Although this world is in the most advanced stage that it has ever been in, and the most technologically advanced stage that it has ever been in; there are still billions of people who do not have everything they need to live their lives. All over the world, there are people who struggle to find jobs that pays decent living wages. As bad as that sounds, it gets worse. There are millions of people who lack food, clean drinking water, and shelter. These are all necessities. Many have to walk miles upon miles each day to get drinking water that sometimes isn’t even truly safe to drink. Millions do not even have a decent meal once per day, with even more not getting the recommended three meals a day. Sometimes, corporations when come into these struggling countries, and communities, their intentions are to help, and find cheap labour at the same time. Yet, they do not always do as much as they should. Indeed, sometimes, they make matters worse. These corporations, if not governed properly, or to the appropriate extent, can exert devastating impacts on these communities. That is where corporate accountability for socio-economic rights comes into play. Keeping these corporations in check and responsible for their actions is crucial for sustainable global development. There are so many ways these corporations can take advantage of people, communities, and countries; but there are also many ways in which these corporations could do the opposite. A large corporation can do so many wonders for a country if they choose to. It is possible for corporations to come in, provide decent wages, and help individuals out of poverty. It is also possible for corporations to come in and completely take advantage of a bad situation and make it worse—for instance by polluting the already scarce resources and drinkable water supplies. For instance, fracking might be used in order to harvest natural gas. The operation of fracking requires water, which is then mixed with a dangerous combination of chemicals that push the natural gas out. If a corporation engages in such practices, especially in struggling areas, they need to be held accountable at different levels: by themselves, the country in which they are operating in, and internationally. Luckily, it seems as if more and more corporations are becoming aware of what they can do and what they should not do in these countries. More people are becoming aware of what is happening around the world, which is greatly helping from both a corporate accountability perspective and a socio-economic perspective.
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