Home country regulates outbound investment to fulfill human rights obligations-taking China as an example

Abstract

ABSTRACT Restricted by economic and social development conditions and the construction level of the domestic regulatory system, the traditional host country-centered approach makes it challenging to ensure that multinational enterprises fulfil their human rights obligations. The jury is still out on whether international law can directly impose obligations and responsibilities on enterprises. Therefore, the home countries could regulate human rights violations in enterprises' outbound investments. However, in the domestic regulatory system of the home country, there is often a problem of no regulation or ineffective regulation of enterprises' outbound investments. Taking China as an example, this article explores how to enhance the home country's regulation on multinational corporations' fulfilment of human rights obligations,by comparing and drawing on the experience of other jurisdictions in dealing with similar issues and combining with the regulatory practice of China's outbound-invested enterprises, which will better promote China's full implementation of the commitment to the UNGP as stated in the National Human Rights Action Plan, and help Chinese multinational companies go global better, highlighting the value concept of community with a shared future for mankind that China has always advocated as a responsible major country.