Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to first, provide an overview of the genesis of the business and human rights agenda; second, to identify key areas of focus in the emerging business and human rights agenda; and, finally, to argue for an approach to engaging business in the human rights agenda that is both challenging and practically orientated. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the author’s ethnographic experiences both as a human rights advocate with Human Rights First (1978-2009) and as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the US State Department (2009-2013). Findings – The paper links the business and human rights agenda to the growth in size and power of corporations. It identifies six key areas of focus in this emerging agenda, specifically, supply chains and labor rights, the extractive industries especially relating to security, information technology and issues of freedom of expression, agriculture and issues of child and forced labor, and investment and socially responsible investors. The paper contends that business schools have a crucial role to play in engaging businesses in a challenging and practical way to provide them with workable solutions to these challenges. Research limitations/implications – The paper contends that we have come to the end of the beginning of the discussion of business and human rights and are now in the phase of defining what the rules are in this twenty-first century global economy. The paper provides important considerations for taking this phase forward. Originality/value – This paper provides original insights into the emergence of the business and human rights agenda. It identifies key areas of focus along with a valuable approach to making progress in these areas.
Brief Background Notes The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), born by Royal Charter, was created by the Science and Technology Act of 1965. It was the youngest of a family of five sibling councils, sometimes referred to as « quangos », a sardonic acronym adopted in the UK and the US by conservatives to abbreviate « quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organisations ». These organisations had the task of spending a part of the government's science budget, the remainder of which funded governmental research projects, many of which addressed Defence needs. Similar to the Scandinavian model, yet unlike most continental European nations, which typically governed research through one unified council covering the whole of « science » (often including the humanities), the five research councils were each responsible for their own group of sciences. They were loosely coordinated by the Advisory Board on the Research Councils (ABRC), and the whole system was overseen by the Department of Education and Science, which had a fairly senior Cabinet Minister called the « Secretary of State » as its head. Members of the various councils and their chairmen were appointed by ministers and served for fixed, renewable terms. In my case, I was appointed to the SSRC by a Labour Secretary of State in January, 1979, and served much of my term under Mrs. Thatcher's Conservative government, which was elected in June, 1979. During my term, Secretary of State Sir Keith Joseph seriously considered dismantling the SSRC. Lord Rothschild, a notable and widely experienced natural scientist, was commissioned in 1981 to investigate the utility and necessity of the SSRC. His report brought about a reprieve for the council. The SSRC is still alive and well, operating under the name of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The UK Research Council System Government support for research grew on an increasing scale from the 1930s onwards. Originally, this support had been provided partly through the establishment of Social Sciences under Attack in the UK (1981-1983) La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS, 7 | 2002 10 3) The Agricultural Research Council: later to become the Food and Agricultural Research Council 11 4) The Social Science Research Council: the latest to arrive, the smallest, considered a somewhat atypical addition, it covered sociology, human geography, social anthropology, economics, social statistics, economic history and certain aspects of psychology, legal studies and linguistics. 12 All of these Research Councils employed an administrative staff, the senior members of which were highly qualified and experienced. The councils made strategic decisions themselves, and beneath them served a complex committee system covering all the main fields in their respective sciences. These committees consisted primarily of university professors and high-calibre researchers from independent laboratories. Their work formed the basis of the peer review system, and they had the authority to decide which projects would be pursued and which research...
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