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‘Re-righting business’: John Ruggie and the struggle to develop international human rights standards for transnational firms

Author

Listed:
  • Susan Ariel Aaronson

    (George Washington University)

  • Ian Higham

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

As the major players in globalization, firms often operate in states where human rights may not be respected. Without direct intent, firms may be complicit in human rights violations. In 2008, John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on business and human rights, developed a framework for policymakers to protect human rights and executives to respect human rights. On 16 June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council endorsed Ruggie’s ‘Guiding Principles’ for implementing this framework. This article describes how firms, states, and to a lesser extent NGOs, have responded to this delineation of the human rights responsibilities of business. We make four key points: the Guiding Principles are an important advance in global governance; the process of developing the Guiding Principles was a model of transparent, inclusive 21st century governance, yet the public is generally unaware of the issue or the new policy; that the Guiding Principles are a creative and broad rethinking of how to evaluate the human rights performance of corporations; and that the Guiding Principles are unlikely to have much influence unless policymakers educate their home firms regarding their human rights responsibilities and press these executives to act.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Ariel Aaronson & Ian Higham, 2013. "‘Re-righting business’: John Ruggie and the struggle to develop international human rights standards for transnational firms," Working Papers 2013-5, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
  • Handle: RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2013-5
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    File URL: http://www.gwu.edu/~iiep/assets/docs/papers/Aaronson_IIEPWP2013-5.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Uwafiokun Idemudia & Cynthia Kwakyewah & Judy Muthuri, 2020. "Mining, the environment, and human rights in Ghana: An area of limited statehood perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 2919-2926, November.
    2. Gor Samvel, 2018. "Seemingly Connected, Obviously Separate: The Parallel Realities of the UN Global Compact and the Multilateral Regimes in Water Governance," Laws, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Judith Schrempf-Stirling, 2018. "State Power: Rethinking the Role of the State in Political Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Judith Schrempf-Stirling & Florian Wettstein, 2017. "Beyond Guilty Verdicts: Human Rights Litigation and its Impact on Corporations’ Human Rights Policies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 545-562, October.
    5. Patricia Pittman, 2016. "Alternative Approaches to the Governance of Transnational Labor Recruitment," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 269-314, June.

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