Posted: August 26th, 2022

Human Rights and Transnational Corporations

Human Rights and Transnational Corporations
Topic should relate to human rights, business and law

Paper should address How does a specific trans-national corporation (international) (TNC) address the human rights challenges, what steps companies must take to assess the full range of human rights challenges they face in their core business operations? What plan of action TNC need to address these challenges?
or
Is there a business case for adopting human rights programmes within TNC? What are the positive and negative dimensions that each company take into consideration?

Paper should contain footnotes
Paper should mention the United nation Guiding Principles/ Global Compact
Paper should be around 1500-2500 Not 4000

Human Rights and Transnational Corporations
Human rights are significant and should be respected by everyone. The growth of transnational corporations (TNCs) has made them be more powerful and important in state issues. However, the operations of these organizations are faced with human rights challenges. The host countries where the TNCs are established have specific laws that govern the running of the business in these companies. Also, the international system has formulated laws that should be followed by the TNC s in regards to the recognized international human rights (Hazenberg, 2016, 479). Nevertheless, global corporations have been reluctant in adhering to the international laws of business and their responsibilities of protecting human rights. Evaluating the relationship between human rights and transnational companies will help in understanding how the TNCs deal with human rights challenges.
Different corporations apply various methods of dealing with human rights issues. A TNC studies and understands the domestic human rights in the host country and the effects that its operations can cause on those rights. Before initiating its operations in a certain country, a foreign company ought to learn about what is considered a violation of human rights and which practices are acceptable (Weissbrodt, 2014, 136). After that, the company evaluates the effects of its processes on its employees and the people around the location of the business. If the effects are negative, the company must find ways to minimize the impacts on human rights. Besides, the company will formulate measures to ensure long-term solutions to the problem. Thus, learning human rights in the business jurisdiction helps the TNCs to deal with the human rights challenges.
Additionally, the international company establishes its codes of conduct through outlining their operations procedures to ensure that they align with the international standards. Each state has different laws that define the manner by which TNCs should conduct their operations. Some of the host countries may require the companies to outline the systematic procedures used in manufacturing their goods. This is done in fulfillment of the laws such as environmental regulations to ensure that the surrounding is not degraded. The production process is compared with the performance of goods to understand the impacts it has on the environment (Heisenberg, 2016, 483). If a company does not fulfill the set laws and regulations in the host country, the country’s court has been empowered to prosecute these companies. In such a case, the company can be banned from operating in the company. Also, if a TNC is found to have committed a mistake knowingly, it will be required to redress the affected people. The TNCs, therefore, outline the procedures of their operations to deal with the human rights challenges in the host country.
Moreover, the TNCs follow the guiding principles as formulated by international organizations such as the United Nations concerning foreign trade. The universal companies have to show due diligence in respecting the bill of rights and components of the International Labor Organizations. The international bodies such as International Monetary Fund formulate rules and regulations which are applied in foreign trade (Weissbrodt, 2014, 137). Furthermore, the labor organization establishes measures on how employees of any company should be treated. It also summarizes the rights which each party in the workplace is entitled to. The rules are established to ensure equal treatment and opportunities in these companies so that human rights can be sustained. Therefore, the TNCs have the obligation to follow the principles and bill of rights established by international organizations to avoid abuse of human rights.
TNCs also create a strong relationship with the citizens of the host country. They do this by engaging the people in its operations such as employing them and treating them equally as the permanent employees of the company. The countries require that a certain percentage of the employees in a foreign company should be from the locations of the region. Hence in order to fulfill this requirement the company will provide job opportunities to the people of the country. Similarly, they involve themselves in community development projects so that they can help the people around the area of business (Heisenberg, 2016, 485). This enables the international company to develop a firm relationship with the citizens and a country as a whole. As a result, the company is able to uphold the laws of the domestic country and the international bodies thus avoiding the challenges associated with the violation of human rights.
For TNCs to evaluate the full range of human rights challenges they face in their major business operations, they have to use the following steps. First, the company should identify and understand the prominent risks to human rights. The due assiduousness of human rights should be based on threats to people and not the business (“A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management,” n.d, 4). Since the operations of the business mostly affect individuals inside and outside the company, the TNC should be focused on understanding the issues which affect them. The guiding principles as outlined by the United Nations demonstrate the significance of human rights risks based on their sternness. The individuals are affected differently by various violations of their rights. The severity of the threat determines their reactions towards the business. Discovering the extent to which the people’s rights will be affected enables the company to formulate appropriate remedies. Thus, the TNC should focus on risks towards people and not the business.
Besides, the TNC should develop a case for human rights to be aware of emerging issues associated with it. Before initiating its operations, TNC should form a strong moral and ethical case to support the idea of assimilating human rights principles in the business (“A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management,” n.d, 5). This notion should be the driving force for creating the economic environment of the business. By doing this, the company will be in a position to assess right from wrong behaviors according to the moral and ethical principles which it has established. This will help in discovering the challenges which are associated with the principles of human rights in the company. As a result, the TNC will recognize the major issues which affect its business operations and how they affect it.
