.
Microsoft and other search engine companies argue that just by operating
within the borders of the communist state, they make China freer.
A corporate document describes freedom of
expression as a fundamental right, but states “restrictions on free
expression and privacy should only be imposed where necessary, narrowly
tailored and provided for by law—and we are opposed to restrictions on peaceful
political expression.”
Microsoft did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
3. Intel
Intel has partnered with the Vietnamese
government to develop education, environment, and “digital inclusion
programs.” Human Rights Watch describes Vietnam
as a one-party communist state that “bans all independent political parties,
labor unions, and human rights organizations.”
Like Microsoft, Intel says it bases its human rights policies on
United Nations standards to “avoid complicity in human right violations related
to our own operations, our supply chain, and our products.”
Intel did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
4. Live Nation
After rock musicians Bruce
Springsteen and Bryan
Adams canceled shows in protest of recently enacted religious
liberty laws, Live Nation said in a statement regarding
the North Carolina legislation that it “supports our artists’ efforts to take a
stand against this exclusionary and unfair law.”
Live Nation’s corporate website says it
celebrates diversity, “ensuring all our work environments are those in which
people are free to be themselves and celebrate what makes them great.” However,
the international conglomerate hosts events and manages venues in
countries, including the United Arab Emirates, which prohibit homosexual
behavior.
Live Nation did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
5. The Weinstein Co.
The big film studio threatened to move production of its Richard
Pryor biopic out of Georgia if HB 757 were enacted.
A Weinstein Co. movie, “Shanghai,” was
set to be filmed in China, which is accused of
hostile policies toward LGBT citizens, before production was moved to London
and Thailand.
The company’s 2015 film “No
Escape” also was filmed in Thailand, a country that Human
Rights Watch argues is
in the midst of a “deepening human rights crisis” after a military coup in
2014. “No Escape” was released there
only after censorship boards were put into place to approve all films shown in
Thailand.
Human Rights Watch says Thailand’s current government has
“banned political activity and peaceful public gatherings; criminalized freedom
of expression; made hundreds of arbitrary arrests; and held detainees in
incommunicado military detention without safeguards against abuses.”
The Weinstein Co. did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request
for comment.
6. AMC Networks Inc.
AMC Networks Inc., which films the hit television show “The
Walking Dead” in Georgia, opposed HB 757. A spokesman told the Los
Angeles Times that “discrimination of any kind is reprehensible.”
“We applaud Governor [Nathan] Deal’s leadership in resisting a
previous version of this divisive legislation and urge him to reject the
current version as well,” the spokesman said.
AMC broadcasts in
Russia, which drew international attention after it enacted a gay
“propaganda” law in
2013. A Human Rights report noted an increase in violence and harassment
against LGBT citizens in Russia.
AMC Networks Inc. did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request
for comment.
7. Time Warner
Time Warner opposed Georgia’s religious liberty bill, arguing in
a statement that
the measure “violates the values and principles of inclusion and the
ability of all people to live and work free from discrimination.”
Time Warner has expanded its entertainment empire into
Singapore, a country that bans homosexual activity, according
to the International
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association report.
Time Warner did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
8. The Walt Disney Co.
The Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary Marvel Entertainment
proposed to boycott Georgia over HB 757.
A company spokesman said, “Disney
and Marvel are inclusive companies, and although we have had great experiences
filming in Georgia, we will plan to take our business elsewhere should any
legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law.”
The Walt Disney Co. continues to expand into China—including
investing $5.5 billion for a theme park
in Shanghai. Human Rights Watch says the
communist state has “no law protecting people from discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The Walt Disney Co. did not respond to The Daily Signal’s
request for comment.
9. General Electric Co.
Alex Dimitrief, General Electric’s senior vice president and
general counsel, signed an open
letter to Mississippi lawmakers urging
repeal of the state’s Religious Liberty Accommodations
Act.
The letter claims the law’s use of “religion to discriminate
against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Mississippians” does not
reflect the “values of our companies.”
GE does business in Saudi Arabia, a country that criminalizes
homosexual behavior. In 2014, a Saudi Arabian man was
sentenced to three years in jail and 450 lashes for using Twitter to
arrange to meet other men.
A GE corporate spokeswoman told The Daily Signal that the
company has “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, and oppose laws
permitting discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation or
gender identity.”
10. The Coca-Cola Co.
Coca-Cola North America President Sandy Douglas signed a letter
condemning the bill proposed in the company’s home state. Douglas then
signed another one to Mississippi political leaders, arguing that the
state’s recently enacted bill, HB 1523, did not reflect the “values of our
companies” by using “religion to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) Mississippians.”
In 2006, Coca-Cola’s bottling plants were accused of
interfering with irrigation in regions in India and Latin
America experiencing water scarcity. More recently,
Coca-Cola reevaluated its sugar supply chain after
accusations it was benefiting from unethical land seizures. Its website
lists diversity, protecting local land rights, and sustainability as core
values.
Coca-Cola did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
11. PayPal
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman announced that
the online-payments firm would abandon plans for a new global operations center
in Charlotte, N.C.
North Carolina’s “bathroom law,” known as HB2,
“perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are
at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture,” Schulman said.
