Towards A Business and Human Rights Treaty

Abstract

Business enterprises can contribute to the realization of human rights in many instances. However, they may also cause adverse effect on the enjoyment of human rights. The increasing disclosure of business involvement in human rights abuses can be dated back to decades ago. Despite the failed attempts to regulate business enterprises with respect to human rights via a binding approach, a proposal on a business and human rights treaty by some states, typically represented by Ecuador, has reopened the international discussion on a binding approach towards business and human rights issues. However, despite the support by a Human Rights Council mandate, the necessity of a business human rights treaty remains controversial and the further development of this binding proposal remains to be seen. This thesis will address a three-fold research question on the proposal of a business and human rights treaty: 1) What is the state of play in the ongoing debate of a binding proposal? 2) Is it necessary to elaborate a business and human rights treaty? 3) If one is deemed necessary, how should a business and human rights treaty be formulated? The approach of this thesis will be both empirical and legal. It will be empirical sine the qualitative judgements will be benefited from the internship experience in the Human Rights council and will be considerably based on a three-week empirical research as well as an extended period of desk research on the discussion of a business and human rights treaty. It will be legal because its main concern is the further development on the treaty proposal in an international human rights law perspective. This thesis will firstly take a close observation of the ongoing debate on the binding proposal on business and human rights. It will then conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the necessity of a business and human rights treaty from four significant perspectives concerning the international legal framework on business and human rights, the political and legal achievability of a business and human rights treaty as well as potential implications of a binding proposal on business and human rights. Thirdly, it will try to undertake a challenging task, which will include drafting core provisions of a potential business and human rights treaty. The outcome of this thesis will not only help to narrow down the identified research gaps on the research topic, it will also be valuable as a resource for further research in international legalization of the business and human rights area as well as a input for the coming negotiation process from international law perspective. The findings of this thesis show that when the necessity of a business and human rights treaty is still significantly concerned, some further issues have emerged. For instance, concerns have been raised up around the substantive content of the potential treaty as well as the parallel efforts in elaborating a treaty. Further, it is deemed by this thesis that a business and human rights treaty is necessary, and the treaty should be a framework convention with a broad coverage of scope aiming to strengthen state obligation to protect human rights against abuses by business enterprises.