Regulating Corporate Human Rights Violations: Humanizing Business

Abstract:     
The quest to establish an effective regulatory mechanism of corporate human rights responsibility gained a special momentum in the 21st century with the launch of the Global Compact in 2000, the revision of the ILO Tripartite Deceleration in 2000, the drafting of the Human Rights Norms in 2003, the 2011 update of the OECD Guidelines, and the adoption of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011. However, despite these efforts, no robust regulatory mechanism is in sight to provide effective remedies to victims of corporate human rights abuses. Taking Bhopal gas leak as a case study, this book critically reviews seven representative regulatory initiatives and highlights a three-fold deficiency of the existing regulatory framework: the framework offers weak rationales for compliance, does not prescribe clear human rights standards, and is supported by an undeveloped enforcement mechanism.

The book confronts the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ challenges to the goal of humanizing business (i.e., why should companies have human rights responsibilities, what are these responsibilities, and how to ensure that companies comply with their responsibilities) and canvasses an integrated theory of regulation to overcome the obstacles experienced in holding multinational corporations accountable for human rights violations.

Keywords: business and human rights, corporate governance, humanizing business, Bhopal gas disaster, how to behave in 'Rome', just profit or just profit, regulation of MNCs, integrated theory of regulation, updated OECD guidelines, guiding principles on business and human rights

Accepted Paper Series