Human Rights and Companies: a radical approach

Abstract

During last years denunciations against transnational companies have multiplied for violating human rights in the places where they have their productive or commercial activities. At the same time, corporate codes of conduct have also incorporated references to those rights, and more and more international documents and initiatives of different character relate human rights and business. This article looks at the history of the growing use of the language of human rights, in the broader context of the debates around the regulation of transnational companies and the world economy. It also reflects on the implications of this process for main principles of the present-day international relations, such as sovereignty or market freedom, and the potential for social transformations of human rights.