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Including Disability in Business and Human Rights Discourse and Corporate Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2021

Michael Ashley STEIN  and
Ilias BANTEKAS Open the ORCID record for Ilias BANTEKAS [Opens in a new window]
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Abstract

Despite significant progress in business and human rights (BHR) discourse and the practices of multinational corporations (MNCs), persons with disabilities and disability rights are absent from both the key instruments and practice of BHR. This lacuna exists despite the near-universal ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the fact that disabled persons constitute over 15 per cent of the global population and MNC operations impact them greatly and disproportionately. We argue that MNCs have a central role, responsibility and opportunity to foment change globally in fulfilling the human rights of persons with disabilities through their employment practices and by leveraging their economic power to fulfil other aspects of disability-based human rights. Doing so requires the development and self-enforcement of disability-specific human rights due diligence (HRDD) processes, and creating a general culture of diversity, equity and inclusion that encompasses disability.

Keywords

Business & Human Rights Treaty (B&HR)Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)human rights due diligence (HRDD)multinational corporations (MNC)persons with disabilities
Type
Scholarly Article
Information
Business and Human Rights Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , October 2021 , pp. 490 - 513
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare none.

*

Michael Ashley Stein is Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.

**

Ilias Bantekas is a Professor of International Law and Arbitration, Hamad bin Khalifa University (Qatar Foundation), College of Law and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service.

‡

The authors thank Abby Keegan Buttle and Sarah Dolton-Zborowski for research assistance.

References

1 For example, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011); OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (2018), http://www.oecd.org/investment/due-diligence-guidance-for-responsible-business-conduct.htm (accessed 5 March 2021); Human Rights Council, ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’, A/HRC/17/31 (21 March 2011).

2 For an analysis, see S Deva, ‘Global Compact: A Critique of UN’s “Public–Private” Partnership for Promoting Corporate Citizenship’ (2006) 34 Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce 107.

3 See, e.g., Loi no. 2017-399 du 27 Mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000034290626&categorieLien=id (accessed 5 March 2021); Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK); Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Australia).

4 Human Rights Council, ‘Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the Activities of Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises’ (16 July 2018), https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/WGTransCorp/Session6/OEIGWG_Chair-Rapporteur_second_revised_draft_LBI_on_TNCs_and_OBEs_with_respect_to_Human_Rights.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021). See also I Bantekas, ‘The Emerging UN Business and Human Rights Treaty and its Codification of International Norms’ (2021) 12 George Mason International Law Journal 1, http://www.georgemasonjicl.org/issues/

5 See KP Sauvant, ‘The Negotiations of the United Nations Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations: Experience and Lessons Learned’ (2015) 16 Journal of World Investment and Trade 11, and I Bantekas, ‘The Human Rights and Development Dimension of Investment Laws: From Investment Laws with Human Rights to Development-Oriented Investment Laws’ (2020) 31 Florida Journal of International Law 339.

6 See J Nolan, ‘United Nations’ Compact with Business: Hindering or Helping the Protection of Human Rights’ (2005) 24 University of Queensland Law Journal 445.

7 Especially, Tecnicas Medioambientales Tecmed SA v Mexico, ICSID Merits (29 May 2003), para 116; see also Compãnia del Desarrollo de Santa Elena SA v Costa Rica, ICSID Merits (17 February 2000), para 71.

8 United Nations, Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities, https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

9 MA Stein, ‘Disability Human Rights’ (2007) 95 California Law Review 75.

10 The World Bank periodically compiles global data on national social protection schemes. See World Bank Group, The State of Social Safety Nets (2018), https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialprotectionandjobs/publication/the-state-of-social-safety-nets-2018 (accessed 5 March 2021). In 2009, the ILO assessed annual national GDP losses in ten developing countries, three from Asia and seven from Africa, projecting annual GDP losses ranging between 3 and 7 per cent. S Buckup, The Price of Exclusion: The Economic Consequences of Excluding People with Disabilities from the World of Work (ILO, 2009), https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_119305.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

11 United Nations, Disability and Development Report: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with Persons with Disabilities (2018), available at: https://social.un.org/publications/UN-Flagship-Report-Disability-Final.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

12 Heymann, J, Stein, MA and Moreno, G (eds.), Disability and Equity at Work (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

13 European Commission, Employment Rate of People by Type of Disability, Sex and Age, https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=hlth_dlm010&lang=en (accessed 5 March 2021).

