Corporate social responsibility

Framework of enforceability for companies in the correct observance and respect for human rights

Abstract

Historically, protection of human rights has been conceptualized only as an inherent obligation of States. This can be easily justified if we bear in mind that, throughout history, States have been the main agents responsible of violating these rights. It is the State itself, which, by abusing its power, has profoundly damaged the integrity but most of all, the dignity of people. We can take the following examples; the Holocaust, World War I and II, among many other conflicts, which have generated the need to establish limits to the power they hold. We should, however, consider other agents who are alien to the State and thrive off power, which gives them an advantage over the rest of the population. This is the case of companies and industry, which Alejandro Teitelbaum (2010) has called “the dominant institution of the twenty-first century” and that over time has changed the way in which power is exercised and has violated human rights.