Manejo del Paciente Politraumatizado - Reeme.arizona.edu

4. Reducing the Risk of ATS LawsuitsFollowing the decision in Sosa, corporate boards of directors and officers should takeappropriate steps to reduce the risk of ATS lawsuits. The State Department and the UnitedNations provide some guidance to assist corporations in determining their obligations in thisarea. In 2001, the State Department published its Voluntary Principles on Security and HumanRights. These principles emphasize the importance of being “mindful of the highest applicableinternational standards.” They also provide numerous specific suggestions, offering advice onhow to assess the risk of certain areas, and stressing the need for careful interactions betweencompanies and public or private security forces.Similarly, the United Nations Global Compact is a corporate citizenship initiative thatsets forth several basic principles to which hundreds of private companies and other entities haveagreed. The principles are less concrete than the State Department’s Voluntary Principles butexhort companies to “make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.”It is, of course, obvious that a U.S. corporation with operations overseas cannot hire orassist a foreign government or government-sponsored group in killing, torturing or enslavinglocal citizens. However, the ATS may also create liability based on actions that are far moresubtle and difficult to uncover, such as indirect assistance to state actors through localcontractors. The suggestions below will assist a company in both detecting and avoiding thesepotential violations.a. Do your research. A corporation considering operations in a foreign nation musttake the time and absorb the expense to investigate that country thoroughly before deciding to dobusiness there. Even if it has already begun operations, a corporation should still determine whatrisks exist so it can better protect the corporation from harm.5