14 World Health Organization & World Bank, ‘World Report on Disability’ (2011) 237–38, https://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

15 United Nations, note 8, 158; Handicap International, ‘Situation of Wage Employment of People with Disabilities: The Developing Countries in Focus’ (2016) 28; G Ryder, Getting People with Disabilities into Work Requires Data, World Economic Forum (18 February 2020), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/getting-people-with-disabilities-into-work-requires-data/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

16 Handicap International, note 15, 29–31.

17 United Nations, note 11, 235; D Kruse et al, ‘Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination’ (2018) 56 British Journal of Industrial Relations 798, 821–22.

18 HJ Boux and MA Stein, ‘Accessing Employment and Transportation: The Role of the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities’ (2021) 48 Fordham Urban Law Journal 1257, 1294–1324.

19 Stein, MA and Lazar, J (eds.), Accessible Technology and the Developing World (Oxford University Press, Oxford, forthcoming 2021)Google Scholar.

20 World Report on Disability, note 14, 240.

21 For example, a 2009 OECD study of 27 high-income countries indicates that persons with disabilities are more likely to live under the poverty threshold in 24 of these countries, and that in some of these countries (e.g., Australia, the US, and Korea) they are two to three times as likely to be poor. OECD, Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers (2009), https://www.oecd.org/publications/sickness-disability-and-work-breaking-the-barriers-9789264088856-en.htm (accessed 5 March 2021). The study was replicated by the World Bank in low- and middle-income countries, and found that countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia significantly worse economic well-being existed for those with disabilities in 14 of 15 countries studied. The study also showed significantly higher rates in 11 countries of multidimensional poverty. S Mitra, A Posarac and B Vick, ‘Disability and Poverty in Developing Countries: A Snapshot from the World Health Survey’ (2011), https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/501871468326189306/disability-and-poverty-in-developing-countries-a-snapshot-from-the-world-health-survey (accessed 5 March 2021).

22 World Report on Disability, note 14, 29.

23 UNGC, ‘The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact (2000)’, https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles (accessed 5 March 2021).

24 OHCHR, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, HR/PUB/11/04 (2011), https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

25 UNGC, ILO, Guide for Business on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNGC Library, 2017), https://d306pr3pise04h.cloudfront.net/docs/publications%2FAccessible_Disabilities_Guide.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

26 MA Stein, and JE Lord, ‘Future Prospects for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, in G Quinn and O Mjöll Arnardóttir (eds.), The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: European and Scandinavian Perspectives (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2009) 17.

27 World Policy Analysis Center, https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/disability/policies (accessed 5 March 2021). In addition to the data set forth in World Policy Analysis Center, note 28, related data on Constitutional protections, protections for access to education, and other areas such as paid leave are covered for disability as well as other population sectors.

28 World Policy Analysis Center, ‘Does legislation prohibit discrimination at work based on disability?’ (2018), https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/policies/does-legislation-prohibit-discrimination-at-work-based-on-disability/does-legislation-explicitly-prohibit-discrimination-in-hiring-or-recruitment-on-the-basis-of-disability (accessed 5 March 2021).

29 World Policy Analysis Center, ‘Are employers required to guarantee reasonable accommodation to workers with disabilities?’ (2018), https://worldpolicycenter.org/policies/are-employers-required-to-guarantee-reasonable-accommodation-to-workers-with-disabilities (accessed 5 March 2021).

30 In Spector v Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd, 545 U.S. 119 (2005), the US Supreme Court held that the ADA applied to a foreign entity operating within US waters, but declined to explicate its reasoning or its application beyond the case at bar. Conceivably, the Alien Tort Claims Act (US) permits foreign nationals to sue for tort violations of international law in US federal courts, assuming logistical and representative challenges can be overcome.

