Attribution of human rights obligations to multinational corporations a legal study

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.