David Hess

The Management and Oversight of Human Rights Due Diligence

By by

Last year was the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) The UNGPs are a leading  framework for understanding the duties of states to protect those within their jurisdiction from corporations’ negative human rights impacts, the responsibility of corporations to respect human rights, and the role of states and businesses in providing remedies to the victims of human rights abuses.

At the heart of the UNGPs is the concept of human rights due diligence (HRDD). This is the process whereby corporations  assess the actual and potential human rights impacts of … Read more

Corporations’ Duty to Promote Human Rights Includes Fighting Corruption

By by

In the last two decades, anti-corruption has become a global norm, as the OECD and the United Nations have made clear in adopting anti-corruption conventions. As a result, combatting corruption in international business has joined upholding human and labor rights and protecting the environment as major aims of  corporate social responsibility. Currently, however, anti-corruption responsibilities only require corporations to think about avoiding direct involvement in a corrupt transaction. In an article forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review, I argue that corporations’ responsibility to combat corruption extends beyond a duty to avoid paying bribes and requires corporations to fight corruption … Read more