Special Representative Proposes Corporate Responsibility Framework
Category: Global Regulation
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
In his most recent report to the Human Rights Council, John Ruggie, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, proposed a “framework for business and human rights.” According to Mr. Ruggie, the problem with human rights and business is found in “governance gaps” that have been created by globalization. These gaps allow unintentional business-related human rights abuses to occur due to a lack of comprehensive international guidance on how to address the issue of corporate human rights responsibility. His framework, entitled “Protect, Respect and Remedy,” attempts to address these “governance gaps,” and will be presented to the Human Rights Council at their 8th Session in June 2008.
The first aspect of Mr. Ruggie’s framework details the state’s duty to protect against all human rights abuses within its jurisdiction according to the obligations found in international treaties. Mr. Ruggie encourages states to provide guidance for and regulation of human rights impact for corporations. Promoting a corporate culture that respects human rights should be a policy priority, and governments should incorporate market pressures, require businesses to conduct due diligence, and make use of “corporate culture” to ascertain the liability of businesses in human rights abuses. States can also look to human rights treaty bodies to provide recommendations on how to implement their treaty obligations in regards to corporate responsibility. Finally, Ruggie encourages the international community to provide technical and financial assistance to those states that do not have the infrastructure to regulate business practices in this area.
The second component of Mr. Ruggie’s framework addresses the need for all companies to respect human rights in their operations. Businesses should actively employ due diligence in regards to human rights by adopting and integrating human rights policies throughout the company, performing impact assessments, and monitoring performance. They should also pay attention to their “sphere of influence,” ensuring that they avoid complicity in human rights abuses.
The final piece of Mr. Ruggie’s framework deals with access to remedies. Mr. Ruggie stresses the need to have “effective grievance mechanisms” in place. These mechanisms can be either state-oriented, whereby governments work to “strengthen judicial capacity to hear complaints and enforce remedies against all corporations operating or based in their territory,” or non-State mechanisms, whereby companies develop their own internal grievance mechanism. NGOs, national human rights institutions and other international organizations can also provide alternate avenues for issuing complaints.
In conclusion, Ruggie acknowledges the central role that he feels the United Nations can play in developing human rights standards for transnational corporations and businesses. While he recognizes that the UN is not a “centralized command-and-control system,” the Special Representative is of the opinion that it “can and must lead intellectually and by setting expectations and aspirations. The Human Rights Council can make a singular contribution to closing the governance gaps in business and human rights by supporting this framework, inviting its further elaboration, and fostering its uptake by all relevant social actors.”
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