#Unilever just tweeted a link to the letter of concern CEO Paul Polman signed last December about the #RohingyaGenocide, apparently associating the company with Polman’s personal initiative (he did not sign on behalf of Unilever).
The fact that Polman signed this letter encouraged the #WeAreAllRohingyaNow Campaign to reach out to him, and to urge #Unilever to take a public stand as a company on this issue. We applaud Polman for signing the letter, and it is good to see #Unilever now associating itself with it; however, this is not an offical company statement condemning the genocide; nor is it a reply to the Campaign’s Open Letter to Polman.
The letter of concern is itself insufficient insofar as it merely defers to the UN, without committing the signatories to take any action. If the concern expressed in this letter is genuine, we expect to see it manifested in real terms. Now that #Unilever has indicated that Polman’s signature represents the position of the company itself, we look forward to an official statement by #Unilever on this matter.
