Abstract
The adoption of the French Duty of Vigilance law has been celebrated as a milestone for advancing the transnational business and human rights regime. The law can contribute to harden corporate accountability by challenging the “separation principle” of transnational companies and by obligating companies to report on their duty of vigilance. However, the question of whether the law actually contributes to human rights and environmental protection along global supply chains requires empirically grounded research that connects processes in home and host state countries. This paper contributes to such a new research agenda by linking political ecology literature and empirical insights from the Global South to research on due diligence regulations. With reference to field research data on contestations between the oil and gas company Total E&P and indigenous communities in Bolivia, I argue that the burden of proof and contestations over valid knowledge represent major obstacles when trying to establish legal liability.
Highlights
Transnational corporations (TNCs) nowadays account for half of global exports, almost one-third of GDP and about one-fourth of global employment (OECD 2018)
The adoption of the French Duty of Vigilance law has been a remarkable advance for increasing foreign corporate accountability
This article argues that the law is just a starting point for hardening foreign corporate accountability
Summary
Transnational corporations (TNCs) nowadays account for half of global exports, almost one-third of GDP and about one-fourth of global employment (OECD 2018). I draw on extensive field research in indigenous communities with gas activities in Bolivia, outlining the human rights and environmental implications of this globalized sector in local places and pointing to the existence of important governance gaps Against this background, I analyze and discuss to what extent the first comprehensive and legally binding human rights due diligence regulation worldwide, the “Duty of Vigilance of Parent and Instructing Companies” law (“Duty of Vigilance law”) adopted in France in 2017, could contribute to increasingly hold TNCs such as the French oil and gas giant Total accountable for their human rights and environmental performance in the Global South.
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