NGO Influence on the Human Rights Performance of Companies

Abstract

This article describes the efforts of international human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International to influence the human rights performance of companies, through direct engagement with companies and through influencing the legal and normative framework within which companies operate. The article notes that, as yet, relatively few companies have made explicit human rights policy commitments, and most have done so in response to specific concerns about their operations or activities. In addition, despite legal accountability being a significant part of many NGO campaigning strategies over the past five years, there has been limited progress towards establishing such frameworks at either the national or international levels. The article concludes by noting that NGO activity has contributed to a significant change in the debate around the human rights responsibilities of companies, with the discussion having moved from the question of whether companies should have human rights responsibilities to the question of what exactly these responsibilities are and how are they to be implemented.