Integrating the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights into the Int’l Economic Community
by Laurie E. Abbott 26
able for their human rights obligations. The Guid- ing Principles have received substantial support from members of business, government, and civil society, and they and appear to be gaining a reputation as one of the most important busi- ness-human rights instruments. However, the Guiding Principles have also been continuously criticized for their lack of binding authority. Indeed, many human rights organizations consider the Guiding Principles a mere affirmation of the status quo.
T
he United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles) signify an important stride in the effort to hold corporations account-
remedies when TNCs do not comply, and to use their built-in enforcement mechanisms to create binding obligations on TNCs.
I. THE UN FRAMEWORK AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
A. The Rise and Fall of the Norms on the Responsibili- ties of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights
The WTO, with its strong enforce- ment mechanism and authoritative influence over global trade, could
This article first discusses the origins of the UN Guiding Prin- ciples. It then evaluates wheth- er the United Nations, with its weak enforcement mechanism and lack of influ- ence over transnational corporations (TNCs) (i.e., corporations that are registered and operate in more than one country) is the proper source of a global social responsibility code like the Guid- ing Principles. It further investigates whether economically oriented intergovernmental organi- zations (IOs) may be better positioned to incen- tivize TNCs to respect human rights, to provide
arguably take the Guiding Principles to the next step by turning them into the definitive authority on corporate social responsibility.
The United Nations’ pursuit of bringing corporations into the human rights dialogue has followed a rocky path. The UN’s efforts began in 1998 with a three-year study on TNC’s human rights footprint. The outcome of this research project was a document titled Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterpris-
es with Regard to Human Rights (the Norms).1 The Norms were filled with mandatory language that laid out TNC’s specific human rights obliga- tion and were accompanied by an enforcement mechanism.
Initially the Norms were lauded for providing a strong mandated against corporate human rights violations.2
After their cool reception by member- states at the UN Commission on Human Rights ILSA Quarterly » volume 22 » issue 1 » October 2013
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