Rethinking Corporate Human Rights Responsibility: A Functional Model

Chiara Macchi, David Birchall, Nadia Bernaz

Resumo


In the contemporary economic order, businesses often control key resources and services necessary for realizing human rights. However, the scope of their responsibilities, as outlined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), remains unclear, leading to inconsistent or minimalist interpretations. Building on the academic debate on States’ ‘human rights jurisdiction’ as a condition for the emergence of human rights responsibility, we propose a ‘functional model of corporate responsibility’ that focuses on companies’ functions, and the resulting power relationships, as the basis for assigning responsibility for human rights, including the responsibility to fulfil under certain circumstances. The model offers a unifying theory of interpretation of the corporate ‘responsibility to respect’ under the UNGPs grounded in the normativity of international human rights law. In doing so, it overcomes the inconsistent normative foundations of the UNGPs, which ground the corporate responsibility to respect in the non-legal concept of ‘societal expectations’. The article presents the core features of the proposed functional model and, through practical examples, it shows how the model clarifies the respective negative and positive responsibilities of States and corporations. It elaborates on the potential added value of the model and discusses its limitations.

Palavras-chave


positive human rights obligations, functional model, duty to fulfil, responsibility to respect, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Texto completo:

PDF (English)

Referências


AUGENSTEIN, Daniel and KINLEY, David. When Human Rights “Responsibilities” become “Duties”: The Extra-Territorial Obligations of States that Bind Corporations. In: DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

BACKER, Larry Cata. On The Evolution Of The United Nations Protect-Respect-Remedy Project: The State, The Corporation And Human Rights In A Global Governance Context. Santa Clara Journal of International Law, v. 9, n. 1, p.37-80, Jan 2011.

BADER, Michael. Toward a Strategic Engagement with the Question of the Corporation. In: SAAGE-MAAß, Miriam, ZUMBANSEN, Peer,

BADER, Michael, and SHAHAB, Palvasha. Transnational Legal Activism in Global Value Chains: The Ali Enterprises Factory Fire and the Struggle for Justice. 1st ed. New York: Springer, 2021.

BARTEL, Constantine and SOLDATI, Veronia. Embeddedness Of Chiquita’s Banana Production In Panama: The Potential To Mitigate Social And Ecological Problems. African Technology Development Forum Journal, v. 9, n. 1, p. 32-47, 2017. p. 33; BURGOS, Maria Jose. Banana Road. CBC News, 2 Dec 2018. Available at: . Accessed on: 16 Oct 2024.

BERNAZ, Nadia and PIETROPAOLI, Irene. Developing a business and human rights treaty: lessons from the deep seabed mining regime under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Business and Human Rights Journal, v. 5, n. 2, p. 200-220, Jul 2020.

BESSON, Samantha. Due Diligence and Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations - Mind the Gap! ESIL Reflections, v. 9, n. 1, p. 1-9, 2020.

BILCHITZ, David. A Chasm Between ‘Is’ And ‘Ought’? A Critique of the Normative Foundations of the SRSG’s Framework and the Guiding Principles. In: DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

BILCHITZ, David. The Necessity for a Business and Human Rights Treaty. Business and Human Rights Journal, v. 1, n. 2. p.203-227, Jul 2016.

BILCHITZ, David. The Ruggie Framework: An Adequate Rubric for Corporate Human Rights Obligations? International Journal of Human Rights, v. 7, n. 12, p. 199-229, Jun 2010.

BIRCHALL, David and BERNAZ, Nadia. Business Strategy as Human Rights Risk: the Case of Private Equity. Human Rights Review, v. 24, p. 1-23, Mar 2023.

BIRCHALL, David. Any Act, Any Harm, to Anyone: The Transformative Potential of “Human Rights Impacts” under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. University of Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal, v. 1, p. 99-121, 2019.

BIRCHALL, David. Human Rights and Political Economy: Addressing the Legal Construction of Poverty and Rights Deprivation. Journal of Law and Political Economy, v. 3, n. 2, p. 393-416, 2022.

