The Rise of Transnational Corporations in the Human Rights Age-Attaining Sustainable Development while Respecting Human Rights

Abstract

We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand for we must appreciate the reality which is that private individuals and bodies such as clubs and companies wield great power over individual citizenry who should, as of necessity, be protected from such non-state bodies who may for instance discriminate unfairly or cause other constitutional breaches It is beyond peradventure that, non-state actors such as transnational corporations wield much power and often violate human rights. As opposed to the traditional view, such non state actors too have a responsibility to respect and promote human rights. This paper discusses the extent to which non-state actors are held responsible for human rights violation both under international human rights law as well as under comparative constitutional law. Philosophical as well as theoretical justifications for adopting such a position to hold non state actors responsible for human rights violations are also discussed.