Reimagining the business and human rights architecture

This contribution challenges the rosy picture of progress being made in the business and human rights (BHR) field, including the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by both states and business enterprises. As a solution, it tries to reimagine two dominant pillars of the existing BHR architecture. First, I argue that BHR standards and scholarship should pay greater attention to harnessing the potential of business in addressing systemic and structural societal challenges. For example, business should also be required to protect and fulfil human rights, rather than merely adopting a ‘do no harm’ approach. Second, more measures should be taken to expose and challenge corporate power in various forms, sites, and settings. As an example, an alternative model of human rights due diligence is proposed to scale back the power of corporations over rights and rightsholders.