State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 26
Paragraph
Paragraph text
In its 2011 statement on the obligations of States parties regarding the corporate sector and economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee reiterated that States parties’ obligations under the Covenant did not stop at their territorial borders. States parties were required to take the steps necessary to prevent human rights violations abroad by corporations domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction (whether they were incorporated under their laws, or had their statutory seat, central administration or principal place of business on the national territory), without infringing the sovereignty or diminishing the obligations of the host States under the Covenant. The Committee has also addressed specific extraterritorial obligations of States parties concerning business activities in its previous general comments relating to the right to water, the right to work, the right to social security, and the right to just and favourable conditions of work, as well as in its examination of States’ periodic reports.