The Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations in the Protection of International Human Rights

Abstract

The struggle to protect fundamental human rights has traditionally focused upon the relationship between the state and the individual.Yet, the half-century consensus on appropriate state action regarding fundamental human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' is not uniformly respected.Given the complexity of the forces determining how individuals are treated in different settings around the world, it is time to examine the roles of other relevant actors, including business, labor, the media, and the general public, in promoting and protecting human rights.This article attempts to shed some light on existing and proposed human rights guidelines regarding one type of international actor: the transnational corporation (TNC). 2 First, the article discusses some of the traditional methods of promoting and protecting human rights, including standards adopted by inter-governmental organizations and bilateral pressure for human rights reform.This section also defines the minimum human rights responsibilities of public and private actors, including TNCs.Part two of the article reviews efforts to regulate the activities of TNCs with regard to human rights.