Towards Transnational Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Abuses in Africa: Analysis of Conceptual and Institutional Hurdles

Abstract

Corporate conduct is diverse; its character is often dependent on the sector in which any given investment can be placed. The effects of corporate conduct on human rights could be positive or negative if assessed from the standpoint of the responsibility arising from international law for ‘all organs of society’ to protect, respect and fulfill the human rights of individuals and communities. The paper analyses the impact of foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) on human rights in developing countries and assesses the capacity of international law to regulate MNCs. The paper focuses on relations between MNCs and public institutions exercising regulatory functions over the MNCs. The empirical point of departure for the paper is whether history records MNCs and developing countries have been partners in mutually beneficial relationships. It investigates the causes of developing countries’ long-established unenviable position in the international economy by examining critically the role of foreign MNCs.