There is ample evidence about the negative effects business activity of all types can have on the provision of human rights. Equally, there can be little doubt economic development, usually driven through business activity and trade, is necessary for any state to provide the institutions and infrastructure necessary to secure and provide human rights for their citizens. The United Nations and businesses recognise this tension and are collaborating to effect change in business behaviours through voluntary initiatives such as the Global Compact and John Ruggie’s Guiding Principles. Yet voluntary approaches are evidently failing to prevent human rights violations and there are few alternatives in law for affected communities to seek justice. This book seeks to robustly challenge the current status quo of business approaches to human rights in order to develop meaningful alternatives in an attempt to breech the gap between the realities of business and human rights and its discourse. This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of Human Rights.

This book provides a sustained treatment of the politico-legal context and content of a proposed business and human rights treaty.

The erstwhile unlikely coupling of human rights and corporations is now a typical feature of corporate/community relations. High-profile corporate infringements of human rights, the rise and rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and on-going efforts to regulate corporate behaviour through legal regimes, at both domestic and international levels, have spawned a mountain of academic literature and commentary. This volume assembles the leading essays from this body of work. Together they frame the relationship between human rights and corporations by charting its history and salient features; tackle the conceptual perspectives of the relationship and detail the practice, problems and potential of the relationship.

Affectedness and Participation in International Institutions looks at the growing involvement of affected persons in global politics, such as young climate activists, indigenous movements, and persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Since the early 2000s, international organisations within various policy areas have increasingly recognised and involved affected persons’ organisations. This has promised to address long-standing legitimacy and democracy deficits of international policy making and norm setting. Yet, the powerful do not easily cede the terrain: Some major states, classic NGOs, and intergovernmental organisations seek to curtail the influence of the newcomers. The authors within this collection study these contestations from an interdisciplinary political science and international law perspective. Based on evidence from a broad range of policy areas, we address some of the crucial questions: What does it mean to be affected? How can affected groups meaningfully participate in international negotiations? Whose voices do still remain excluded? Ultimately, the authors chart whether the rising involvement of the 'most affected' will re-shape global politics and social struggles on the ground. Taking a dual political science and international law perspective, Affectedness and Participation in International Institutions will be of great interest to scholars of civil society in global governance, international law, and international institutions. This book was originally published as a special issue of Third World Thematics.

Explores the conceptual and legal underpinnings of global governance approaches to business and human rights, with an emphasis on the UN Guiding Principles.

In Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights, Jide James-Eluyode provides a comprehensive analysis of critical human rights developments and topical issues and trends in corporate social responsibility practices. James-Eluyode examines how corporate entities fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights in general and indigenous peoples’ rights in particular. Given the momentous impact of corporate projects and recent developments in the area of international human rights, James-Eluyode contends that the establishment of a universally-binding, corporate code of conduct is inescapable, and concludes that respect for human rights by corporations is not simply a discretionary moral or binding legal matter but a bottom-line issue.

This book analyses to what extent the current human rights system allows affected individuals to claim accountability for human rights violations resulting from bilateral development and export credit agency supported undertakings. The author explores three legal pathways: host state responsibility, home state responsibility and corporate responsibility. The book concludes with recommendations on how to strengthen human rights accountability and improve access to justice for adversely affected individuals. It will be of great interest to those researching the intersection between human rights, development cooperation, and investment.

In Tax, Inequality, and Human Rights, experts in human rights law and in tax law debate the linkages between the two fields and highlight how each can help to tackle rapidly growing inequality in the economic, social, and political realms. Against a backdrop of systemic corporate tax avoidance, widespread use of tax havens, persistent pressures to embrace austerity policies, and growing gaps between the rich and poor, this book encourages readers to understand fiscal policy as human rights policy, and thus as having profound consequences for the well-being of citizens around the world. Prominent scholars and practitioners examine how the foundational principles of tax law and human rights law intersect and diverge; discuss the cross-border nature and human rights impacts of abusive practices like tax avoidance and evasion; question the reluctance of states to bring transparency and accountability to tax policies and practices; highlight the responsibility of private sector actors for shaping and misshaping tax laws; and critically evaluate domestic tax rules through the lens of equality and nondiscrimination. The contributing authors also explore how international human rights obligations should influence the framework for both domestic and international tax reforms. They address what human rights law requires of state tax policies and how tax laws and loopholes affect the enjoyment of human rights by people outside a state's borders. Because tax and human rights both turn on the relationship between the individual and the state, neo-liberalism's erosion of the social contract threatens to undermine them both.

In this important book, Bryn Jones uses insights from political economy, historical analysis and sociological concepts of the corporation, as a socially disembedded but political actor, to address concerns over the over-reach of Anglo-Saxon corporation

In a global economy, multinational companies often operate in jurisdictions where governments are either unable or unwilling to uphold even the basic human rights of their citizens. The expectation that companies respect human rights in their own operations and in their business relationships is now a business reality that corporations need to respond to. Business and Human Rights: From Principles to Practice is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary textbook that addresses these issues. It examines the regulatory framework that grounds the business and human rights debate and highlights the business and legal challenges faced by companies and stakeholders in improving respect for human rights, exploring such topics as: the regulatory framework that grounds the business and human rights debate, challenges faced by companies and stakeholders in improving human rights, industry-specific human rights standards, current mechanisms to hold corporations to account, future challenges for business and human rights. With supporting case studies throughout, this text provides an overview of current themes in the field and guidance on practical implementation, demonstrating that a thorough understanding of the human rights challenges faced by business is now vital in any business context.