ESC Rights and Non-state Actors

Two excellent resources on the obligations of non-state actors are an article on the Work on Multilateral Development Bank from Ripple in Still Waterand Non-State Actor’s Responsibility for Socio-Economic Rights. Further, standards governing non-state actors’ human rights responsibilities are ever-emerging. One such text is the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy that states, in pertinent part,

Multinational enterprises include enterprises, whether they are of public, mixed or private ownership, which own or control production, distribution, services or other facilities outside the country in which they are based. (Paragraph 6);

Multinational enterprises play an important part in the economies of most countries and international relations. On one hand, they can contribute to the more efficient utilization of capital, technology and labour;  promote economic and social welfare; and can contribute to the improvement of living standards and the satisfaction of basic needs. On the other hand, multinational enterprise operations may lead to abuse of concentrations of economic power, and conflicts with national policy objectives and the interests of workers. (Paragraph 1);

Multinational enterprises should respect the sovereign rights of States, obey the national laws and regulations, give due consideration to local practices and respect relevant international standards. (Paragraph 8); and

When multinational enterprises operate in developing countries, where comparable employers may not exist, they should provide the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work, within the framework of government policies. These should be related to the economic position of the enterprise, but should be at least adequate to satisfy basic needs of workers and their families. Where they provide workers with basic amenities such as housing, medical care or food, these amenities should be of a good standard. (Paragraph 34)

Major advances in holding non-state actors accountable for social and economic rights violations are also apparent when examining privatization exercises where the public sector underwrites private investment risks and/or sells state-owned assets to private actors. Some of the attendant dangers of privatization from an ESC rights perspective include:

• a sharp decline in the extent of the quality and coverage to vulnerable groups;
• low level, or the complete lack of, accountability of providers of utility;
• and basic social services driven by market forces (i.e. rate of return and cost-recovery considerations)that do not always take account of the needs of marginalized groups, especially extremely poor people’s inability to pay user charges for basic social services.

The Public Services International Research Unit is a good resource on specific ways that privatization in the healthcare, water, and waste removal services sectors can further marginalize the poor and other vulnerable groups.

The following case studies illustrate how human rights defenders have used the ESC rights approach to hold non-state actors accountable for ESC rights violations: