Publisher's Synopsis
The genesis of human rights has been sprouted due to the gross violations of
rights of the people committed by governments, states and their agents acting on behalf
of their respective state's machinery. Traditionally in international law and international
human rights law violations of rights of people have been attributed to states and
governments. Non-state entities such as corporations and individuals are not in the
purview of international law and human rights. Individuals and corporations never been
viewed as an entity and subject matter of normative practice of international law due to
the basic elements of state sovereignty. Only after the Second World War, international
law mechanisms have recognized the Non-state entities and attributed liability and
responsibility.
In recent past with explosion of economic liberalization promoted by international
trade, non-state actors such as corporations, multinational companies and transnational
companies are operating transnationally in different jurisdiction involving directly in
contact with the local people and contributing their share to the fate of people living in
different parts of the world. These companies operate in a different environment and act
in a very hostile manner against the interest and rights of the people living in the vicinity
of their business. In the process they are directly involved in violating basic rights and
dignity of human beings and they show no respect to the national and international
standards and mechanisms which are providing protection to the local and indigenous
people.
The corporations are complacent towards the rights of the people and they do
evade liability for violations such as corporate crimes, tax evasions, bribery, corruption,
environmental pollutions and damage, violation of labour laws, violations of rights of
women and children, being complicit in war crimes, crimes against peace and humanity
and genocide, in those states where they are in complicit with the state and conduct gross
human rights violations. The corporations take advantage of the host states, as the host state enjoys the financial supplement provided, the financial supplement could be either
to foreign direct funds or the government is corrupt and wants to make illegal gains, or
the government takes help to control rebels.
States to compete in the global market need to become financially stable and they
require funds to develop their economy. Through the two major organizations the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank they receive loans and sanctions by
way of Foreign Direct Investment, thus inviting the Transnational and the Multinational
Corporations to enter and carry on business in the said state. When the corporations enter
they seek relaxations in tax, labour regulations, and even relaxing control on
environmental damages. As the states are economically poor, they are either developing
or under developed nations, fall prey to these corporations and allow gross human rights
violations upon themselves. In this backdrop it is an urgent necessity to look into the
problems and attribute responsibility of protecting human rights of the people, by the
non-state actors such as the Multinational Corporations.
