A Sustainable Development Framework for Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Violations in the Zimbabwean Mining Sector: An Integrated Approach
摘要
Over the past three decades, there has been an undeniable link between business and human rights and increased attention in this field. It is now settled that the realisation of human rights is not only the reserve of States. The business sector has a role to play in protecting and respecting human rights. With the growing influence of the business sector, particularly multinational corporations (MNCs), the impact of business on human rights has become increasingly visible. This has led to legal developments that seek to set standards for business operations vis-à-vis human rights, particularly the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Notwithstanding, it appears that challenges still arise, at the domestic level, to hold MNCs accountable for their human rights violations. In particular, Zimbabwe’s current legal regime has gaps in the implementation of international standards, which is made manifest by the rampant violations of human rights by MNCs countrywide. With a focus on the mining sector, this chapter discusses the challenges of holding MNCs accountable for human rights violations in Zimbabwe. To address these challenges, the chapter makes use of the UNGPs and the principles of sustainable development to propose a sustainable development framework that establishes corporate accountability for MNCs in Zimbabwe for the mining sector.