BIRCHALL, David. Human Rights on the Altar of the Market: The Blackstone Letters and the Financialisation of Housing. Transnational Legal Theory, v. 10, n. 3-4. p.446-471, 2019.

BIRCHALL, David. Reconstructing State Obligations To Protect And Fulfil Socio-Economic Rights In An Era Of Marketisation. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, v. 71, n. 1, p. 227-243, Jan 2022.

BLACKSTONE GROUP, Reply to the Mandate Holders. OTH 17/2019, 25 Mar 2019.

BOSE, Debadatta. Decentring Narratives around Business and Human Rights Instruments: An Example of the French Devoir de Vigilance Law. Business and Human Rights Journal, v. 8, n. 1, p. 18-42, Feb 2023.

BRENKERT, George G. Business Ethics and Human Rights: An Overview. Business and Human Rights Journal, v. 1, n. 2, p. 277-306, Jul 2016.

BYERS, Michael. Custom, Power, and the Power of Rules. Michigan Journal of International Law, v. 17, n. 1, p. 109-180, 1995.

ČERNIČ, J Letnar. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The 2010 Report by the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights. German Law Journal, v. 11, p. 1264-1280, 2010.

CLAPHAM, Andrew. Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press 2006.

CLAPP, Jennifer. Concentration And Crises: Exploring The Deep Roots Of Vulnerability In The Global Industrial Food System. Journal of Peasant Studies, v. 50, n. 1, p. 1-25, October 2022.

COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, ‘General Comment No. 4: The Right to Adequate Housing (Art. 11 (1) of the Covenant)’, (13 December 1991) UN Doc E/1992/23.

CRAGG, Wesley. Ethics, Enlightened Self-Interest, and the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: A Critical Look at the Justificatory Foundations of the UN Framework. Business Ethics Quarterly, v. 22, n. 1, p. 9-36, 2012.

DE SCHUTTER, Oliver. The Green Rush: The Global Race For Farmland And The Rights Of Land Users. Harvard International Law Journal, v. 52, n. 2, p. 503-559, Jul 2007.

DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

DEVA, Surya. From Business or Human Rights to Business and Human Rights: What Next? In: DEVA, Surya and BIRCHALL, David. Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Elgar Publishing, 2020.

DEVA, Surya. Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Laws in Europe: A Mirage for Rightsholders? Leiden Journal of International Law, v. 36, n. 2, p. 389-414, Jun 2023.

DEVA, Surya. Multinationals, Human Rights And International Law: Time To Move Beyond The ‘State-Centric’ Conception? In: ČERNIČ, J Letnar and VAN HO, Tara. Human Rights And Business: Direct Corporate Accountability For Human Rights. The Netherlands: Wolf Legal Publishers 2015.

DEVA, Surya. The Human Rights Obligations of Business: Reimagining the Treaty Business. Workshop on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations, Geneva. Mar 2014. Available at: . Accessed on 21 Oct 2024.

DEVA, Surya. Treating human rights lightly: a critiques of the consensus rhetoric and the language employed by the Guiding Principles. In: DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

DRUTMAN, Lee. How Corporate Lobbyists Conquered American Democracy. The Atlantic, 20 Apr 2015. Available at: . Accessed on 21 Oct 2024.

DURUIGBO, Emeka. Corporate Accountability and Liability for International Human Rights Abuses: Recent Changes and Recurring Challenges. Journal of Human Rights, v. 6, n. 2, p. 222-261, 2008.

ETO CONSORTIUM. Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2011. Available at: . Accessed on: 16 Oct 2024.

EUROPEAN UNION. Al-Skeini et al. v. United Kingdom (App No 55721/07 ECtHR, 7 July 2011) (Bonello, J., concurring).

GOLAN, Maureen S, TRUMP, Benjamin D, CEGAN, Jeffrey C, and LINKOV, Igor. Supply Chain Resilience for Vaccines: Review of Modeling Approaches in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Industrial Management and Data Systems, v. 121, n. 7, p. 1273- 1746, 2021.

