Continued... Workers are largely unprotected from these abuses by either their own governments or the international system. Though the International Labor Organization has articulated labor rights standards for 80 years, these assume that national governments will enforce them. Unfortunately, many governments lack the capacity and often the will to do so. Even in the United States, effective regulation and protection of workers has been eroded at the low-wage end of the labor market. “Sweatshops” are a global phenomenon.

Such consequences have sparked a growing public demand for corporations to take responsibility for a range of human rights and environmental problems in countries where they operate. The Lawyers Committee’s own commitment to pursue labor rights as human rights was a response to these developments. The challenge is to create accountability—independent, transparent, and enforceable mechanisms for ensuring that human rights standards protect ordinary people.

We are convinced that local, national and international human rights groups need to work together to leverage consumer interest in labor practices and company brand sensitivity, to help protect workers’ rights. Enabling consumers to become well-informed about specific company practices - piercing the veil between brand names and a web of abusive contractors and suppliers - creates the kind of market pressure that strongly encourages corporate compliance with international human rights standards in a regular and systematic way. Much work needs to be done to ensure that corporate social responsibility becomes more than a passing fad and translates into real protection for workers.

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