Regulating for corporate human rights abuses: The emergence of corporate reporting on the ILO's human rights standards within the global garment manufacturing and retail industry

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 790-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azizul Islam ◽  
Ken McPhail
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Garment Manufacturing

Linking Transitional Justice and Human Rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Waltz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Universal Human Rights ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Economic Injustice ◽  
The Arab Spring

Chapter 3, by Susan Waltz, addresses several of these challenges as well as other themes in a distinct way, drawing upon experiences before and after the Arab Spring from several countries in the region including Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. She first draws attention to the apparent gaps between a set of universal human rights standards enshrined in international treaties, the practice of transitional justice with its focus on gross human rights abuses, and the expectations which have been raised of transitional justice, including of addressing questions of economic injustice. She then interrogates different facets of the problem of “impact” of transitional justice.

The adaptability of international arbitration: Reforming the arbitration mechanism to provide effective remedy for business-related human rights abuses

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-231
Author(s):  
Katerina Yiannibas
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
International Arbitration ◽  
Holding Companies ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Effective Remedy ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Rights Issues

This paper analyses the potential for international arbitration to provide effective remedy for business-related human rights abuses. Since the proliferation of international arbitration, the default arbitration mechanism as it stands has been contemplated by and large for the resolution of cross-border commercial disputes where the primary interests are efficiency and finality. However, there is evidence that human rights issues have emerged in international arbitration. Accordingly, if arbitration is to be used in such cases, the mechanism must be adapted in light of the particular issues that arise in the adjudication of human rights; the balance between transparency and confidentiality, reprisals against victims and human rights defenders, collective redress, financial assistance, the applicability of human rights standards. If proper procedures are in place to contemplate the particular interests involved in cases where the substantive claims involve human rights, the advantage of international arbitration is that it can provide direct access in a neutral forum for holding companies accountable where national jurisdictions are unavailable or difficult to access. This article begins by analysing the historical development of international arbitration so as to demonstrate a pattern of adaptability and flexibility vis-à-vis the subject matter of cross-border disputes. The article will then contemplate the potential of and concerns for international arbitration, putting forward specific recommendations for reforms of the international arbitration mechanism in cases where the substantive claims involve business-related human rights abuses.

scholarly journals Beyond the Governance Gap: Accountability in Privatized Migration Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-505
Author(s):  
Daria Davitti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Home State ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Migration Control ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Security Companies

AbstractThis Article focuses on the accountability challenges raised by the increased involvement of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC) in migration control. I argue that migration control activities outsourced to PMSC can be classified as high-risk operations for the purposes of the application of relevant business and human rights standards. This reclassification of migration control activities as high-risk business operations, in turn, has two significant implications in terms of establishing accountability for PMSC’s wrongful conduct. First, it acknowledges that the privatization of migration control, especially within the context of continued containment and deterrence trends, entails a high risk of human rights abuses to which PMSC may contribute, both directly and indirectly. Second, this reclassification enables us to identify heightened obligations vested upon the home state of a PMSC, as well as the heightened responsibility of PMSC themselves. The article also examines what these heightened obligations and responsibilities entail.

When Do-Gooders Do Harm: Accountability of the United Nations toward Third Parties in Peace Operations

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 86-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin C. Chang
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Human Rights Standards

The United Nations’ mandate in a peace operation can be multi-dimensional, ranging from ceasefire monitoring to investigating human rights abuses to post-conflict stabilisation and recovery. The exercise of wide-ranging powers comes with risks of failure and unintended consequences. Like any organisation, the un is subject to flaws in decision-making that may result in harmful impact to the local population. Until recent times, international lawyers have paid scant attention to the un’s potential to inflict harm in the pursuit of its noble aims. The expansion of the un’s role over the decades has given rise to greater awareness of its accountability gap under international and municipal laws. The organisation’s response to recent claims from third parties illustrates the challenges that lie before victims in attaining accountability in a manner consistent with international human rights standards. This article examines the multifarious questions of accountability of the un toward third parties in peace operations. It argues that greater accountability is most practically achieved not through attempts to close gaps in international law, but through giving effect to existing mechanisms by applying a balancing approach to immunity and strengthening internal oversight and redress mechanisms.

Financial giants and moral pygmies?