31 European Parliament Directorate-General for External Policies, ‘The Extraterritorial Effects of Legislation and Policies in the EU and US’ (2012), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2012/433701/EXPO-AFET_ET(2012)433701_EN.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

32 A catalogue of good practices posted on the ZERO Project’s website as part of their annual review of innovative disability-related initiatives is available at https://zeroproject.org/policy-type/2017/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

33 MA Stein and PJS Stein, ‘Beyond Disability Civil Rights’ (2007) 58 Hastings Law Journal 1203, 1226.

34 For an analysis of how such considerations impact individual employers, see MA Stein, ‘The Law and Economics of ADA Accommodations’ (2003) 53 Duke Law Journal 79.

35 Debra Ruh, ‘Tapping into Hidden Human Capital: How Leading Global Companies Improve their Bottom Line by Employing Persons with Disabilities (G3ict Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, 2016).

36 UNGC, note 23, Principle 6.

37 OHCHR, note 24, 12.

38 UNGC, ILO, note 25, 1.2.

39 Ibid at 1.3.

40 UN General Assembly, ‘World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons’, Resolution 37/351 (15 September 1982) (‘Many persons with disabilities are denied employment or given only menial and poorly remunerated jobs’).

41 ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention No. 159 (1983), Labour Standards (declaring ‘the need to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment to all categories of disabled persons, in both rural and urban areas, for employment and integration into the community’); ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation No. 168 (1983) (‘Disabled persons should enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of access to, retention of and advancement in employment which, wherever possible, corresponds to their own choice and takes account of their individual suitability for such employment’).

42 UN General Assembly, ‘Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities’, Resolution 48/96 (4 March 1994) (‘States should actively support the integration of persons with disabilities into employment’).

43 ILO, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (18 June 1998) (for example, ‘the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation’).

44 See I Bantekas, F Penillas and S Trömel, ‘Article 27’, in I Bantekas, MA Stein and D Anastasiou (eds.), The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018) 764–801.

45 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, UN Treaty Series vol 993 (adopted on 16 December 1966, entered into force on 3 January 1976) (‘The State Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work’).

46 OHCHR, ‘CESCR General Comment No. 5: Persons with Disabilities’ (9 December 1994), https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4538838f0.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021) (‘it is particularly important that artificial barriers to integration in general, and to employment in particular, be removed’).

47 ILO, ‘Employment of People With Disabilities – A Human Rights Approach (Asia): Report of a Tripartite Technical Consultation’ (18–20 January 2006), available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_107853.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021) at 4.1.

48 J Fiala-Butora, A Rimmerman and A Gur, ‘Article 19’, in Bantekas et al, note 44, 530–58.

49 MA Stein, note 9.

50 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ‘Ratifications and Signatures of the CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ (27 August 2020), https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en (accessed 5 March 2021).

51 Stein and Lord, note 26.

52 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UN Doc A/RES/61/106 (adopted on 24 January 2007, entered into force on 3 May 2008), art 5 (‘In order to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, State Parties shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided’).

53 Ibid at art 8(a)(iii) (State Parties shall ‘promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities of persons with disabilities, and of their contribution to the workplace and the labour market’).

54 Ibid at art 27(1) (‘States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others’).

55 Ibid at art 27(d).

56 Ibid at art 27(e).

57 Ibid at art 27(h).

58 Ibid at art 27(i).

59 Ibid at art 27(j).

60 Ibid at art 27(k).

61 World Health Organization, ‘Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’ (2000), https://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/about/en/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

62 MA Stein, C McClain-Nhlapo and JE Lord, ‘Education and HIV/AIDs: Disability Rights and Inclusive Development’, in M Langford, A Sumner and A Ely Yamin (eds.), Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights: Past, Present and Future (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013) 274.

63 J Wolfensohn, ‘Poor, Disabled and Shut Out, The Washington Post’ (3 December 2002), https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/12/03/poor-disabled-and-shut-out/ad0289bb-9b22-44b6-94fc-9ca7212e9bb8/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

64 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ‘The 17 Goals, Sustainable Development Goals’ (2015), https://sdgs.un.org/goals (accessed 5 March 2021).

65 Harpur, P and Stein, MA, ‘Children with Disabilities, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development’, in Fenton-Glynn, C (ed.), Children’s Rights and Sustainable Development: Implementing the CRC for Future Generations (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2019) 139 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

66 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, note 64, SDG 8.

67 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, note 64, SDG 10.

