The Human Rights Triangle: Transnational Corporations, International Human Law and Regional Cooperation in the Context of Development

Abstract

Following World War II, the allied powers sought to improve global financial stability and ensure that basic rights were codified and protected at the international level. The UN Charter and the Bretton Woods agreements were both conceived under the same post-war socio-political context that sought to prevent both systematic human rights violations and financial instability. Despite the rapid advancement of the Bretton Woods institutions and international financial norms, human rights norms have progressed at a much slower rate for non-state actors. This research analyzes the current state of transnational corporations within international human rights law and offers alternative methods that can be used to hold non-state actors accountable for human rights violations, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, in the context of development. A central component of this dissertation involves the increased use of regional human rights and trade mechanisms, such as agreements between blocs and individual corporations or sectors, to strengthen development practices and increase rights protection. Interdisciplinary theories from cross-cultural psychology also contribute as a means of effectively implementing human rights standards within pre-existing corporate cultures.