Over the past several years the Obama administration has engaged the government of Myanmar to advance a range of political reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s rule of law and economy. Steps taken by the United States to normalize relations with Myanmar, including lifting an import ban, have brought tangible benefits to the people of Myanmar as well as to American companies, who have made positive contributions to Myanmar society through their high standards of corporate social responsibility.

On February 18, USCIB joined four other business groups urging U.S. cabinet officials not to renew sanctions against Myanmar in light of the country’s recent democratic reforms. Myanmar held elections last year that neutral observers noted were free and fair. Given this progress, the U.S. business community believes expanded economic relations with Myanmar are appropriate. Remaining sanctions should be eliminated, the business groups argued, because they create uncertainty for investors.

“The remaining U.S. sanctions are a significant reason why U.S. investment in Myanmar remains modest and Myanmar entrepreneurs cannot truly take advantage of their putative access to the American market,” USCIB and the other groups said in a statement. “By contrast, virtually all other countries that had previously maintained sanctions against Myanmar have removed them entirely, placing U.S. companies who wish to invest in Myanmar or otherwise support engagement at a unique disadvantage.”

The statement concludes that not renewing sanctions against Myanmar would signal the beginning of a new relationship with a country that has made substantial progress toward improved governance and the rule of law.

In order to run companies successfully, business leaders must have an awareness of human rights and corporate social responsibility issues and an understanding of how to confront them. For the second year in a row, USCIB has partnered with the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights to offer first-year MBA students a paid opportunity to work at a multinational company on a business and human rights challenge during their summer. USCIB is inviting member companies to participate in the fellowship program that matches talented NYU Stern MBA students interested in corporate responsibility with USCIB members willing to provide a hands-on summer internship opportunity.

The deadline to apply is February 29, 2016. This year’s participating USCIB members include Facebook, New Balance, Newmont Mining and PepsiCo. All applicants will go through at least two rounds of interviews. First, a number of qualified NYU Stern MBA students will be selected by the Center from a general pool through an application and interview process. Applications of initially selected candidates will then be forwarded to participating companies so they can select which candidates they would like to meet for a second round interview. Each company will be able to make the final decision as to which candidate, if any, to extend an offer.

Last year, two fellows interned with USCIB members PepsiCo and DirectTV Latin America. The fellows discuss their experiences in blog posts here and here, as well as in the video below:

The fellows had very substantive experiences, completing tasks through their internships that contributed directly to key business operations and strategy in the area of CSR, sustainability and human rights

USCIB will host an upcoming webinar on the World Bank Group’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) on February 24 from 11:00am-12:00pm. This will be the second webinar of the USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series.

To register for the February 24 webinar, please email Rachel Spence at rspence@uscib.org.

This webinar will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs. GPSA is a unique unit within the World Bank’s Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. It provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges.

Speaker:

Haim Haviv serves as a Partnerships Specialist for the World Bank Group. Previously, Haim had served as Director of Investments for the Government of Israel in Washington D.C. (2013-2015), as a lawyer with Tnuva food industries (2010-2012) and as an accountant with Ernst & Young (2012-2013). Haim is an attorney and accountant by training.