68 See Disability and Development Report, note 11.

69 Human Rights Council, note 4, Preamble.

70 Ibid at arts 6(3)(c) and 16(4).

71 Ibid at Preamble.

72 For an empirical and qualitative critique, see K Skarstad and MA Stein, ‘Mainstreaming Disability in the United Nations Treaty Bodies (2018) 17 Journal of Human Rights 1.

73 These two sections draw liberally from Stein, note 34. In doing so, we use American econometric sources and data, although the thrust of the arguments, and especially those used in this article, are universal. Beyond the two central misconceptions highlighted, myriad other reasons exist for low labour market participation by persons with disabilities and comprise its own discrete academic literature, including Heymann, note 12. We focus on how prejudice drives a labour market failure in order to underscore our contention that accountability via a human rights-based approach, and specifically via HRDD processes, is necessary to correct such failure and ensure equality for persons with disabilities.

74 As explained by, among others, Nobel Prize-winning economist, and now journalist, GS Becker, The Economics of Discrimination (2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, 1971) 39–45.

75 Greenspan, A and Wooldridge, A, Capitalism in America: An Economic History of the United States (Penguin Books, 2019)Google Scholar.

76 The data are copious. To illustrate the gender component, see World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report (2018), http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2018/ (accessed 5 March 2021); an account of the commonalities between gender and disability exclusion in the workplace is given by R O’Brien, Bodies in Revolt: Gender, Disability, and a Workplace Ethic of Care (Routledge, 2005).

77 T Kennedy Jr, ‘Hiring People with Disabilities is Good Business’, The New York Times (27 December 2018), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/27/opinion/disability-rights-employment.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

78 N Geenen, Corporate Diversity Efforts Often Leave Out an Important Group: People With Disabilities, Fortune (23 August 2019), https://fortune.com/2019/08/23/corporate-diversity-efforts-disability-inclusion/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

79 A Pulrang, ‘How To Make Workplaces More Welcoming For Employees With Disabilities’, Forbes (4 November 2019), https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2019/11/04/how-to-make-workplaces-more-welcoming-for-employees-with-disabilities/#755a4ca953d8 (accessed 5 March 2021).

80 We favour the second explanation, believing that MNCs can and should become drivers of economic empowerment.

81 See below section III.C of this article.

82 Equal Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities (2000), 42 U.S.C §§12101–12213.

83 See, e.g., ML Baldwin, ‘Estimating Wage Discrimination against Workers with Disabilities’ (1994) 3 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 276–90; ML Baldwin and WG Johnson, ‘Labor Market Discrimination Against Men with Disabilities in the Year of the ADA’ (2000) 66 Southern Economic Journal 548, 556–62; ML Baldwin and WG Johnson, ‘Labor Market Discrimination Against Women with Disabilities’ (1995) 34 Industrial Relations 555, 569–76; L Whitehurst, ‘Disabled Americans Mark Milestone As Crisis Deepens Job Woes’, The Washington Post (25 July 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/disabled-americans-mark-milestone-as-crisis-deepens-job-woes/2020/07/25/6537ac72-ce8e-11ea-99b0-8426e26d203b_story.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

84 These are explicated in RL Burgdorf, Jr, ‘The Americans with Disabilities Act: Analysis and Implications of a Second-Generation Civil Rights Statute’ (1991) 26 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 413, 422–27.

85 A Silvers and MA Stein, ‘An Equality Paradigm for Preventing Genetic Discrimination’ (2002) 55 Vanderbilt Law Review 1341, 1382.

86 See Becker, note 74.

87 That year heralded the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964 (US), which prohibited employment and other forms of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex and national origin.

88 CR Sunstein, ‘Why Markets Don’t Stop Discrimination’, in EF Paul (ed.), Reassessing Civil Rights (Blackwell, 1991) 22.

89 GS Lunney, Jr, ‘Fair Use and Market Failure: Sony Revisited’ (2002) 82 Boston University Law Review 975, 985; SA Glied, ‘Health Insurance and Market Failure Since Arrow’ (2001) 26 Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 957; M Klausner, ‘Market Failure and Community Investment: A Market-Oriented Alternative to the Community Reinvestment Act’ (1995) 143 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1561, 1574; BS Black and RJ Pierce, Jr, ‘The Choice Between Markets and Central Planning in Regulating the U.S. Electricity Industry’ (1993) 93 Columbia Law Review 1339, 1354; JC Coffee Jr, ‘Market Failure and the Economic Case for a Mandatory Disclosure System’ (1984) 70 Vanderbilt Law Review 717, 728.

