A US court has ruled that victims of South Africa's apartheid-era government can sue General Motors, IBM and other corporations accused of complicity in human rights abuses. A federal judge in New York ruled on Wednesday that joint actions against the corporations under a US law allowing rights claims from abroad should be addressed in a US court.
Car-makers Ford and Daimler and defence firm Rheinmetall are the other companies set to face legal action from South African plaintiffs.
The lawsuits argue that the car-makers knew their vehicles were being used by South African forces to violently suppress protests. They also claim that IBM and Fujitsu knew their computers were being used by South Africa's white minority government to help strip black citizens of their rights.
The judge disagreed with arguments made by the companies that it was not their responsibility to tell clients how to use their products.
"That level of wilful blindness in the face of crimes in violation of the law of nations cannot defeat an otherwise clear showing of knowledge that the assistance IBM provided would directly and substantially support apartheid," she said. Scheindlen allowed lawsuits against IBM for "aiding and abetting arbitrary denationalisation and apartheid".
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