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Legal experts, activists, and analysts weigh impact of Supreme Court decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act, commonly used by human rights groups to try cases against U.S. corporations on American soil.

After languishing in the courts for two years, a lawsuit that accuses ExxonMobil of complicity in human rights violations is beginning to move, thanks to the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Two years after Congress enacted the sweeping corporate-accountability act known as "SOX," corporate officials are hoping their complaints will take the teeth out of the legislation's power to regulate.

Former employees of RTI, a North Carolina company with a $167 million military contract to teach Iraqis about democracy, say the company failed in its task.

The war in Iraq has been a windfall for Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., the company that has a multibillion-dollar contract to provide support services for U.S. troops. Its profits have come thanks to the hard work of people like Dharmapalan Ajayakumar, who until last month served as a kitchen helper at a military base.

A new report from Human Rights Watch reveals that American corporations such as Coca-Cola may be getting sugar from plantations in El Salvador that employ child labor.

LONDON -- A private British firm that won a $293 million contract from the Pentagon for coordinating security in Iraq is headed by a retired British commando with a reputation for illicit arms deals in Africa and for commanding a murderous military unit in Northern Ireland, human rights activists and security analysts said yesterday.

Much is at stake for the people, economy, and environment of Namibia, where Rossing Uranium is deciding between ceasing operations or spending $100 million on a 20-year expansion of one of the world's largest mines.

Nicaraguan banana workers have been struggling for compensation from Dole Fruit, Shell, and Dow Chemical for exposure to the pesticide DBCP. The obstacles to justice are many, including the US courts, powerful lobbies, and free trade agreements.

May 7, 2004
FOREIGN LABOR
Indian Contract Workers in Iraq Complain of Exploitation
By DAVID ROHDE


ELICHAKKALA, India, May 5 - Last summer an agent for an Indian recruitment company offered what seemed like the chance of a lifetime to Abdul Aziz Hamid and his younger brother Shahjahan.