Holy Land Principles Did, After All, Achieve 3% Of The Intel Vote

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Holy Land Principles, Inc. corrects its previous Press Release that stated it failed to achieve 3% of the Intel vote required to resubmit the Holy Land Principles resolution next year.  

Fr. Sean Mc Manus— President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc. — said: "I am very pleased to have been wrong. A top Intel official twice emphasized to us that we would not be able to resubmit our Resolution next year because we had only gained 2.6% of the vote. But our expert attorney refuted that, declaring : 'Companies are required to submit to the SEC the official vote tally on all matters voted on at the annual meeting. I have just checked and Intel's numbers, as reported to the SEC, show that the Holy Land Principles proposal received just over 3.2% of the vote (as calculated for resubmission purposes, disregarding abstentions).  It, therefore, can be resubmitted.'"

Fr. Mc Manus explained: "I know all people of good faith — and all who support fair employment by American companies in the Holy Land— will greatly welcome this correction. Who could even begin to question the intrinsic merit of raising this issue for the very first time with Intel? Isn't it truly remarkable that this had never been done before with any of the 545 top American companies doing business in Israel/Palestine-Palestine/Israel before the Holy Land Principles were launched on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2012?

IMPLEMENTING RUGGIE PRINCIPLES

Fr. Mc Manus continued: "Our next Resolution is before Cisco, which holds its annual meeting sometime in the Fall. We appeal to all who believe in good governance, corporate social responsibility, social and sustainable investment to support and to vote for our Resolution. Holy Land Principles—among many other things— is a practical and particularized way of implementing the Ruggie Principles. Remember, the American companies doing business in Northern Ireland had, of course, a general set of principles, but no progress was made there until the companies signed the Mac Bride Principles — which I launched in 1984 and on which the Holy Land Principles are based."

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: "Cisco, indeed, has a particular need to sign the Holy Land Principles. Cisco's own 2012 Corporate Sustainability Report acknowledged the pressing problem of 'under-represented minorities' in the hi-tech workplace. Arab citizens constitute 20 % of the population in Israel, but make up less than 0.4% of the high-tech industry workforce. Such 50:1 inequality of outcomes for Israel's Arab citizens, if operative instead for African-Americans, would read 'Black citizens constitute 12% of the population of the United States, but make up less than 0.24% of the high-tech industry workforce.

As I said, who could possibly argue against the intrinsic merit of raising this issue in the boardrooms of all 545 American companies? How could that not be a good thing? The Holy Land Principles are filling a vacuum that was crying out to be filled. And surely that's a good thing."

CONTACT:
Sean Mc Manus
1-202-488-0107 
[email protected] 

SOURCE Holy Land Principles, Inc.