GONZÁLEZ, Erika, VARGAS, Monica and HERNÁNDEZ ZUBIZARRETA, Juan. Business and human rights: The failure of self-regulation. TNI, Oct 2016. Available at . Accessed on 21 Oct 2024.

GUPTA, Atul, HOWELL, Sabrina T, YANNELIS, Constantine, and

GUPTA, Abhinav. Does Private Equity Investment in Healthcare Benefit Patients? Evidence from Nursing Homes. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 28474 , 2021.

HEARNE, Rory. Housing Shock. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Bristol University Press, 2020.

HIGGINS, Rosalyn. Problems and Process – International Law and how we use it. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1994.

HIMMELSTEIN, David U and others. Medical Bankruptcy: Still Common Despite the Affordable Care Act. American Journal of Public Health, v. 199, n. 3, p. 431–433, Mar 2019.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’ (21 March 2011) UN Doc A/HRC/17/31.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, ‘Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises’ (9 February 2007) UN Doc A/HRC/4/035, para 21.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. 21 Mar 2011 UN Doc A/HRC/17/31, Commentary to Guiding Principle 19.

KARP, David Jason. Responsibility for Human Rights: Transnational Corporations in Imperfect States. 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

KING, Hugh. The Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of States. Human Rights Law Review, v. 9, n. 4, p. 521-556, 2009.

KOLSTAD, Ivar. Human Rights and Positive Corporate Duties: The Importance of Corporate-State Interaction. Business Ethics: A European Review, v. 21, n. 3, p. 276-285, May 2012.

LAIR, Cherie and VIDAK-GOJKOVIC, Ema. The Medium Is the Message: Establishing a System of Business and Human Rights Through Contract Law and Arbitration. Journal of International Arbitration, v. 35, n. 4, p. 379-412, 2018.

LOPEZ LATORRE, Andrés Felipe. In Defence of Direct Obligations for Businesses Under International Human Rights Law. Business and Human Rights Journal, v. 5, n. 1. p.56-83, Jan 2020.

LÓPEZ, Carlos. The “Ruggie Process”: From Legal Obligations to Corporate Social Responsibility? In:

DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

MACCHI, Chiara. The Normative Foundation of the Corporate Responsibility to Respect: A Critical Analysis. In: MACCHI, Chiara. Business, Human Rights and the Environment: The Evolving Agenda. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer 2022.

MACCHI, Chiara. With Trade Comes Responsibility: The External Reach of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Obligations. Transnational Legal Theory, v. 11, n. 4, p. 409-435, 2020.

MAK, Chantal. Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence: More than Ticking the Boxes? Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, v. 29, n. 3, p. 301-303, 2022.

MARES, Radu. “Respect” human rights: Concept and convergence. In: BIRD, Robert C and others. Law, Business and Human Rights: Bridging the Gap. United Kingdom: Edward Elgar 2014.

MCCORQUODALE, Robert. Corporate Social Responsibility and International Human Rights Law. Journal of Business Ethics, v. 87, n. 2, p. 385-400, 2009.

MECKLED-GARCIA, Saladin. Do transnational economic effects violate human rights? Ethics and Global Politics, v. 2, n. 3, p. 259-276, 2009.

MÉGRET, Frédéric. ‘Are There ‘Inherently Sovereign Functions’ in International Law? American Journal of International Law, v. 115, n. 3, p. 452-492, Jul 2021.

MORENO-LAX, Violeta, and COSTELLO, Cathryn. The Extraterritorial Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: From Territoriality to Facticity, the Effectiveness Model. In: PEERS, Steve,

HERVEY, Tamara, KENNER, Jeff and WARD, Angela. Commentary on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Hart Publishing, 2014.

NOLAN, Justine. The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: Soft Law or Not Law? In: DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

NOLAN, Aoife and DUTSCHKE, Mira. Article 2 (1) ICESCR and states parties' obligations: whither the budget? European Human Rights Law Review, v. 3, p. 280-289, Jan 2010.

