Making non-state actors accountable for violations of economic rights: a case study of transnational corporations in the African context

Abstract

The development of a common standard for holding governments accountable for human rights violations represented by international human rights law (IHRL) has been one of the major achievements of international law. However, two conspicuously narrow foci marked and continue to mark this development. Firstly, IHRL has focused predominantly on civil and political rights to the exclusion of economic, social and cultural rights. Indeed, in this regard it has been observed that "of all domains were state and inter-governmental action have failed to achieve anything more than modest success, the development of effective measures for the prevention and remedying of violations of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) must surely classify as one of the most glaring".