Human Rights and the Broader CSR Agenda: The Emergence and Uneven Development of Global Market Norms

Abstract

Since the 1990s both governmental and non-governmental actors have sought to shape and disseminate general norms for corporate social responsibility, which have been translated into a growing number of relatively prominent voluntary initiatives such as the UN’s Global Compact. While the growth of these international CSR initiatives and norms over the past two decades has been impressive, it also has been uneven in terms of firm participation and the areas of corporate social responsibility addressed. The literature on business and politics has examined the determinants of firm participation, but we know far less about why certain types of CSR initiatives have developed faster and been more successful than others. This panel seeks to gain insight into this latter question by examining and situating corporate human rights codes and norms within the broader CSR context and agenda. Some papers, for example, could explore why environmental and sustainability codes to date have been able to gain greater prominence and adherents than their human rights counterparts. Similarly such papers might explore the extent to which human rights codes have been influenced by their environmental forbearers and with what effect. Other papers might examine why certain areas within the human rights rubric such as child labour have become the subject of high profile campaigns while other issues such as fair remuneration have failed to gain a foothold on the global CSR agenda. The panel therefore seeks to shed light on which types of, and under what conditions, human rights norms and voluntary initiatives are likely to be successful as well as identifying those human rights concerns that are less amenable to CSR approaches.

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