Bookphoria on Business and Human Rights is the focus for July and August this year! Victoria has selected 10 books that are going to be shared with you. It’s time to learn more about Business and Human rights! (Part 2/3)
To see the books in part 1, click here.
How do business and human rights intersect?
Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights both through their operations and their supply chains. This includes ensuring fair labor practices, non-discrimination, and environmental sustainability. By conducting due diligence, assessing human rights risks, and implementing appropriate measures, businesses can identify and address any adverse impacts they may have on human rights.
Ideally, businesses should establish human rights policies that set out their commitment to respect human rights. Implementing effective due diligence processes is crucial for identifying, preventing, and mitigating potential human rights impacts. This involves assessing risks, integrating human rights into decision-making processes, and monitoring the effectiveness of actions taken.
Businesses should also be transparent about their human rights practices and performance. This includes reporting on their efforts to respect human rights, disclosing relevant policies and practices, and providing information on progress and challenges. Transparent reporting holds businesses accountable and enables stakeholders to make informed choices and decisions.
Business and human rights in Europe : international law challenges / edited by Angelica Bonfanti.2019.
ISBN: 9780429443169
On the RWI shelf under 61:4 BUS
From the publisher: Transnational business activities are important drivers of growth for developing and the least developed countries. However, they can also negatively impact the enjoyment of human rights. In some cases, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have even been accused of grave human rights abuses in the territory of the states where their subsidiaries operate. Since the parent companies of many MNEs are incorporated under the law of European states, those countries’ domestic law and the European legal framework play a crucial role in establishing how their activities should be conducted – also throughout their supply chains – and which remedies will be available when corporate human rights violations occur. In recent years, the European Union, the Council of Europe and their Member States have been adopting policies and legislation to ensure respect for human rights by businesses and have developed a body of related case law. These legal instruments can be considered the European responses to the challenges posed at international-law level, and they constitute the focus of research of this book. Through its collected chapters – written by scholars and practitioners under the direction of the editor, Angelica Bonfanti – the book identifies the European solutions to the business and human rights international legal issues, provides an overall assessment of their effectiveness, and examines their potential evolution.
Business and human rights law and practice in Africa / Edited by Damilola S Olawuiyi, Oyeniyi O Abe. 2022.
ISBN 9781802207460
On the RWI shelf under 62:2 BUS
From the publisher: This important book provides a comprehensive analysis of good-fit and home-grown approaches for advancing business and human rights norms across Africa. It explores the latest developments in law, regulations, policies, and governance structures across the continent, focusing on key legal innovations in response to human rights impacts of business operations and activities. Featuring contributions from expert scholars and practitioners, the book provides a complete survey of the multifarious regulatory and institutional gaps that limit the coherent development and application of business and human rights law and practice at national and regional levels in Africa. Chapters discuss practical barriers to effective implementation, how such barriers could be addressed through innovative approaches, and the local contexts for the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Africa. Thematic sections offer conceptual and theoretical reflections on how African countries can effectively mainstream human rights standards and considerations into all aspects of development planning and decision-making. Business and Human Rights Law and Practice in Africa will be a key resource for academics, practitioners, policy makers and students in the fields of governance, human rights, corporate law and public international law, who are interested in responsible and rights-based business practices in Africa. The guidance and rules provided for integrating human rights into project design and implementation will also be useful for corporate bodies and financial institutions
Achieving Access to Justice in a Business and Human Rights Context: An Assessment of Litigation and Regulatory Responses in European Civil-Law Countries./ by Virginie Rouas. 2022
ISBN: 9781911507185
Ebook Permalink (for LU users)
From the publisher: Multinational enterprises, or MNEs, can contribute to economic prosperity and social development in the countries where they operate. At the same time, their activities may directly or indirectly cause harm to humans and to the environment. Historically, MNEs have rarely been held accountable for their involvement in human rights abuses and environmental damage. In recent years, however, activists have sought to hold parent companies directly liable for the harm caused by their group’s activities. They have also strategically used litigation to trigger corporate accountability reforms at international, regional, and national levels.
Focusing on Europe, this book evaluates the extent to which litigation against MNEs has been effective in achieving access to justice and corporate accountability, particularly in civil-law countries. It also considers whether ongoing regulatory developments, such as the adoption of mandatory human rights due diligence norms and the negotiations for a business and human rights treaty, can contribute to the realization of access to justice and corporate accountability in the future.