ABSTRACT
Rights-holders around the world have for decades suffered daily violations of their socio-economic rights due to inadequate and weak domestic and international supervisory systems, a lack of access to justice, or an absence of effective remedies to the wrongful behaviour of state actors and/or non-state actors such as corporations. The book therefore has the overall aim to investigate corporate accountability for socio-economic rights and propose ways to bolster its respect and enforcement. Socio-economic rights are essential for the individual’s welfare, comfort and self-realization. Every day, corporations affect local and global environments via the enjoyment of vulnerable individuals’ socio-economic rights. Business operations therefore bring both negative and positive effects, as this book illustrates. Corporations generate economic growth, jobs, investment and a higher standard of living, yet some are involved in breaches of human rights, including socio-economic rights. Are corporations required to observe socioeconomic rights and are they accountable for any violations? Where can rights-holders find a place to enforce corporate accountability for socio-economic rights violations?
