Just business: multinational corporations and human rights

One of the most vexing human rights issues of our time has been how to protect the rights of individuals and communities worldwide in an age of globalization and multinational business. Indeed, from Indonesian sweatshops to oil-based violence in Nigeria, the challenges of regulating harmful corporate practices in some of the world's most difficult regions long seemed insurmountable. Human rights groups and businesses were locked in a stalemate, unable to find common ground. In 2005, the United Nations appointed John Gerard to the modest task of clarifying the main issues. Six years later, he had accomplished much more than that. had developed his now-famous Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,…