Human Rights Conflicts and the Creation of Corporate Responsibility Collaborations

Abstract

This chapter provides comparative accounts of the creation of industry sector–specific regulatory instruments and governance institutions arising from allegations of corporate complicity in human rights abuses after conflicts with concerned constituencies and affected communities. The selected case studies demonstrate that there are consequences for conduct inconsistent with social expectations for business. The chapter considers cases originating in emerging market economies and complex operating environments, comparing the advocacy strategies of human rights activists and corporate responses. Cases studied include: the controversial role of transnational corporations in the internet communications technology sector in censorship and surveillance practices and the risks presented to the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy; the relationship of transnational corporations in the pharmaceutical sector to human rights and the risks presented to the right to health and the right to life when access to essential medicines is compromised; and the relationship of transnational corporations in the extractives sector to human rights and the risks presented to human security when extractive sector companies contract with security forces that abuse violent force and use deadly force to silence dissent. The chapter explains how conflicts over corporate complicity in alleged abuses served to catalyze the creation of the different industry-specific multistakeholder initiatives, including: the Global Network Initiative, a private multistakeholder project to promote more responsible business practices; the Accelerating Access Initiative, a global public-private partnership to increase access to affordable medicines and create change; and the Voluntary Principles on Security, a tripartite multistakeholder initiative to address security and human rights. This chapter will show that crisis appears to serve as a catalyst for change.