Background Global occupational health and safety (OHS) is strictly linked to the dynamics of economic globalization. As the global market is increasing, the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, occupational diseases, and injuries affect a vast number of workers worldwide. Global OHS issues also become local in developed countries due to many factors, including untrained migrant workers in the informal sector, construction, and agriculture. Objective To identify the current status and challenges of global occupational health and safety and the needs for preventive action. Findings Absence of OHS infrastructure amplifies the devastating consequences of infectious outbreaks like the Ebola pandemic and tuberculosis. Interventions in global OHS are urgently needed at various levels: 1. Increased governmental funding is needed for international organizations like the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization to face the increasing demand for policies, guidance, and training. 2. Regulations to ban and control dangerous products are needed to avoid the transfer of hazardous production to developing countries. 3. The OHS community must address global OHS issues through advocacy, position papers, public statements, technical and ethical guidelines, and by encouraging access of OHS professionals from the developing countries to leadership positions in professional and academic societies. 4. Research, education, and training of OHS professionals, workers, unions and employers are needed to address global OHS issues and their local impact. 5. Consumers also can influence significantly the adoption of OHS practices by demanding the protection of workers who are producing he goods that are sold in the global market. Conclusions Following the equation of maximized profits prompted by the inhibition of OHS is an old practice that has proven to cause significant costs to societies in the developed world. It is now an urgent priority to stop this process and promote a harmonized global market where the health of workers is guaranteed in the global perspective.

https://iris.unibs.it/bitstream/11379/463539/1/Lucchini%26London%202014%20Global%20OHS.pdf

Global Occupational Health: Current Challenges and the Need for Urgent Action

Minding the “governance gaps”: Re-thinking conceptualizations of host state “weak governance” and re-focussing on home state governance to prevent and remedy harm by multinational mining companies and their subsidiaries

This book examines issues relating to oil, gas or mining multinational corporations operating within conflict-affected areas or weak-governance zones in Africa that aid and abet international crimes. Currently, international criminal law does not recognise the complicit liability of corporations or any other legal persons. Models of corporate liability are found in most domestic jurisdictions. Regrettably, the domestic jurisdictions, where these kinds of crimes occur, have not been known to enforce criminal sanctions on culpable natural or legal persons. Therefore, these issues should be addressed in international forums where domestic jurisdictions prove inadequate. There is a need for a doctrine of corporate liability in international criminal law. Hence, this book recommends that the International Criminal Court is the preferred institution to address this. Furthermore, the ICC Rome Statute should be revisited by the ICC State Parties in order to develop an appropriate framework of liability which takes into account the characteristic forms of corporate complicity in international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

The Complicity of Multinational Corporations in International Crimes

The thesis examines key issues relating to the responsibility of business entities and access to justice for victims of business-related human rights violations, to suggest measures and proposals to be incorporated in a prospective legally binding treaty on business and human rights, whose negotiation and drafting is in progress under the aegis of the UN Human Rights Council. Under the terms of Human Rights Council Resolution 26/9, an Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group was mandated to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
After recalling the historical background (Chapter 1) and the process leading to the adoption of Resolution 26/9 (Chapter 2), the thesis analyses the outstanding issues regarding the responsibility of business enterprises and whether corporations may potentially be considered as duty-bearers in the prospective binding treaty (Chapter 3). The thesis turns to the question about how to overcome existing barriers and improve access to justice and judicial remedies for victims of business-related human rights abuses (Chapter 4). The thesis concludes with measures and models of reference to be considered in the prospective treaty, to close the so called “accountability and governance” gaps.

/pdf/business-and-human-rights-towards-greater-responsibility-of-q2l5t57kpk.pdf

Business and human rights: towards greater responsibility of business enterprises and access to remedies in a legally binding treaty?

This dissertation examines the ongoing problem of business actors violating human rights and the regulatory attempts to deal with the problem at the international level. In particular, it considers the work of the UN Secretary- General’s Special Representative on Business Human Rights, John Ruggie and the ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ framework as elaborated in the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It also critically analyses the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises as well as developments in the European Union in this area. Each of these regulatory mechanisms demonstrates elements of new governance, hybrid or third way models of regulation such as voluntarism, wide participation through multistakeholder structures and subsidiarity, all of which are useful soft law techniques that contribute to a culture of human rights or human rights norm internalisation. Nevertheless, they fall down in failing to provide a normative regulatory framework which would address human rights abuses by business actors which remain unresponsive to soft law models of regulation. Specifically, there is a lack of redress for the victims of human rights abuses by business actors and the current regulatory models do not offer a deterrent to or punishment of such abuses. This dissertation argues that the international community must thus re-conceptualise the business and human rights problem and move towards a mandatory international legal paradigm.

New governance models have emerged from a changing international legal paradigm and they represent a move away from State-centric regulation towards the complementary co-existence of hard and soft rules in one domain. While many of the new governance techniques offer useful means of internalising a human rights culture within the business community and thus helping to prevent human rights abuses, nevertheless, the lack of normative rules means that no binding redress mechanisms or remedies are available. A true new governance approach allows both normative and non-normative standards to co-exist. Given that the voluntary business and human rights initiatives alone have failed to address the problem adequately, a new international normative approach is
necessary. This thesis posits that re-conceptualising business actors as human rights dutyholders does not require a major paradigm shift. International law has always recognised business actors as subjects of international law, or alternatively, participants at minimum, and there is no good reason why they cannot be subject to human rights obligations. This thesis advocates the application of a horizontal approach to human rights which encompasses human rights violations by business actors. At present, a conservative, positivist and State-centric perspective of international law prevails, which prioritises the maintenance of State sovereignty over the rights of individuals not to be abused by business actors.

The law is correct as of October 2011.

Towards normative transformation: re-conceptualising business and human rights

The formulation and approval of the Norms on Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights 2003 (Norms) by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights is the most recent as well as significant UN response to the growing corporate irresponsibility for human rights violations. This article evaluates the provisions as well as omissions of the Norms. The central objective of this evaluation is to highlight the operational shortcomings of the Norms and also explore the possible approaches that could be taken to remedy them. I demonstrate that though the UN Norms undoubtedly signify an improvement over earlier such attempts at the international level, they represent an imperfect step, albeit in the right direction. It is critical for the efficacy of the Norm that imperfections related to both formulation and implementation of TNCs' human rights obligations are further deliberated upon thoroughly before any move towards their adoption. It is argued that the Norms should not only deduce human rights obligations of TNCs from state-focal international treaties and maintain a distinction between aspirational and operational standards of human rights, but also establish a strong enforcement mechanism which invokes multiple sanctions. Moreover, the Norms should take the lead in responding to hindrances posed by the doctrine of forum non conveniens and the difficulties faced in making a parent corporation liable for human rights violations by its subsidiaries. Only then, the Norms could be considered a perfect step in the right direction.

/pdf/un-s-human-rights-norms-for-transnational-corporations-and-2jwb63pj0t.pdf

UN's Human Rights Norms for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises: An Imperfect Step in Right Direction?

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UN's Human Rights Norms for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises: An Imperfect Step in Right Direction?