"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, that is to have succeeded."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher

THE "GENOCIDE" OLYMPICS                        

Do human rights and business mix like oil and water? Many business people would echo an emphatic "yes!" Business is about profits and need not be concerned with the rights of individual human beings. That’s for governments and activist groups—certainly not business. Right?

Wrong. Business is created and sustained by human beings. A company employs people to sell products and services to other people. It operates in communities where people live. People are business. Profits are not represented by numbers on the page, but by human lives.

The close of the 20th century signaled the death nell for the profit-at-any-cost mantra: “it’s not personal, it’s business.” 21st century is the era of personal responsibility in business. The modern requirement for companies, global and local, is to honor the fundamental rights of the people hired and served, and the communities they operate in. The world’s suffering has landed at the doorstep of 21st century business and the business community can no longer look the other way.

One of the companies currently taking a lot of heat on the issue of human rights and business is Coca-Cola. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO, states “We believe that an unwavering commitment to human rights is fundamental to the way we conduct our business."  This laudable commitment by the giant global corporation is represented by its clean water initiatives in developing nations. The sticky part of the debate revolves around Coke’s sponsorship of one of “the world’s most prominent human-rights abusers -the government of China,” according to the Economist.

Labeled the “Genocide Olympics” by activist groups, NGOs (including Human Rights Watch) are launching global campaigns against Olympic sponsors. Although China is accused of many human rights violations toward its own people, one of the major concerns outside of the nation is its indifference to the atrocities in Dafur. CEO Isdell claims his reasoning for continued sponsorship of the Beijing's games is two-fold. Firstly, Coca-Cola believes it is doing its part in Darfur by helping the Red Cross supply clean water and health care to refugees. Secondly, CEO Isdell believes that supporting the Olympics is a “force for good.” In an open letter on Coca-Cola’s website, Isdell claimed the "Olympic truce…allows nations with disparate points of view to come together in free and open sporting competition.” Coca-Cola is not alone in this position. Other sponsors like General Electric echoed a similar view.

Isdell seems to be a moral business man with an active global conscience. The socially responsible initiatives he created on behalf of Coca-Cola brought the aged corporate behemoth into the 21th century. Coca-Cola and Isdell should be applauded for these efforts to relieve human suffering “on the ground” in Dafur and clean water elsewhere around the globe.

Yet let’s face it, the country of China, with a population exceeding one billion, is a big customer. This is where the issue gets sticky. Sponsoring the Olympics is big business for Coca-Cola and the Chinese government. It poses a tough question. What exactly is the personal responsibility of a global corporation like Coca-Cola?

Isdell emphasizes that “direct statements” will not help the people of Darfur any better than his relief efforts. True enough. Words may not necessarily change China’s stance on Darfur. Words also may not change China’s continued suppression of free speech, and the oppression of the Tibetan people. Yet if words are the human expression of ideas then those of Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, sum the issue up best: “Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility.”

Good business is not always simple, nor easy. Sometimes profits and conscience collide. Modern business has more nuances to grapple with than its less evolved predecessors. Universal responsibility is a new concept to business, yet one that is as pertinent to companies as it is to individuals. It brings to mind more words, these by Martin Luther King: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Human life matters. Staying silent on genocide and human atrocity matters too. Just ask anyone who lived to tell the story of a Germany after World War II.