Socio-economic rights violations by corporations have systematically been happening in the Global South. The book, Corporate Accountability Under Socio-Economic Rights, enumerates some of these incidents, such as the negative environmental and human rights impacts of Chevron’s oil extraction in Ecuador, among others. Typically, state-based mechanisms, namely courts or human-rights commissions, are responsible for monitoring corporations and enforcing their compliance with socio-economic rights. This is arguably not enough. As the book states, non-state, non-judicial enforcement mechanisms have been emerging all around the globe. A holistic and multidimensional approach, that involves both state and non-state actors, could address more efficiently the issue of corporate responsibility for human rights violations—the two systems could support each other and create a positive feedback cycle. This could help ensure corporations respect and protect socio-economic rights and to guarantee the victims access to fair judicial and non-judicial solutions.
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