Abstract
The new millennium has witnessed a growing concern over the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on human rights. Hence, this article explores (1) how wide-spread corporate policies on human rights are amongst large corporations, specifically the FTSE 100 constituent firms, (2) whether any sectors are particularly active in designing human rights policies and (3) where corporations have adopted such policies what their content is. In terms of adoption rates of human rights policies, evidence of exemplary approaches in individual companies contrasts with a less satisfactory engagement pattern across the sample, as 42.8% of firms do not seem to address human rights at all. With regard to the content of corporate human rights policies, the study found shallow commitments to dominate, where companies focus on a narrow range of negative rights, i.e. on respecting human rights, rather than positive ones, i.e. initiatives to protect or fulfil human rights.
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Notes
For a discussion of the differences between natural and human rights, see Donnelly (1985).
Gewirth (1982, p. 4) bases human rights on the rational agency of humans: ‘persons act for purposes they regard as good. Because every agent regards his purposes as good, he must regard as necessary goods the freedom and well-being which are the necessary conditions of his action for any of his purposes.’ For a critique of this approach, see Rorty (1993).
The UNDP (2000) trio of respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights was proposed specifically in relation to the impacts of governments on human rights.
Oil company BP, for example, comments on the problems of limited corporate reach: ‘In the three areas of employees, communities and security, where we have direct control, our responsibility and positions are straightforward. Our greatest challenges occur in situations outside of our direct control—for example, in joint ventures where we do not hold a controlling interest, or in interactions with other third parties.’
TUI states that its code of conduct is a translation from German. However, the commitment to human rights in the original version of the code amounts to exactly the same length—nine words.
The information presents the authors’ lay interpretation of the UK Human Rights Act of 1998 and the Equality Act of 2010.
Cadbury was taken over by US company Kraft Foods in February 2010.
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Appendix 1: Extract from the Human Rights Policy of Prudential Group
Appendix 1: Extract from the Human Rights Policy of Prudential Group
The Human Rights Policy of insurer Prudential Group shows the clearest alignment with the UN Declaration in the sample. The document refers to the individual articles of the Declaration and lists those that the company sees as applicable:
We strongly endorse the principles set out in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, in particular those relevant to our operations which are:
The right to freedom from discrimination;
The right to personal safety and security;
The prohibition of slavery: forced or child labour;
The prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
The right to privacy;
The right to religious freedom;
The right to freedom of opinion and expression;
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
The right to free participation in political life;
The right to work;
The right to rest and leisure
The right to an adequate standard of living;
The right to education;
The right of minorities and indigenous peoples to protect their identity;
The right to cultural participation.
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Preuss, L., Brown, D. Business Policies on Human Rights: An Analysis of Their Content and Prevalence Among FTSE 100 Firms. J Bus Ethics 109, 289–299 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1127-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1127-z