Transnational corporations and human rights: what coverage for a binding international instrument?

The possible scope of the proposed ‘International Legally Binding Instrument on Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises with respect to Human Rights’ to be discussed at the Human Rights Council, is one of the key issues that will determine the likelihood of reaching an effective agreement within a reasonable time. This paper argues that the scope of said Instrument should be defined having in view the intended objective of said instrument: to resolve the issues raised by the ability of transnational corporations (and other businesses) to use their complex structures to escape the responsibility for human rights’ violations