NOLKAEMPER, Andre and JACOBS, Dov. Shared Responsibility in International Law: A Conceptual Framework. Michigan Journal of International Law, v. 34, n. 2, p. 359-438, 2013.

OHCHR, ‘General Comment No. 15: The Right to Water (Arts. 11 and 12 of the Covenant)’ (20 January 2003) UN Doc E/C.12/2002/11, para 27.

OHCHR, ‘General comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities’ (10 August 2017) UN Doc E/C.12/GC/24, para 18.

OHCHR. The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights - An Interpretative Guide. (2012) UN Doc HR/PUB/12/02.

OMARI LICHUMA, Caroline. (Laws) Made in the “First World”: A TWAIL Critique of the Use of Domestic Legislation to Extraterritorially Regulate Global Value Chains. Heidelberg Journal of International Law, v. 81, n. 2, p.497-532, 2021.

PAHUJA, Sundhya and SAUNDERS, Anna. Rival Worlds and the place of the Corporation in International Law. In: VON BERNSTORFF, Jochen and DANN, Philipp. The Battle for International Law: South-North Perspectives on the Decolonization Era. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2019.

PETERS, Anne, GLESS, Sabine, THOMALE, Chris and WELLER, Marc-Philippe. Business and Human Rights: Making the Legally Binding Instrument Work in Public, Private and Criminal Law. MPIL Research Paper Series 2020-06, 2020. Available at: . Accessed on 21 Oct 2024.

RATNER, Steven R. Corporations and Human Rights: A Theory of Legal Responsibility. Yale Law Journal, v. 111, n. 3, pp. 443-545, Dec 2001.

ROBIN, Marie-Monique. The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Corruption, and the Control of Our Food Supply. New York: The New Press, 2014.

ROCHA, Armando. Private actors as participants in International Law – A critical analysis of membership under the Law of the Sea. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury, 2023.

RUGGIE, John R. Comments on Thun Group of Banks: Discussion Paper on the Implications of UN Guiding Principles 13 & 17 in a Corporate and Investment Banking Context. Harvard Kennedy School Discussion Paper, Feb 2017.

SHANY, Yuval.Taking Universality Seriously: A Functional Approach to Extraterritoriality in International Human Rights Law. The Law and Ethics of Human Rights, v. 7, n. 1, p.47-71, 2014.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ‘The Financialization Of Housing And The Right To Adequate Housing’ (18 January 2017) UN Doc A/HRC/34/51, para 60.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ‘Twenty Years Of Promoting And Protecting The Right To Adequate Housing: Taking Stock And Moving Forward’ (12 July 2021) UN Doc A/HRC/47/43, para 78.

VAN DEN BERGHE, Amandine, SCHAUGG, Lukas and DE ANZIZU, Helionor. The New Energy Charter Treaty in Light of The Climate Emergency. Jus Mundi, 2022. Available at: . Accessed on 21 Oct 2024.

VAN HO, Tara. “BandAids Don’t Fix Bullet Holes”: In Defence of a Traditional State Centric Approach to the Treaty. In: ČERNIČ, J Letnar and CARRILLO-SANTARELLI, Nicolas. The Future of Business and Human Rights: Theoretical and Practical Challenges for a UN Treaty. 1st ed. Belgium: Intersentia 2018.

VAN HO, Tara. Defining the relationships: “Cause, contribute, and directly linked to” in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Human Rights Quarterly, v. 43, n. 4, p. 625-658, 2021.

WETTSTEIN, Florian. Making noise about silent complicity: the moral inconsistency of the “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” Framework. In: DEVA, Surya and BILCHITZ, David. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? 1st ed. England: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

WETTSTEIN, Florian. Normativity, Ethics, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: A Critical Assessment. Journal of Human Rights, v. 12, n. 2, p. 162-182, 2015.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v22i1.9819

ISSN 2236-997X (impresso) - ISSN 2237-1036 (on-line)

Desenvolvido por:

Logomarca da Lepidus Tecnologia