90 MA Stein, ‘Same Struggle, Different Difference: ADA Accommodations as Antidiscrimination’, (2004) 153 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 579.

91 A good review of the literature is provided by R Greenwood and A Johnson, ‘Employer Perspectives on Workers with Disabilities’ (July–September 1987) Journal of Rehabilitation 37.

92 PD Blanck, Communicating the Americans with Disabilities Act, Transcending Compliance: A Case Report on Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Annenberg Washington Program, 1994).

93 Ibid.

94 For example, the Job Accommodation Network (a federally funded entity) reported to the US Congress that the typical accommodation cost was US$ 200. President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, ‘Report to Congress on the Job Accommodation Network’ (26 July 1995).

95 Ibid.

96 Blanck, note 93.

97 Stein and Stein, note 33.

98 These companies, for example, foster a reputation value for inclusion: Disability:IN, ‘The DEI Evolves – What’s New in 2019’ (25 September 2018), https://disabilityin.org/disability-equality-index/the-dei-evolves-whats-new-in-2019/ (accessed 5 March 2021); DiversityInc, ‘The 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity’ (2020), https://www.diversityinc.com/the-2020-top-50-diversityinc/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

99 Stein, note 34, at 89 (noting the overlap customer and employee accessibility).

100 BA Areheart and MA Stein, ‘Integrating the Internet’ (2015) 83 George Washington Law Review 449.

101 J Lazar, A Olalere and B Wentz, ‘Investigating the Accessibility and Usability of Job Application Web Sites for Blind Users’ (2012) 7 Journal of Usability Studies 2.

102 Lazar, J, Goldstein, DF and Taylor, A, Ensuring Digital Accessibility through Policy and Process (Morgan Kaufmann, 2015)Google Scholar.

103 GA Giannoumis and MA Stein, ‘Conceptualizing Universal Design for the Information Society through a Universal Human Rights Lens’ (2019) 8 International Human Rights Law Review 1.

104 See, for example, T Byrum, ‘See the Heart-Warming Nike Commercial Starring Elena Delle Donne and Her Sister Lizzie’, NBC Sports (27 November 2019), https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/see-heart-warming-nike-commercial-starring-elena-delle-donne-and-her-sister-lizzie (accessed 5 March 2021); T Warren, ‘Microsoft’s Super Bowl Ad is All About the Xbox Adaptive Controller’, The Verge (31 January 2019), https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/31/18205193/microsoft-super-bowl-2019-commercial (accessed 5 March 2021); D Griner, ‘McDonald’s Sweden Simulated Dyslexia on its Ads and Menus to Raise Attention for the Disorder’, Adweek (4 October 2018), https://www.adweek.com/creativity/mcdonalds-sweden-simulated-dyslexia-on-its-ads-and-menus-to-raise-attention-for-the-disorder/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

105 N Gallucci, ‘Tommy Hilfiger Unveils Innovative Clothing Line for People With Disabilities’, Mashable (6 April 2018), https://mashable.com/2018/04/06/tommy-hilfiger-tommy-adaptive-disibility-friendly-clothing/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

106 See, for example, M Exon and M Arrow, ‘Eight Ads That Shatter Tired Gender Stereotypes’, The Guardian (26 May 2015), https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/may/26/eight-ads-shatter-gender-stereotypes (accessed 5 March 2021); C Murphy, ‘Boycott for Black Lives: People Plan to Stop Spending in Companies That Don’t Support BLM’, USA Today (18 June 2020), https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/18/boycotts-people-plan-stop-spending-stores-dont-support-blm/3208170001/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

107 See World Report on Disability, note 14.

108 Research has demonstrated the economic power of persons with disabilities, for example: M Yin, D Shaewitz, C Overton and D-M Smith, ‘A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities’, American Institutes for Research (April 2018), https://www.air.org/system/files/downloads/report/Hidden-Market-Spending-Power-of-People-with-Disabilities-April-2018.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021) (which sees persons with disabilities as the third-largest market in the US, and ‘more than doubles when considering family members, caregivers, and others who prioritize goods and services that are inclusive of people with disabilities’).

