The US at the Margins of Business and Human Rights

Abstract

The US often portrays human rights to be Western values America cherishes. But what happens when American corporations abuse human rights transnationally? While a decade ago, the US could be considered to be one of the most advanced jurisdictions in terms of business and human rights litigation, now it is no longer the case. The US Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches all appear to be behind a number of other countries in terms of ensuring that domestic corporations respect human rights and the environment transnationally. In the past decade, US courts have substantially limited the possibility of suing corporations for transnational torts; US lawmakers have failed to adopt a mandatory due diligence law of general application requiring US multinationals to oversee and prevent human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains; and the US Government, under three separate administrations (the Obama, Trump and Biden) have consistently opposed a UN treaty initiative for the Elaboration of an international legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights. Is this negative trend reversible?