The decision, he said, “reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our
strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with
dignity and respect.”
PayPal continues to offer services in Mauritania,
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, and other countries where
homosexuality may be punished with the death
penalty, and in Nigeria, where
homosexual conduct may be punished with caning, imprisonment, or death by
stoning.
PayPal did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
12. Salesforce
Software firm Salesforce said it
would reduce investments in Georgia. “Once again, Georgia is trying to pass
laws that make it legal to discriminate,” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff tweeted.
After Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the legislation,
Salesforce said it
looks forward to “growing both our team and investments in Georgia—including
hosting thousands of customers, partners, and employees at our Salesforce
Connections event in Atlanta on May 10-12th.”
Salesforce maintains an office in
India, where a 15-year-old boy was teased
and harassed to the point of lighting himself on fire because he was seen
with a male partner.
Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch’s South Asia
director, wrote that
India’s penal code section 377 “reinforced the idea that discrimination and
other mistreatment of LGBT people was acceptable in Indian society.”
The United Nations’ Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organization reported that
in India, “students who do not conform to gender norms were more likely to
suffer from violence in education settings than other ‘sexual minorities.’”
Salesforce did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
13. Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. opposed Mississippi’s religious liberty bill.
The technology giant said the
measure, titled the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government
Discrimination Act, “empowers discrimination.”
Apple also opposed North Carolina’s bill. The company said: “Our
future as Americans should be focused on inclusion and prosperity, and not
discrimination and division. We were disappointed to see Governor [Pat] McCrory
sign this legislation.”
An Apple subsidiary, Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai)
Co. Ltd., is located in China—where
the government in its Xinjiang region justifies “pervasive ethnic
discrimination, severe religious repression, and increasing cultural
suppression” in the name of the “‘fight against separatism, religious
extremism, and terrorism,’” according to Human
Rights Watch.
Apple did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
14. The National Basketball
Association
The NBA said it
isn’t sure the effect North Carolina’s religious freedom measure will
have on its plans to host next year’s All-Star Game in the state.
“We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs
counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect and do not yet
know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017
All-Star Game in Charlotte,” the NBA said, adding: “The NBA is dedicated
to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events.”
The U.N. Committee on Human Rights wrote in a
report of its concern about South Africa because of “numerous
manifestations of racism and xenophobia, including violent attacks against
foreign nationals and migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, resulting in
deaths, injuries, displacement and property destruction” and other human rights
violations.
The NBA did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
15. Netflix
Netflix, the world’s leading Internet
television network, threatened to move production if Georgia’s governor signed
the bill.
“We recently completed two films and a series in Georgia and had
planned on filming two series there in the coming months,” Netflix said.
“Should any legislation allowing discriminatory practice be signed into state
law, we will move our productions elsewhere.”
The Netflix website says it offers services to every country except
China, North Korea, Syria, and Crimea.
Libya, home to violations of international law that “may amount to
war crimes and other international crimes under international law” is among the
many nations that do receive Netflix.
Netflix did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for
comment.
16. Sony
Sony called the
Georgia bill “anathema to our studio and to all those who value diversity and
inclusion” and added: “We strongly urge Governor Deal to exercise his
veto.”
The media giant has an office in Kazakhstan,
where Amnesty
International reports that “impunity for torture and other ill-treatment
[remain] largely unchallenged” and “freedoms of expression, association, and
peaceful assembly [continue] to be restricted.”
Human Rights
Watch reports that LGBT citizens in Kazakhstan face a
climate of fear “stoked both by the abuses and discrimination they face
directly, as well as abuse and discrimination when they try to report rights
violations to authorities.”
Sony did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
***
Drawing the most attention in recent weeks were religious
liberty bills in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant early this month signed a
bill into law to protect “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral
convictions,” allowing businesses to decline participation in same-sex
marriages and to determine who gets access to facilities such as bathrooms
and locker rooms.
Bryant, a Republican, said in a statement that the
law—known as HB 1523—”does not
limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizens of this
state,” The Washington Post reported.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory last month signed a
measure, known as HB2, requiring individuals to use public restrooms that
correspond to their biological sex. McCrory, a Republican, later issued a clarifying executive
order “to protect privacy and equality” after receiving a national backlash
from some quarters.
“After listening to people’s feedback for the past several weeks
on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of
misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly,
selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North
Carolina,” McCrory said, according
to CNN. “But based upon this feedback, I am taking action to
affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.”
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal last month vetoed a
religious liberty bill, HB 757, arguing
that the measure does not reflect Georgia’s image.
Deal, a Republican, also resisted a
previous version of the law, saying he would reject any measure
that “allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of
faith.”
A summary of the final version states it was designed to
ensure the protection of religious liberty, including a provision that
allowed faith-based organizations to choose not to employ those who hold
contrary beliefs.
Deal said in an April 12 interview that supporters of reviving
the legislation must carefully consider whether they wish the state to become
embroiled again in national controversy.
“It’s time to take another deep breath. I see what’s happening
in North Carolina. I see what’s happening in Mississippi,” he said, according
to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And I would hope that
many of the ones that are pushing for it would not want the state of Georgia to
go through that kind of scenario.”
