For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Contact: Meredith MacKenzie, West End Strategy Team, meredith@westendstratgy.com, (202) 427-2007
NEW YORK Michael Posner, co-director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights gave the following statement on the news that employees of Blackwater had been convicted of manslaughter in the 2007 shooting at Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq.
"Today's conviction is an important first step toward accountability for the tragedy at Nisoor Square," said Michael Posner, Co-Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
"The abuses by Blackwater contractors at Nisoor Square were a catalyst for the creation of the International Code of Conduct Association for Private Security Providers (ICOCA-PSP), which is intended to provide oversight of private security firms on issues of human rights. Departments and agencies across the U.S. government, especially the Department of Defense, should support this effort and adopt the ICOCA-PSP standard in their own contracting. The ICOCA-PSP is unique in that it was developed in consultation with civil society and includes high standards for human rights. The U.S. government, especially the Department of Defense, should support and adopt this standard."
To learn more about accountability and standards for private security contractors or to speak with Posner, please contact Meredith MacKenzie, meredith@westendstratgy.com, (202) 427-2007.
###
The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights is focused on what companies are doing and should be doing to ensure respect for human rights in their core business operations. The Center is working to prepare future business leaders with the tools they will need to address complex human rights challenges in a business environment. To advance this mission, the Center is pursuing three primary activities: 1) teaching and research, 2) providing a safe, solutions-oriented convening space for companies and other stakeholders and 3) public education and advocacy.