abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

10 Feb 2015

Author:
David Bilchitz, Univ. of Johannesburg

Treaty on business & human rights necessary to fill gaps in intl. law, says academic

"The Moral and Legal Necessity for a Business and Human Rights Treaty", Feb 2015

In the middle of last year, the Human Rights Council passed a resolution that establishes ‘an intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights’…The voting patterns reflect (largely) a split between developed countries and developing countries…In this paper, I will outline four arguments…for why a treaty is necessary. The arguments all are rooted in a common normative understanding of fundamental rights and seek to ensure that they are accorded the importance they deserve in this increasingly globalized world…The emphasis throughout is also upon why a binding legal instrument is particularly important for international law, as opposed to softer forms of regulation. Having outlined the case for the treaty, I then turn to some of the difficulties identified by Ruggie. I attempt to show why none of these objections provides good reason to abandon the idea of a treaty as well as why it would be unfortunate to proceed with an alternative, more restrictive proposal for a treaty that only addresses ‘gross’ human rights violations…

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.