CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Ungureanu, Elena |
|---|---|
| Title | Human Rights and Transnational Corporations: The Elaboration of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the Auspices of the UN Human Rights Council |
| Summary | In the light of globalization, the power of corporations increased and brought both advantages and challenges. One of the challenges is the impact of corporations upon human rights. The relationship between business and human rights suffers from a lack of legally binding regulatory instruments and as a consequence, victims of corporate human rights violations have difficulties in accessing effective remedies. In order to address the challenges brought by corporations in relation to human rights, the possibility of an international legally binding instrument on business and human rights is discussed at the United Nations level. This thesis aims at presenting the main stages, approaches, difficulties and advantages regarding the elaboration of a new legally binding instrument, a process which is led by the United Nations Human Rights Council addressing the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights. The process itself is valuable because it offers a common forum for different stakeholders to debate and clarify controversial issues in relation to business and human rights. The first chapter sets the international scene, by exposing the legal frameworks regarding businesses and human rights, existing from 1976 until recently, when the United Nations Human Rights Council decided in its Resolution 26/9 of 26 June 2014 to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG) on transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises (OBEs) with the mandate to elaborate an international legally binding instrument which will regulate the activities of TNCs and OBEs with respect to human rights. The second chapter presents (i) the major ideas shared during the first two sessions of the OEIGWG and (ii) the content of the document emanated from the OEIGWG, which portrays the elements proposed to be included into the new legally binding instrument after negotiations. The third chapter offers a critical appraisal of elements proposed by the OEIGWG, emphasizing the challenges that might be faced during the negotiations. The Conclusion chapter sums up the aspects discussed within this thesis and it provides a short perspective into the future developments in this area. You will not find in this thesis, tragic human rights stories of corporate human rights violations because the scope of the thesis is to inform the reader about legal developments and not to sensitize, as many INGOs are doing greatly through their work. You will not find also, a perfect recipe or the best approach in tackling the business and human rights issues, but this thesis will help you to draw your own conclusions in this regard. I hope that this thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the United Nations’ initiative towards an international legally binding instrument in relation to business and human rights. Capturing the existing legal frameworks and exposing positions of different stakeholders regarding the way forward will help the reader to contour an informed idea over the current developments in international human rights law. |
| Supervisor | Petsche, Markus |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/ungureanu_elena.pdf |
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