Corporations and Human Rights: A Survey of the Scope and Patterns of Alleged Corporate-Related Human Rights Abuse

Abstract

This report summarizes the scope and patterns of alleged corporate-related human rights abuse found in a sample of 320 cases posted on the Business and Humart Rights Resource Center webpage from February 2005 - December 2007. An initial coding of cases showed that all industry sectors were alleged to impact human rights and impacts were alleged to occur in all regions. Allegations of abuse were reviewed for the right or rights impacted, using the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and ILO Core Conventions. Environmental harms were also noted as they were often connected to claims of negative impacts on human rights. Allegations of corruption were recorded, recognizing that corruption can impede realization of all rights. Furthermore, persons affected by the alleged abuses were identified and organized into three groups, workers, communities, and end-users, e.g., consumers of goods or users of services. The form of company involvement in the alleged abuse was also classified, noted as direct or indirect involvement. Part I of this report presents an overview of the findings. Part II provides further context to the findings, including case examples from each sector.