The relationship between children's rights and business

Abstract

While the connection between business and human rights is beginning to be elaborated in international affairs, there continues to be a significant lack of understanding and academic analysis about the relationship between business and children. International children's rights are more than a legal concern, they provide a framework to interpret and assess situations, and to implement and monitor change. This article poses two questions. First, how can child rights influence the roles and efforts of business? Second, how can business respect and support the implementation of child rights? It is argued that children's rights are a business concern. Furthermore, children's rights can and should influence business relationships, structures, processes and outcomes. Accordingly, this relationship is explored through consideration of the roles and pertinent efforts of states, international organisations, business and young people themselves. The specific contributions of the ‘Children's Rights and Business Principles’ produced in 2012 by UNICEF, Save the Children, and The Global Compact, the General Comment on State Obligations (2013) from the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ (2011) are evaluated. This article identifies some successes and challenges of these and other initiatives typically understood to reflect corporate social responsibility (CSR). A conceptual model is proposed to support the consideration of child rights in business relationships, structures, processes and outcomes as they affect children.