Paul Fireman, Chairman, Reebok International (headquartered in USA):

"Multinational companies should use their voices to promote respect for human rights in the places they do business.  The factories that make the products of multinational corporations--apparel, toys, footwear, electronic goods--employ millions of workers.  Keeping these workers employed is important to the government where these products are made, and I believe that governments have an interest in listening when the multinational business community speaks out about workplace issues.

I do not accept the argument that raising these issues with governments where our products are made, and where our brand reputations are on the line, is improperly interfering in another country's internal affairs....

I did it [publicly called upon the President of Indonesia to release a prominent labor organizer from prison] because Ms. Dita Sari's imprisonment made it difficult for Reebok to honor our commitment to respect the human rights, including the right to organize, of the nearly 30,000 workers in Indonesia who produce our footwear.

I also did it because I thought voices from the business community could make an important difference in the campaign to bring about Ms. Dita Sari's release.

The right of workers to organize is a fundamental right....The Indonesian workers who produce Reebok products cannot truly be free to organize and bargain collectively while their representatives are imprisoned or the subject of government harassment."

[from "Business Must Speak Up For Human Rights", Paul Fireman, in Asian Wall Street Journal, 19 Aug. 1999, quoted in Human Rights Is Our Business: Multinational Chief [Note: scroll down to 3rd article] (Human Rights for Workers, 6 Sep. 1999)

"The vanguard of the human rights movement today is in the hundreds of activist grassroots organizations and thousands of people who face abuses and refuse to accept them.  Every year the recipients of the Reebok Human Rights Award come forward to tell their stories to the world - and each year we are struck by the spirit, determination, and fortitude of these young heroines and heroes.  They tell stories of horror and despair countered by an undaunted affirmation of humanity and a bold pursuit of positive change, often in the face of ultimate consequences.  It is a great honor for Reebok to support these inspiring young human rights advocates."

[from statement by Paul Fireman, quoted in Human Rights Awards, Reebok website]