Regulação dos princípios orientadores sobre empresas transnacionais e direitos humanos da ONU nas democracias plenas

Abstract

The regulation in Democratic States aiming to confer responsibility on transnational companies for the protection of human rights has become increasingly necessary due to the advance of globalization and the monopolization of economic power in the hands of companies that go beyond the geographical limits of the countries from which they originated, having the power to influence society not only in the economic aspect, but also in the exercise of democracy through the violation of human rights. The deductive method was used in the search for a better understanding of the concepts covered in this thesis, in particular how the most democratic countries in the world deal with the guidelines drawn up by the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. Due to severe criticism regarding the fact that they are not binding, it was up to some countries, due to their history and political pressure, to develop, each one, based on its reality, specific legislation, in order to protect human and labor rights and the environment, avoiding the abuse of economic power in the so-called supply chains. With regard to democracy, it will be demonstrated that the concept has evolved throughout history and, currently, the idea of democracy is not restricted to the periodic and egalitarian electoral process, but is also related to freedom of expression, press freedom, non-political polarization, non-corruption and effectiveness in delivering the fundamental rights to the population. The concept and historical evolution of transnational companies, as well as their role and global influence and possible violations of UN guidelines will be studied. By analyzing the classifications and rankings of countries according to the degree of existing democracy, such as, for example, that prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit – EIU, it is possible to obtain a comparison and evaluate results, seeking to find the most effective methodology and path for implementing full democracy. In this perspective, this thesis was based on the legislation of countries with the highest democratic levels, such as Norway, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Taiwan and Mauritius, allowing us to understand the successful and effective path to creating and applying, via local regulation, the guiding principles for transnational companies (prevent, investigate, punish and repair), imposing obligations such as annual reports for risk analysis (due diligence) and liability in case of non-compliance with these duties. Efforts by the OECD, ILO, EU and the Global Compact 2030 should be recognized in seeking to promote global awareness of the need to protect the human and environmental rights. It is concluded that, although the UN was unable to make its guidelines binding, they, via local regulation, flourish in “full democracies”, starting a legislative network that no longer allows the transaction of products from (production chain) of places where “modern slavery” occurs, imposing, on transnational companies, conduct that ranges from warning their suppliers, to the suspension or termination of negotiations, under penalty of fines and in some cases even criminal liability, highlighting if this is the path to be taken by Brazil.