UN treaty on BHR
RWI has analysed this renewed effort by the UN to regulate transnational corporations under international law. There is a vigorous debate unfolding. The treaty effort raises numerous complexities that have made a legally binding agreement exceedingly difficult to achieve in the last 50 years. The global context is however rapidly changing as new laws on responsible business conduct and value-based trade have been adopted in the last decade.
Two recent publications on the topic:
Mares, ‘Draft UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights’, in Research Handbook on Business and Human Rights, Axel Marx, Geert Van Calster & Jan Wouters (eds), Edward Elgar (2022) pp. 22-44. Link
Abstract: The UN treaty proposal has polarized opinion from its beginning in 2014. To come closer to genuine points of disagreement and possible paths forward, this chapter explains and contextualizes the treaty process by unpacking the notion of ‘governance gaps’. The analysis identifies the multiple purposes pursued through this treaty that correspond to twelve governance gaps. Furthermore, several treaty precedents are discussed to draw attention to noteworthy regulatory dynamics.
Mares, ‘Regulating transitional corporations at the United Nations, The negotiations of a treaty on business and human rights’, International Journal of Human Rights (2022) Link
Abstract: The United Nations is the arena for a renewed push to regulate transnational corporations (TNCs) and their supply chains. This article analyses the treaty deliberations and design choices. The UN process is explained in relation to four other areas: business practice, due diligence laws, the UN Guiding Principles as key soft law instrument, and the UN’s earlier unsuccessful efforts at TNC regulation. Analytically, deeper causes of harm in global supply chains are identified and systematically compared to see how public and private norm-setters take them into account or downplay them.
Conference: RWI organized in 2021 an expert panel titled ‘Decent work in supply chains – revisiting a gap in international law and responses from the UN system’, at the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) World Congress (2021). Academics and practitioners (EU, UNCTAD, OECD) contributed. Video recording available here.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights (BHR) were adopted in 2011 and signified a turning point in BHR. The UNGPs have facilitated a shift from soft law to hard law and smart regulatory mixes. Central to this has been the versatile and practical notion of ‘human rights due diligence’.
Since 2011, RWI has published, educated, trained and raised awareness on various facets of the UNGPs.
The more recent RWI work on the UN system and EU developments builds on this in-depth understanding of the UNGPs from regulatory, corporate and global governance perspectives.
Selected publications:
First book published on the UNGPs, globally: R. Mares (ed.), The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – Foundations and Implementation, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (Leiden, Boston 2012) Link
R. Mares, ‘Liability within corporate groups: Parent companies accountability for subsidiary human rights abuses’, in S. Deva (ed.) Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business (Edward Elgar, 2020) pp. 446–470 Link
R. Mares, ‘Securing human rights through risk-management methods: breakthrough or misalignment?, Leiden Journal of International Law 32:3 (2019), pp. 517-535 Link
R. Mares, ‘Corporate transparency regulations: a hollow victory?’ Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 36:3 (2018) pp. 189–213 Link
R. Mares, ‘De-centring human rights from the international order of states – The alignment and interaction of transnational policy channels’, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 23:1 (Winter 2016) pp. 171-199 Link
R. Mares, ‘Corporate and State Responsibilities in Conflict Areas’, Nordic Journal of International law, Volume 83, Number 3 (2014) pp. 293-345 Link