Mechanisms to Hold Business Accountable for Human Rights Abuses

BADIL Working Paper No.11
Principles & Mechanisms to Hold Business Accountable for Human Rights Abuses
Potential Avenues to Challenge Corporate Involvement in Israel’s Oppression of the Palestinian People
by Yasmine Gado

The mechanisms available within the existing legal and economic framework to advance corporate accountability for human rights abuses, and for their conduct in other areas of social concern, generally fall into three categories: (1) domestic law: regulation and litigation under state domestic legal systems; (2) international law: binding international law governing corporate complicity in international crimes and non-binding international norms on the issue of business and human rights; and (3) market forces: socially responsible investment funds, shareholder activism, consumer boycotts, etc. This article summarizes the latest developments in each of these areas.