Business, Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility in a Global Financial Crisis: The Global Challenge of Embedding Human Rights in Organizations and Human Resource Management Practices

The relationship between business and human rights is important and complex. The social responsibility of business is evolving as Multinational Corporations become more pervasive and powerful; their global footprint can be a force for good or can have a negative impact on human rights. This chapter looks at the relationship between business, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and human rights in the context of the global financial crisis. The extent to which private corporations are expected to respect human rights, including socio-economic rights, is discussed. The balance between business profitability protected by commercial rights such as under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the need to protect fundamental human rights is explored. The requirements for an effective international framework for business and human rights are analyzed with an emphasis on the Protect, Respect, Remedy Framework of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Recommendations are made regarding the means to effectively embed the respect for, and promotion of, human rights across all aspects of an organization and its value chain.