BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: LOOKING AT THE LANDSCAPE AND EXPLORING THE HAGUE ARBITRATION RULES
International law is primarily concerned with states. As a result, non-state actors like multinational corporations often had a limited role to play. These corporations, however, can play an important role when it comes to either the realisation of human rights or even the violation of human rights. The query, therefore, confronting the international community is how to best address the human rights obligations for non-state actors like corporations. We trace below key international efforts to address business and human rights obligations.
The UN Global Compact (2000)
Kofi Annan, the former Unitions Nations (UN) secretary general, conceived of the idea of the ‘UN Global Compact’ in 1999. This voluntary initiative asks businesses to commit to sustainability principles and support UN goals. The concept was conceived as a public-private partnership toward addressing corporate commitment to human rights. The UN Global Compact has 10 principles covering human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and requires companies “to align their operations and strategies” with these principles”. Principle 1 of the UN Global Compact states: “Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.” Principle 2 of UN Global Compact takes the human rights obligation further and provides: “Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses”.
The UN Global Compact has an online process by which businesses can join the process and commit to the principles. The UN Global Compact provides for a reporting framework for businesses known as the Communication on Progress (COP).
Jul-Sep 2022 issue
New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC)
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP