Human Rights and Humanizing Business

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that businesses should respect human rights, but there is lesser consensus on why they should do so. This chapter will critically examine two prominent justifications of the why question: the ‘social expectations’ logic which underpins the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the business case for human rights. As an alternative, I will argue that businesses should respect human rights as a matter of principle, simply because they are in a ‘position’ to violate human rights. This would require humanizing business by revisiting the very purpose of business, making substantial changes in laws governing corporations, and managing expectations of shareholders. Otherwise, we might continue to scratch only the surface of the problem of deeply-entrenched culture of corporate irresponsibility and impunity for human rights abuses.