Additionally, international companies should involve a consequential consultation with the concerned population. This may include the people around the area of operation, business partners, and other stakeholders. The public might have concerns about the operations which the company might not be aware of. For instance, waste products might be polluting natural resources such as rivers. Thus engaging them in public forums and meetings will assist the TNC in understanding their issues. Although they might be people from the outside of the business, they do have an impact on the company’s performance (“Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework,” 2011, 18). In doing this, the corporation should also consider the size of the enterprise to have an idea of the number of people affected by its operations. If the company is small, it can engage a few people but when the enterprise in big, many people should be involved. This helps the TNC in covering the full range of human rights problems affecting the core business operations.
Moreover, transnational corporations should conduct human rights risks often since they might change with time. The conduct of the business is what results in negative human rights impacts. Since the business is aimed to grow over time, the operations too are altered by changes and innovations. The results of a current assessment cannot be the same as the evaluations which were done at the beginning of the business. Therefore, the process of evaluating the effects of business activities on human rights should be continuous (“A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management,” n.d, 16). According to law, human due diligence should be ongoing. Thus, by continuing the process, the companies will be able to exhaust the complete assortment of the human rights challenges which they face in their major operations.
Furthermore, the TNC should employ an internal or independent external human rights expertise. Conducting the process of using workers and managers who do not clearly understand the concept of international human rights may generate poor results. Hence, hiring an expert in this area will help in doing a thorough study on the issues of human rights thus ensuring reliable outcomes (“Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework,” 2011, 18). The professional should focus on evaluating the philosophies which the corporation has established regarding human rights. Also, the expert will be able to assess the situation while applying the international law which governs foreign business. Using the knowledge and skills that the professional has, the company will be able to recognize a variety of human rights challenges which face the main operations of its business.
To succeed in addressing the human rights challenges that arise in the operations of a business, a TNC should adopt the following plan of action. First, it should focus on fulfilling the principles of the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) (“UN Global Compact, Norms on Transnational Corporations,” n.d, n.p). The philosophies which are formulated by this body concern the business and the people who might be directly or indirectly affected by the operations of the government. The UNGPs, therefore, focus on benefiting both the business and individuals inside or outside the corporation. Adhering to these rules will help the TNCs to develop a sustainable value system which will result in a strong business network. Consequently, the corporations will have fewer issues regarding human rights as following the principles will help in mitigating these problems.
Secondly, the transnational corporations should fulfill their responsibilities in treaties which they sign with foreign countries. The corporations have to sign contracts with the host countries about how the business will be carried out. The components of the agreements are drafted taking into consideration the human rights factor. The UN Global Compact requires the TNCs to fully act upon their duties in the agreements in the areas of anti-corruption, human rights and environmental preservation (“UN Global Compact, Norms on Transnational Corporations,” n.d, n.p). Acting on their position of the agreement will help in fulfilling the requirements from the host country as well as reducing the human rights issue. Equally, the TNCs have to follow the laws which have been formulated by labor organizations to protect the employees of the companies. Equal treatment and opportunities and minimum wages for the employees are some of the characteristics of the labor bills as presented by the international labor associations. By doing this, the corporations will attain the global business standards and so they will minimize the challenges of human rights in their operations.
Finally, the corporations should ensure that their present policies, laws, regulations, and enforcement measures are appropriate in addressing the threat of business participation in human rights abuses. Since the process of evaluating the challenges of human rights should be continuous, the international companies should also update their policies with the outcomes of the assessments (“UN Global Compact, Norms on Transnational Corporations,” n.d, n.p). Also, the laws and regulations should be changed with evolution of operations. Business operations have a direct positive or negative effect on individuals and business partners. Thus, the management of universal corporations should always ensure that the laws and enforcement measures are updated with regards to discovered human rights problems in the business. This will help in fully managing the issues of human rights within TNCs.
In a nutshell, the operations of transnational corporations have an effect on human rights. Due to a lack of follow up, there have been many human rights issues that the TNC s faces. International bodies such as UNGPs and International Labor Organizations have established principals, code of conduct, and bill of rights which TNCs should follow to ensure reduction of these challenges. Some corporations have employed several tactics to deal with current issues. However, they have not achieved full achievement since there are no specific strategies to manage the problem. Transnational companies can, therefore, follow the outlined steps in discovering the full range of human rights issues in the business so that they can be able to formulate the appropriate course of action to take.

References
A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management. (n.d.). Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights, 3-44. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideHRBusinessen.pdf
Hazenberg, J. L. (2016). Transnational Corporations and Human Rights Duties: Perfect and Imperfect. Human Rights Review, 17(4), 479-500. DOI:10.1007/s12142-016-0417-3
Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. (2011). Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 1-35. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/GuidingprinciplesBusinesshr_eN.pdf
Weissbrodt, D. (2014). Human Rights Standards Concerning Transnational Corporations and Other Business Entities. Minnesota Journal of Int’l Law, 23(2), 135-171.
UN Global Compact, Norms on Transnational Corporations, Transnational Corporations, and Human Rights – Law 725

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