ABSTRACT
The UDHR1 of 1948 did not explicitly refer to the relationship between business and human rights. However, it provided in its preamble that ‘every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms.’ How can the existing international human rights system protect individuals and communities against corporate-related human rights harm? The international community is still in the early stages of adapting the human rights regime to provide more effective protection to individuals and communities against corporate-related human rights harm. This chapter, which I presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2008 in my capacity as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights, and which the Council welcomed unanimously, presents a principles-based conceptual and policy framework intended to help achieve this aim. The framework comprises three core principles: the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and the need for more effective access to remedies. The three principles form a complementary whole in that each supports the others in achieving sustainable progress.
