GE Produced Report on One of Its Global Initiatives

GE Global Initiatives

General Electric (GE) is a huge, multi-national company and its business decisions can have significant impacts, both positive and negative, not only on countries where it actively operates but also on countries within its supply chain. As a result, its global initiatives can be very broad and seemingly outside of GE's scope of operations. GE's human rights initiative is one such global initiative. Human rights violations are rife in the international community, particularly in areas of labor, and GE has made a commitment to reducing or eliminating human rights violations in its supply chain wherever possible. One way that GE has done so is by participating in a boycott Myanmar because of the relationship between Myanmar's old government and human rights abuses. However, recent elections may have changed the reality of business in Myanmar, and GE is taking steps to ensure that, if it engages in business with Myanmar in the future, it is not contributing to human rights violations.

The human rights abuses in Myanmar have been so pervasive that it is almost impossible to describe them all. The lists of abuses include: genocide, violations of free speech, the use of child soldiers, forced labor (slavery), torture, the use of rape as a political weapon, and participation in human trafficking. The response by the international community and many influential businesses, including GE, was to engage in a boycott of Myanmar, not engaging in direct business dealings with the country and trying to avoid its products in the supply chain. Other companies did not do so; in fact, Chevron was sued in a U.S. court because of allegations that it colluded with dictators in Burma to use forced labor. Citizens in Myanmar have also been active in trying to stop human rights abuses in the country, and, in 2012, voted for a substantially different government base, which seemed to promise changes in the country's political structure.

In its 2012 Sustainable Growth report, GE reported that it intended to change its position on doing business in or with Burma:

With the recent elections in Myanmar (formerly Burma), we anticipate that this country's history of severe human rights deprivations will moderate to the point that GE will again conduct business in the country. Based on the nature of our business engagement, appropriate levels of due diligence will be undertaken to assure that our actions in Myanmar respect human rights. We believe that our healthcare and energy products- to be produced in a way that is respectful to human rights- can make a positive difference in the lives of the citizens of Myanmar (GE, 2012).

In accordance with this stated position, GE has changed its business relationship with Myanmar and has opened up business opportunities for all GE units in Myanmar. Theoretically, by providing employment opportunities and access to some GE innovation, this would be beneficial for the citizens of Myanmar. However, the helpfulness of GE's action is largely predicated on the notion that the government has or will cease its human rights violations.

Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. According to the organization Human Rights Watch, the elections have not resulted in a significant reduction in human rights violations: