Ajay Raj and Abhay Raj here explore the convergence and challenges between Business and Human Rights (BHR) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This article proposes a fusion model of BHR with CSR, emphasizing the need for an international framework convention and a corresponding domestic framework to establish a “duty to protect” human rights.
Abstract
In 1962, Rachael Carson released a book entitled ‘Silent Spring’ which ignited the
environmental movement. The book, though opposed by state and non-state actors, changed the world and inspired humans to act as ‘stewards of the living earth’. In the long march of mankind, however, the connection between corporations and the international human rights law regime has paradoxically remained aloof from evolution. This article explores the imbroglio of Business and Human Rights (BHR) v. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through an illustrative trajectory. This article first charts the reasons behind the (advocated) “hidden” convergence of CSR and BHR. Subsequently, it demonstrates that the convergence between BHR and CSR is established ‘silently’ when (i) the true voluntariness nature of CSR is challenged; and (ii) the content of BHR and CSR is compared. Following this, the article turns over a new leaf by devising a two-fold fusional model of BHR with CSR, rather than the widely debated BHR treaty. For this, the article takes the cue from, inter alia, the European Union CSR Strategy and the idea of a renowned scholar — who served as a United Nations Special Rapporteur, Olivier De Schutter — to resolve the quandary. We find that an international framework convention viewed through the lens of international customary law and a corresponding domestic framework is imperative, which caters to the deficiencies identified in the BHR treaty. Through this engagement, the paper coalesces BHR and CSR to symptomatically establish a ‘duty to protect’ human rights instead of the (apparent) dilapidated concept of ‘responsibility to respect’.