109 D Mont, ‘Disability Employment Policy’, in Social Protection Discussion Papers Series, World Bank Social Protection Unit (July 2004), http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/354671468762324616/pdf/301620PAPER0SP00413.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021) at 3.6 and Table 3.1.

110 D Mont, ‘Disability and Data – What Can We Count On?’, World Bank Group Open Learning Campus (n.d.), https://olc.worldbank.org/content/disability-and-data-–-what-can-we-count-on (accessed 5 March 2021).

111 Disability Employment Policy, note 110.

112 BA Areheart and J Roberts, ‘GINA, Big Data, and the Future of Employee Privacy’ (2019) 128 Yale Law Journal 3; JE Harris, ‘The Privacy Problem in Disability Antidiscrimination Law’, in I Glenn Cohen, C Shachar, A Silvers and MA Stein, Disability, Health, Law and Bioethics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2020).

113 L Schumer, ‘How to Disclose a Disability to Your Employer (and Whether You Should)’, The New York Times (10 July 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/smarter-living/disclose-disability-work-employer-rights.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

114 S Stefan, Hollow Promises: Employment Discrimination against People with Mental Disabilities (American Psychological Association, 2001); K Yoshino, Covering: The Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007).

115 R Mookerjee and A Orlandi, ‘Multinational Corporations and Child Labor’ (2004) 33 Global Economic Review 4 (2004).

116 See, for example: National Organization on Disability, 2020 Disability Employment Tracker, NOD (2020), https://www.nod.org/services/tracker-2/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

117 By contrast, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) tracks disability employment and progress under the Employment Equity Act (Employer Obligations, CHRC – Equal Employment Opportunities (2020), https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/equal-employment-opportunities-0) (accessed 5 March 2021). Similarly, under the quota system, Brazil too monitors disability employment (Leandro Martins Zanitelli, A lei de cotas para pessoas portadoras de deficiência nas empresas brasileiras: impacto e possíveis alternativas [The Law of Quotas for People with Disabilities in Brazilian Companies: The Impact and Possible Alternatives], (2013) 18 Cien Saude Colet 7). Neither is a private corporate initiative.

118 ILO Global Business and Disability Network, http://www.businessanddisability.org/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

119 Ibid.

120 Ibid; http://www.businessanddisability.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GBDNSelfAssesmentTool.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

121 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (24 January 2019), https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting/sessions/the-accessibility-revolution (accessed 5 March 2021).

122 Ibid.

123 Disability:IN, ‘CEO Start Guide to Disability Inclusion: 2019 Davos Resource’ (24 January 2019), https://disabilityin.org/ceo-start-guide-to-disability-inclusion-2019-davos-resource/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

124 See, e.g., D Brodley, ‘How Business Leaders are Introducing Disability Rights as a CSR Issue’ (29 January 2019), https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2019/01/21/how-business-leaders-are-introducing-disability-rights-as-a-corporate-social-responsibility-csr-issue/#524c2d42441b (accessed 5 March 2021).

125 HR Dive, ‘#Valuable Launches Disability Inclusion Campaign at WFF’ (29 January 2019), https://www.hrdive.com/news/valuable-launches-disability-inclusion-campaign-at-wef/546919/ (accessed 5 March 2021).

126 Ibid.

127 See particularly Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK). See ‘Guidance for Reporting Entities’, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/criminal-justice/files/modern-slavery-reporting-entities.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021); Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Australia); Loi no. 2017-399 du 27 Mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000034290626&categorieLien=id. For a useful English summary see European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) (accessed 5 March 2021). See Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), ‘France’s Law on the Corporate Duty of Vigilance: A Practical and Multidimensional Analysis in English’, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/frances-law-on-the-corporate-duty-of-vigilance-a-practical-and-multidimensional-analysis-in-english (accessed 5 March 2021).

