The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementation Challenges at the Corporate Level in Newly Industrialised Countries

Abstract

In 2011, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) as a global standard for preventing business-related human rights abuses. The UNGP provides guidance for implementing the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework and offers advice to governments, businesses, and civic organisations to prevent and remedy business-related human rights violations. For businesses, the term “responsibility to respect” portrays corporate responsibility as a moral commitment rather than a political and legal obligation. This paper will assess how the private sector has imposed challenges in the UNGP implementation process based on four dynamics: lack of state incentives, managerial difficulties, victim marginalisation and an underdeveloped public sphere. It will also provide a case study on Chinese manufacturing firms, which will be used to establish that the “respect for human rights” often remains absent in newly industrialised countries, particularly where profitability and productivity are prioritised.