OPERATIONALIZING THE UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS. POLISH AND ITALIAN STEPS TO ADOPT NATIONAL ACTION PLAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/TSP-W.2017.006Keywords
responsibility of multinational corporations, national action plan, UN Global CompactAbstract
The question of responsibility of multinational corporations (MNC) for human rights abuses is still a hotly debated issue today. However, the core problem arises from the question whether MNC should be responsible for violations of human rights obligations because the necessity to regulate its actions not only on national, but also on international plane, is no longer challenged. Still, the problem remains how to effectively impose human rights obligations on companies. Should this be done only by national legislation, voluntary code of conducts, regulations of international organizations, international non-binding initiatives, or by binding obligations imposed by treaty?
There have been various attempts to deal with the issue of the multinational corporations and human rights, on different levels. Various international or non-government organizations have addressed that issue. However, the most important and prominent initiatives were undertaken within the UN. An important UN initiative regarding business and Human Rights is the UN Global Compact, a voluntary framework for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.References
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