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SoSe 17: Human Rights, Business and Gender

Sorcha MacLeod

Information for students

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Course Description

An increasingly globalised world has resulted in hundreds of thousands of business actors conducting business across national borders. In many well-documented instances, such as Rana Plaza, Blackwater and Shell in Nigeria, business actors been accused of violating international human rights standards which traditionally have not applied to them as non-State actors. Weak, non-existent and fragmented legal frameworks have contributed to the regulatory gaps and in many cases it is the most vulnerable communities and members of society that suffer adverse human rights impacts, with women affected particularly. Human rights impacts have occurred across every sector and industry, from textile production to natural resource exploitation, pharmaceuticals to private military and security contractors. The nature of global business has important implications for any attempt to regulate the behaviour of business actors in relation to human rights as national law, public international law and private international law are all engaged yet no single legal framework exists to hold business actors accountable for human rights violations.

In this course we will examine contemporary national and international regulatory attempts to hold business actors accountable for human rights abuses with a focus on case studies which highlight gender issues.

Course Content

Context:

the rising power of transnational business and the retreat of the State within the context of globalisation;
theories around the social responsibility of business actors;
gender issues;
business and human rights accountability and responsibility gaps at the national and international levels.

Regulation:

international attempts to regulate the behaviour of business actors in relation to human rights e.g. UN, OECD, EU;
the role of States, Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and industry in the development of regulatory mechanisms;
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were adopted unanimously by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 and which have become the key international standard on business and human rights;
due diligence, supply chains, human rights risk analysis and impact assessments and remedies;
National Action Plans (NAPs);
the case for a treaty on business and human rights.

Case Studies:

private military and security industry;
extractive industry;
garment industry.

Teaching

Weekly two-hour lecture.

Lecturer

Dr Sorcha MacLeod

E-mail: sorcha.macleod@fu-berlin.de

Course Registration

Please register via Campus Management

Exam

There will be a written final examination.

Frequency

The course will be held at irregular intervals. close