Corporate Accountability & Social Justice:

Corporate globalization is one of the growing challenges which cause social injustice and human rights havoc at local, national and international level through displacing and diminishing the socio-economic resources by transnational oil and gas companies and has brought the communities on brink of poverty and deprivation. The greed of gaining unprecedented power and influence by companies has an enormous impact on people’s lives and the communities in which they operate.

In spite of existing laws and controlling frameworks on companies, government has failed to fulfill its responsibility of controlling the companies’ violations of corporate human rights abuses – due to lack of capacity, dependency on corporations as an investor or even misappropriations and corruptions.

Roshni's Efforts:

Roshni has been working with local communities residing around industries of Ghotki against oil and gas producing companies of the district for rights of local people under the project of “Corporate Sector and Rights of Local Communities” funded by The Fund for Global Human Rights. There is a history that these companies have continually been neglecting local people after making huge damage to their properties, polluting their environment and spreading deadly diseases among them. These companies did not take efforts to provide local people with health and education facilities nor did they employ local youth despite having required education and expertise. Not only this, the industries have turned back to the decision of Supreme Court which bounds them to spend due amount for the betterment and welfare of local communities residing around the industries.

Roshni took initiative by mobilizing local communities for struggle against corporate sector. With the efforts of Roshni, a local communities’ alliance namely “Peoples’ Alliance for Rights over Local Communities (PARLR), was made which is popularly known as Common Peoples’ Alliance. From the platform of PARLR people have been running campaign for their rights towards corporate sector.

We are working closely with people and carrying out a movement in order to ensure benefits and privileges to local people from industries under corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this campaign prime focus in on building pressure upon industries so as to bound them to spent due amount from their savings for welfare of surroundings and obey or implement all government policies regarding this.

Some of the SUCCESSES of the movement are as follows:

• Domestic gas facility (for cooking and household purposes) have been given to more than 13 villages in the wake of this movement
• The industries have paid compensations to local people against the losses made by companies during exploration or other activities (in past they never paid such compensations to people)
• In the wake of Roshni and PARLR’s signature campaign and letter writing the local industries of Ghotki has been pressurized by government agencies to comply with the policies regarding CSR and hold annual public hearing of local people.
• PARLR and Roshni have jointly built the capacities of local people and now they are aware of their rights, they are now in continuous action