Basic human rights are moral rights that apply to everyone. Corporations and other business enterprises can both violate human rights and protect and promote them. Firms are routinely criticized for human rights violations by nongovernmental organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Alleged violations occur in labor practices, environmental practices, and a variety of other business practices. Alleged complicity with human rights violations occurs when firms operate in cooperation with oppressive regimes and in conflict zones.

In 2011, the United Nations formally adapted the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework for Business and Human Rights and its accompanying Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, fundamentally altering the accountability and responsibility of corporations and other business enterprises for ...