Public procurement and human rights: interrogating the role of the state as buyer

Abstract

"This timely work reflects on the role and obligations of the state as a buyer of goods and services, from the dual disciplinary perspectives of public procurement and human rights. Through theoretical and doctrinal analyses, and practice-focused case studies, it interrogates the evolving character of public procurement as an interface for multiple normative regimes and competing policies. Challenging the prevailing paradigm which subordinates human rights to narrowly-defined economic goals, insightful contributions advance a compelling case for greater inter-disciplinarity and policy coherence as crucial to realising international policies such as those embodied in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals." Public procurement and human rights : interrogating the role of the state as buyer / Olga Martin-Ortega and Claire Methven O'Brien -- Human rights and national procurement rules in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement / Opi Outhwaite -- Human rights in the context of public procurements financed by the World Bank / Sope Williams-Elegbe -- The human rights responsibilities of international organizations as procuring authorities / Deborah Russo -- Constitutionalising public procurement through human rights : lessons from South Africa / Geo Quinot -- Public procurement and core human rights : a sketch of the European Union legal framework / Albert Sanchez-Graells -- Civil liability for abuses of ILO core labour rights in European Union government supply chains : Ireland as a case study / Eamonn Conlon -- Public procurement and human rights : current role and potential of voluntary sustainability standards / Axel Marx -- Outsourcing and bonded labour in military and diplomatic security services / James Sinclair -- Public procurement and human rights in the healthcare sector : the Swedish county councils' collaborative model / Pauline Göthberg -- Public procurement and modern slavery risks in the English adult social care sector / Caroline Emberson and Alexander Trautrims -- Making rights effective in public procurement supply chains : lessons from the electronics sector / Björn Skorpen Claeson -- Supply chain transparency in public procurement : lessons from the apparel sector / Robert Stumberg and Nicole Vander Meulen -- Public procurement and human rights : towards legal and policy coherence in pursuit of sustainable market economies / Claire Methven O'Brien and Olga Martin-Ortega.