Union Oil Company of California - UNOCAL IN BURMA

I. PROBLEM The vast majority of serious complaints about transnational corporations concern their
alleged role in supporting, encouraging, and benefiting from egregious human rights abuses .
1.1 How can the dictatorship and human rights violations can come to an end?

A group of Burmese residents filed a lawsuit against Unocal in US federal court in 1996.   The plaintiffs
alleged they had suffered human rights abuses such as forced labor, murder, rape and torture at the
hands of the Burmese military during construction of a gas pipeline, and that Unocal was complicit in
these abuses.  Unocal and Burma’s military government were in a consortium for the pipeline’s
construction.  The parties reached an out-of-court settlement in which Unocal agreed to compensate
the plaintiffs and provide funds for programs in Burma to improve living conditions and protect the
rights of people from the pipeline region (the exact terms of the settlement are confidential).  This
settlement was accepted by the court, and the case was closed on 13 April 2005.

II. OBJECTIVE

1. UNOCAL aim’s to create and invest in energy projects outside the United States.
2. To develop the field and build a pipeline to transport gas.
3. UNOCAL conducted a research on the social political environment of the country.
4. To determine the risks in pursuing the project.
5. To become more effective way to strengthen emerging economies and promote more open
societies.

III. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION

The Burmese project appealed to UNOCAL. Burma was attractive for several reasons.

1. The labor was cheap and relatively educated.

2. Burma was rich in natural gas resources, and its many other untapped resources presented
major opportunities.
3. Burma was an entry point into other potentially lucrative international markets. Burma not only
offered a potentially large market itself, it is also occupied a strategic location that could serve
as a link to markets in China, India, and other countries in Southeast Asia.
 4. The Burmese government maintained a stable political climate. With the military to maintain
law and order, the political environment was extremely dependable.
5. Burma as a country is poor.
6. The project involved the government Burma, with which it would be partnering, was a military
dictatorship accused of continually violating the human rights of the Burmese people.

IV. ALTERNATIVE COURSE OF ACTION

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The United Nation’ new initiatives represent the international community’s increased focus on
mainstreaming human rights. The Human Rights Council, the Responsibility to protect, and the Peace
building Commission signify a step forward in the protection and promotion of human rights around the
world. Moreover, the decision of Member States at the 2005World Summit to double the funding for
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights over the next five years is another good indicator
of an increased commitment to defending human rights. The remaining question is whether the funding
and political will exist to make these organizations as transparent, credible, and effective as possible.
Critics fear that to make only cosmetic changes from a Commission to a Council, or to proclaim a specific
responsibility and then fail to execute it, would not only defeat the reform efforts, but would further
endanger current and future victims of gross human rights violations.

* ETHICAL DILEMMA

* ETHICAL PRINCIPLE