When corporations fail to abide by the requirements of respect for human rights, what is to be done?
The case of Rachel Corrie’s parents against Caterpillar is currently in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
From The Seattle Times:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear arguments Monday whether there is merit to a lawsuit by the family of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old activist from Olympia killed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003.
The defendant in the case is Caterpillar, which made the D9 bulldozer involved in her death.
The case, Corrie et al. v. Caterpillar, was filed in Seattle in 2005, but a district court dismissed it. After this hearing, the appeals court will rule whether the suit should be dismissed or sent back to the lower court.
Cindy and Craig Corrie, the woman’s parents, allege Caterpillar violated human rights and committed war crimes by knowingly selling its equipment to the Israeli army, which used the bulldozers to raze Palestinian homes and endanger people. Rachel Corrie was run over by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier as she tried to block a home from demolition.
“We are essentially arguing that you cannot knowingly provide substantial assistance — the means to commit war crimes, which is essentially what Caterpillar has done here,” said Maria LaHood, with the Center for Constitutional Rights, on the Corries’ legal team. – More
