Global business and human rights: the UN “norms on the responsibility of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with regard to human rights” - a requiem

On 11 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the ‘Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights’ as a new set of guiding principles for global business designed to provide a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. This outcome was preceded by an earlier unsuccessful attempt by a Sub-Commission of the UN Commission on Human Rights to win approval for a set of binding corporate human rights norms, the so called “Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights”. This article identifies and discusses the reasons why the Norms eventually failed to win approval by the then UN Commission on Human Rights. This discussion is important in order to understand the difficulties in establishing binding ‘hard law’ obligations for Transnational Corporations with regard to human rights within the wider framework of international law. It is crucial to understand possible motives as well as the underlying rationale which lead first to the adoption and then the rapid abandoning of the Norms: such a discussion will also shed light on the prospects and trends of concepts of indirect, vague voluntarism of business human rights compliance, as well as on prospects of finding alternative solutions, and finally the rationale and effect of the ‘Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights’

The Panopticon of International Law: B’Tselem\u27s Camera Project and the Enforcement of International Law in a Transnational Society

This paper analyzes the influence of transnational non-state actors on compliance with international legal rules, as part of Foucault’s power/knowledge structure. Particularly it examines the effect of the “Shooting Back” project, by the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, on the level of investigations of alleged violations of the law of occupation. According to Bentham’s principles of Panoptism, power should be visible and unverifiable. The implementation of these principles by transnational actors is highlighted by the “Shooting Back” project in Israel. In 2007 the NGO B’Tselem supplied Palestinians living in high-conflict areas with video-cameras in order to capture, expose, and “seek redress for” human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. This project caused soldiers and their commanders to become aware of the possibility that they and their actions are being observed and documented, without knowing the exact source of the observer It also demonstrates the potential role of transnational actors in conflict resolution, who through their geographical spread and the use of affordable means of communication can assist in the implementation of Bentham’s principles

The Panopticon of International Law: B’Tselem\u27s Camera Project and the Enforcement of International Law in a Transnational Society

This paper analyzes the influence of transnational non-state actors on compliance with international legal rules, as part of Foucault’s power/knowledge structure. Particularly it examines the effect of the “Shooting Back” project, by the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, on the level of investigations of alleged violations of the law of occupation. According to Bentham’s principles of Panoptism, power should be visible and unverifiable. The implementation of these principles by transnational actors is highlighted by the “Shooting Back” project in Israel. In 2007 the NGO B’Tselem supplied Palestinians living in high-conflict areas with video-cameras in order to capture, expose, and “seek redress for” human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. This project caused soldiers and their commanders to become aware of the possibility that they and their actions are being observed and documented, without knowing the exact source of the observer It also demonstrates the potential role of transnational actors in conflict resolution, who through their geographical spread and the use of affordable means of communication can assist in the implementation of Bentham’s principles

The Panopticon of International Law: B’Tselem’s Camera Project and the Enforcement of International Law in a Transnational Society

This paper analyzes the influence of transnational non-state actors on compliance with international legal rules as part of Michel Foucault’s power/knowledge structure. In particular, it examines the effects of the Shooting Back project, organized by the Israeli non-governmental organization B’Tselem, on the level of investigations of alleged violations of the law of occupation. In 2007, B’Tselem supplied Palestinians living in high-conflict areas with video cameras in order to capture, expose, and “seek redress for” human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. According to Jeremy Bentham’s principles of panopticism, power should be visible and unverifiable. The implementation of these principles by transnational actors is highlighted by the Shooting Back project in Israel. This project caused soldiers and their commanders to become aware of the possibility that their actions were being observed and documented without the exact location or identity of the observer being known. Shooting Back also demonstrates the potential role of transnational actors in conflict resolution. Such actors can assist in the implementation of Bentham’s principles through the geographical spread and use of affordable means of communication

Improving the Take-Up of Homecare Services Among Holocaust Survivors in a Jewish Charitable Organization

This research brief is part of a series by the Social Impact Nudgeathon initiative. This initiative incorporated insights from behavioral economics into the design and delivery of social welfare programs. Developed through a partnership between the Joint Distribution Committee in Israel (JDC-Israel) and the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis, this initiative is among the first of its kind to launch in Israel. Working in close collaboration, research teams from the United States and Israel investigated whether using behavioral insights to make small changes in the delivery of social service programs in Israel and Russia would positively influence the outcomes of those programs

The Panopticon of International Law: B’Tselem’s Camera Project and the Enforcement of International Law in a Transnational Society

This paper analyzes the influence of transnational non-state actors on compliance with international legal rules as part of Michel Foucault’s power/knowledge structure. In particular, it examines the effects of the Shooting Back project, organized by the Israeli non-governmental organization B’Tselem, on the level of investigations of alleged violations of the law of occupation. In 2007, B’Tselem supplied Palestinians living in high-conflict areas with video cameras in order to capture, expose, and “seek redress for” human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. According to Jeremy Bentham’s principles of panopticism, power should be visible and unverifiable. The implementation of these principles by transnational actors is highlighted by the Shooting Back project in Israel. This project caused soldiers and their commanders to become aware of the possibility that their actions were being observed and documented without the exact location or identity of the observer being known. Shooting Back also demonstrates the potential role of transnational actors in conflict resolution. Such actors can assist in the implementation of Bentham’s principles through the geographical spread and use of affordable means of communication