'The End of the Beginning?': A Comprehensive Look at the U.N.’s Business and Human Rights Agenda from a Bystander Perspective

Abstract

With the endorsement of the Guiding Principles regarding the issue of business and human rights, an important chapter has come to a close. Beginning with the then U.N. Secretary General’s "global compact" speech in 1999, the international legal framework for business and human rights has undergone tremendous change and progress. Yet, for all these developments, there has been no exhaustive examination in the legal academy of all of these events; certainly there is no one piece that discusses or analyzes all the major instruments that have been proposed and endorsed by the U.N. and human rights with respect to businesses. This article attempts to fill that gap. By documenting the rise and development of transnational corporations as potential subjects under international law, the article will help to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues with Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and businesses for the last twelve years. In addition, by examining the Guiding Principles through the lens of bystander rhetoric, the article hopes to point the way forward to the next phase in developing a meaningful accountability structure for TNCs under international law.