HUMAN RIGHTS AND BUSINESS-DOES IT EVEN MATTER?

Our starting point implies that the idea of protecting human rights is based on therelationship between citizens and government. Therefore, the essential function of humanrights has been to protect areas of individual freedom from interference by public authorities.However, in today’s society, businesses, particularly big multinational corporations, play avery important role and have a big impact on how people use their rights. It is enough to thinkof companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google etc. Business companies may significantlycontribute to the fulfilment of human rights, through their actions, as demonstrated by theexercise of the right to employment, the right to education, the right to access information,the freedom of expression, and freedom of speech etc. However, their commercial endeavourscould potentially violate human rights. The enjoyment of the right to health and privacy,among other rights, might be considered as having such an influence. Therefore, the issue ofcorporate responsibility for human rights has become one of the major challenges for humanrights in the 21st century.This paper aims to show the relationship between the business and economic sectorand human rights, as well as the necessary reforms for their protection. Thus, the concept ofcorporate responsibility for human rights represents a reshaping of the traditional concept ofhuman rights, which emphasizes the role of the state. The United Nations Guiding Principleson Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the ECHR and the state legislature will all bereviewed when considering a corporate duty to protect human rights