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Silence as Complicity: Elements of a Corporate Duty to Speak Out Against the Violation of Human Rights

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  • Wettstein, Florian

Abstract

Increasingly, global businesses are confronted with the question of complicity in human rights violations committed by abusive host governments. This contribution specifically looks at silent complicity and the way it challenges conventional interpretations of corporate responsibility. Silent complicity implies that corporations have moral obligations that reach beyond the negative realm of doing no harm. Essentially, it implies that corporations have a moral responsibility to help protect human rights by putting pressure on perpetrating host governments involved in human rights abuses. This is a controversial claim, which this contribution proposes to analyze with a view to understanding and determining the underlying conditions that need to be met in order for moral agents to be said to have such responsibilities in the category of the duty to protect human rights.

Suggested Citation

  • Wettstein, Florian, 2012. "Silence as Complicity: Elements of a Corporate Duty to Speak Out Against the Violation of Human Rights," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 37-61, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:22:y:2012:i:01:p:37-61_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Björn Fasterling & Geert Demuijnck, 2013. "Human Rights in the Void? Due Diligence in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 799-814, September.
    2. Prabhir Poruthiyil, 2013. "Weaning Business Ethics from Strategic Economism: The Development Ethics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 735-749, September.
    3. Maximilian J. L. Schormair & Lara M. Gerlach, 2020. "Corporate Remediation of Human Rights Violations: A Restorative Justice Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 475-493, December.
    4. Manuel Woersdoerfer, 2023. "AI Ethics and Ordoliberalism 2.0: Towards A 'Digital Bill of Rights'," Papers 2311.10742, arXiv.org.
    5. Davide Fiaschi & Elisa Giuliani, 2011. "The impact of business on society: exploring CRS adoption and alleged human rights abuses by large corporations," LEM Papers Series 2011/13, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    6. Leandro Martins Zanitelli, 2013. "Corporate Moral Duties: Consequentialism, Collective Moral Agency and the “Ought†Implies “Can†Maxim," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 3(11), pages 17-29, November.
    7. Matthew Murphy & Jordi Vives, 2013. "Perceptions of Justice and the Human Rights Protect, Respect, and Remedy Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 781-797, September.
    8. Melanie De Ruiter & Jaap Schaveling & Joanne B. Ciulla & André Nijhof, 2018. "Leadership and the Creation of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 871-874, September.
    9. Elisa Giuliani, 2016. "Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries’ Industrial Clusters," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 39-54, January.
    10. Judith Schrempf-Stirling & Florian Wettstein, 2017. "Beyond Guilty Verdicts: Human Rights Litigation and its Impact on Corporations’ Human Rights Policies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 545-562, October.
    11. Scherer, Andreas, 2013. "Legitimacy Strategies in a Globalized World: Organizing for Complex and Heterogeneous Environments," Papers 566, World Trade Institute.
    12. Pisani, Niccolò & Kourula, Arno & Kolk, Ans & Meijer, Renske, 2017. "How global is international CSR research? Insights and recommendations from a systematic review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 591-614.
    13. Leandro Martins Zanitelli, 2013. "Corporate Moral Duties: Consequentialism, Collective Moral Agency and the “Ought†Implies “Can†Maxim," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 3(11), pages 17-29, November.

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