LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced that its board of directors today adopted a corporate-wide human rights policy. The policy reaffirms Occidental's respect for and promotion of human rights as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the Global Sullivan Principles. The policy specifically provides for social risk assessments prior to the onset of operations in locations outside the United States; the inclusion of human rights provisions in foreign contracts; human rights training programs for employees and security contractors; and background checks on security personnel.
"While support for human rights has been an integral part of the way we have managed our business, this policy explicitly spells out our commitment to support human rights, strengthens our existing Code of Business Conduct and establishes an important milestone for our stockholders, our company and the industry," said Dr. Ray R. Irani, Occidental's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The policy not only reinforces our commitment to human rights protections, it also incorporates specific proactive measures into our daily business activities."
Occidental's Human Rights policy was developed in collaboration with representatives from the California Province of the Society of Jesus, the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus, Brethren Benefit Trust, Catholic Equity Fund, Christian Brothers Investment Services, CHRISTUS Health and other members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a thirty-three-year-old coalition of 275 faith-based institutional investors including religious communities, denominations, pension funds, healthcare systems, foundations and dioceses with combined portfolios worth an estimated $100 billion.
Sister Doris Gormley, Socially Responsible Investment Consultant to the National Jesuit Conference, said, "Occidental's human rights policy is one of the stronger company policies on record. It positions human rights as a vital component in the company's business decisions. The challenge now is to implement the policy on the ground in difficult environments like Colombia and to devise an objective process to measure and verify policy compliance in all company operations. As stockholders we are confident that Occidental will bring the same energy and commitment to this work as they have demonstrated during policy development."
Occidental's board of directors also expanded the scope of the newly named Nominating, Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility board committee to include oversight for the company's social responsibility efforts, including human rights.