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Article

1 Nov 2011

Author:
Susan Ariel Aaronson, professor, George Washington University [USA]

Making Trade and Human Rights Part of the Solution: WTO Strategies to Link Trade and Human rights in Conflict Zones

In this article, I argue that trade must be part of the solution to advancing human rights in conflict zones. The members of the WTO increasingly recognize that they need to be more flexible to accommodate trade with nations in and recovering from conflict. I show that policymakers have used several avenues under the WTO to discuss and address human rights in member states experiencing conflict or in post-conflict recovery. I then focus on how policymakers might provide WTO consistent incentives to firms to adopt the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Policymakers can achieve greater coherence among trade, business and human rights policies in conflict zones by linking WTO rules and the new Guiding Principles and by thinking more creatively and coherently about the relationship between trade, human rights and conflict. [refers to Blue Coat Systems, Suncor, Shell]