Whitaker Institute member Dr Shane Darcy, cluster leader of Conflict, Humanitarianism and Security, has written a new piece for RTÉ Brainstorm. The article looks at the relationship between business and human rights, a key topic in international organisations now.
Analysis: the relationship between business and human rights is now on the agenda of many key international organisations
During a recent hearing of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, the Irish insulation manufacturing firm Kingspan was accused of being “seminally causative” in the 2017 fire which saw 72 people killed. At around the same time, a large group of states, business representatives, civil society organisations and experts were gathered at the United Nations in Geneva with a view to developing an international treaty to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises as they relate to human rights.
From Rana Plaza to Silicon Valley, and tax havens to open-cast coal mines, there is abundant evidence that it is not only states that can harm or deny the enjoyment of human rights. Given the unprecedented growth in size, power and reach of multinational corporations over recent decades, the relationship between business and human rights has forced its way onto the agenda of key international organisations. Continue reading…