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaomin Li ◽  
Ajai Gaur
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Collective Effort ◽  
Multiplicative Effect ◽  
High Level ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Rights Issues

Purpose – How should a multinational corporation (MNC) from a mature democracy deal with the human rights issues in a country with a poor human rights standard? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors develop a mathematical model to depict MNC's behavior in response to human rights violations in the host country. Findings – The authors show that, first, in a country with a high level of human rights abuses, a firm will have to lower its human rights standards to survive; but, second, a collective effort by all firms is essential to improve the human rights conditions in the host environment; and third, a firm's human rights practices may have a multiplicative effect that can significantly affect the momentum of human rights development in a host country. Originality/value – This study is one of the first attempts to provide a theoretical framework on the issue of MNCs and human rights in host countries.

scholarly journals Police brutality and human rights in Nigeria's democracy: Focus on restoration of man's dignity

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (15) ◽  
pp. 155-170
Author(s):  
Christian Chima Chukwu ◽  
Grace A.-T. Scent ◽  
Obuzor Mezewo Emerinwe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Brutality ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Accidental Discharge ◽  
The Government ◽  
Human Rights Standards

After about twenty years of military rule in Nigeria, Nigerians seemed to have lost the ability to insist on their fundamental human rights. In this vein, any attempt to talk about human rights has been very controversial since the return of democracy in 1991 because the police seem to have taken over the lawlessness of the military as no day passes without a daily occurrence of extra judicial killings, accidental discharge, and other notorious acts against innocent citizens all over the country. Therefore, with police brutality observable in every nook and cranny of the Nigerian society, this study evaluates human rights abuses in Nigeria's democracy with a view to restoring man's dignity that is at lowest ebb today than ever. Since government seems confused on what steps to take to put a stop to the series of abuses of human rights, hypotheses were formulated and literatures related to the variables reviewed. Survey research design was adopted and a total sample of 150 respondents was selected through purposive sampling technique and simple random sampling technique. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant levels and the results of the findings show that all the null hypotheses were rejected and the alternate hypotheses accepted at same significant levels. Among the findings, the study shows that the rule of law in Nigeria has fallen short of the expectations of the citizens. Secondly, the police force has become a stumbling block to the effective administration of Justice and efficient maintenance of law and order as cruelty against citizens are widespread. Furthermore, the sheer disrespect of rules of engagements with imunity by the police not only questions the ability of the government to protect its citizens but also undermines its credibility. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have not only abdicated their constitutional functions, responsibilities and obligations to Nigerians, but are deeply engaged in human rights abuses, bribery, and extortions of money not only from motorists plying our roads but also in our habitudes at the least opportunity. In this light, the study recommends that as a security organization in a democracy, the Nigeria police should understand that democracy demands that the human personality in its course of development should be allowed to proceed without artificial forces or barricade so long as it actively does not violate the safety and reasonable right of others. In addition, there should be other far-reaching reforms and reorientations necessary to bring Nigeria's policing operations into conformity with constitutional and international human rights standards.

The Chechen Exception: Rethinking Russia's Human Rights Policy

Politics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Heinze ◽  
Douglas A. Borer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The West ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
International Human ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Historical Comparative ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Human Rights Standards

Orthodox interpretations of human rights policies and practices in post-Soviet Russia are often construed by external critics through a historicist lens of tsarist and Soviet-era authoritarianism. Contemporary Russia's adherence to emerging international human rights norms is commonly judged in sole reference to its human rights disaster in Chechnya. In this article, we contest the notion that human rights abuses in Chechnya fully illustrate Russia's stance on international human rights. We suggest that Chechnya is the exception in the post-Soviet era, and that Russia has increasingly brought its human rights standards in line with the West. We use a historical comparative context as well as Russia's discursive response to NATO's intervention in Kosovo and its UN Security Council voting record as empirical evidence for our argument. 1

Documents and Source Material

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
Source Materials ◽  
Israeli Occupation

This section comprises JPS summaries and links to international, Arab, Israeli, and U.S. documents and source materials from the quarter spanning 16 May-15 November 2017. Fifty years of Israeli occupation was the focus of reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Oxfam that documented the ongoing human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. Other notable documents include Israeli NGO Gisha and UNSCO reports on the ten-year Gaza siege, Al Jazeera's interactive timeline of the Nakba, and an exchange of letters between the ACLU and U.S. senators on anti-BDS legislation.

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