128 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ‘Public debt, austerity measures and the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’, UN Doc E/C.12/2016/1 (22 July 2016) paras 4 and 11. See for example recent reports, Human Rights Council, ‘Report of the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights on his mission to Greece’, UN Doc A/HRC/31/60/Add.2 (12 January 2016), paras 81(a), 83(b). The World Bank Group has set up quasi-judicial mechanisms, such as the Bank’s Inspection Panel and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Ombudsman, which are competent to hear complaints concerning violations of the Bank’s internal rules, not violations of human rights law, albeit as these arise from violations of assessments incumbent on corporate borrowers. An overview of the mandate and cases of the Inspection Panel is at http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Pages/Home.aspx (accessed 5 March 2021).

129 See Guiding Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessment for Trade and Investment Agreements, UN Doc A/HRC/19/59/Add.5 (19 December 2011); Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, UN Doc A/HRC/21/39 (18 July 2012); Human Rights Council, ‘CESCR General Comment No. 24’ (10 August 2017) paras 17, 21–22; Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment 19’ UN Doc CRC/CG/19 (10 July 2016) para 47.

130 ‘European Commission Working Paper Operational Guidance on taking account of fundamental rights in Commission impact assessments’, SEC(2011) 567 Final (6 May 2011). The CJEU has, in fact, emphasized the importance of such HRIAs in the adoption of primary and secondary EU legislation. See Schecke and Eifert v Land Hessen, Cases C-92/09 and C-93/09, ECLI:EU:C:2010:662. HRIAs are also required through two EU instruments, namely: the Directive on Public Procurement and the Directive on Non-Financial Information Disclosure. Under the latter, companies with over 500 employees are required to disclose information on policies, risks and results as regards their respect for human rights.

131 See GRI, ‘GRI’s Contribution to Sustainable Development 2016–2020’ (2016), www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI%27s%20Contribution%20to%20Sustainable%20Development%202016-2020%20(2).pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).

132 KPMG, ‘Human Rights & Social Impact – Banarra’ (n.d.), https://home.kpmg/au/en/home/services/advisory/risk-consulting/climate-change-sustainability-services/human-rights-social-impact.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

133 Human rights audits are undertaken also by auditors in an individual capacity. Although the discussion on ethics is pertinent to them, in all other respects this paper deals exclusively with auditing firms.

134 See I Bantekas, E Ezenagu, ‘Ethical Considerations in Financial (Tax) and Non-Financial Corporate Human Rights Reporting’, (2021) 28 University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review (forthcoming).

135 UNGC, ‘Communication on Progress’ (n.d.), https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report (accessed 5 March 2021).

136 International Organization for Standardization, ‘ISO 26000’ (n.d.), https://www.iso.org/iso-26000-social-responsibility.html (accessed 5 March 2021).

137 Shift, ‘UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework’ (2018), https://www.ungpreporting.org (accessed 5 March 2021).

138 Such a choice may be predicated, among others, on cost considerations (e.g., low or no pension contributions; light environmental compliance; light health and safety requirements), tax avoidance, or avoidance of public scrutiny by civil society organizations, especially in autocratic states. See UNCTAD, ‘Increasingly Complex Ownership Structures of Multinational Enterprises Poses new Challenges of Investment Policy-Makers (2015), https://unctad.org/en/pages/PressRelease.aspx?OriginalVersionID=303 (accessed 5 March 2021).

139 Human Rights Council, note 4, arts 4(5) and 6(4).

140 Human rights linkages to trade, investment, sovereign debt, privacy and other areas of commercial regulation or self-regulation have only been studied thoroughly in the last two decades and are generally the domain of specialists. See, e.g., C Lumina, ‘Sovereign Debt and Human Rights: Making the Connection’, in I Bantekas and C Lumina (eds.), Sovereign Debt and Human Rights (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018) 169; equally, I Bantekas, ‘The Linkages between Business and Human Rights and their Underlying Causes’ (2021) 43 Human Rights Quarterly 118.

141 In 2019, GRI adopted, following public consultation, the GRI 207/Tax 2019 Standard, with a view to promoting tax transparency in financial audits. Like all other standards mentioned in this article, this too is of a voluntary nature.

142 Increasingly, however, non-MNCs such as the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank are forwarding and advancing HRIAs that relate to persons with disabilities in development schemes. These can serve as precedents for the creation of disability-sensitive HRDDs.

143 For example, World Bank Operational Policy (OP 4.10) on Indigenous Peoples (July 2005), https://ppfdocuments.azureedge.net/1570.pdf (accessed 5 March 2021).