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Rights in a state of exception. The deadly colonial ethics of voluntary corporate responsibility for human rights
Version 2 2023-06-12, 07:26
Version 1 2023-06-09, 15:07
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 07:26 authored by Lara Montesinos ColemanLara Montesinos ColemanIt is widely accepted that voluntary corporate responsibility for human rights is a means of continuing “business-as-usual”. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been denounced as “whitewash”, with little effect in practice. I claim here that voluntary CSR is far worse than “whitewash”: it actively bolsters corporate impunity by rendering the violence of development illegible and equating resistance with irrationality or subversion. It thrives upon the state of exception that provides the permissive context of human rights violations. I make this argument by returning to the birthplace of corporate responsibility for human rights: BP’s Colombian oilfields, combining ethnographic research with trenchant critique of the colonial myths informing mainstream discussion of business and human rights. The UN has responded to the potential of voluntary CSR to detract from abuses by emphasising the importance of judicial remedy. What the analysis here reveals is how voluntary measures and provision for judicial remedy may work in opposite directions.
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Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Oñati Socio-Legal SeriesISSN
2079-5971Publisher
OSLSIssue
6Volume
8Page range
874-900Department affiliated with
- International Development Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-09-18First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-09-18First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-09-17Usage metrics
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