Child labour: An analysis of the nature of corporate responsibility

This chapter explores the responsibility of corporations regarding child labour. This exploration is done at two levels. First, selected regulatory regimes are reviewed to ascertain the corporate responsibility outlined therein. Under international law generally, the responsibility in relation to human/labour rights was traditionally and primarily conceived with reference to states. This state-focal nature, though, seems to be undergoing a change in recent years. For example, more importance is now being given to states' duty to ensure that non-state actors within their respective jurisdictions comply with the goal of eliminating child labour. In addition to this indirect approach, responsibility for child labour is also being directly imposed on corporations. Second, at a normative level, the notion of responsibility is analysed with reference to the idea of being 'responsive' to the state of child labour. 'Responsiveness' is contrasted with 'responsibility' in that the former focuses more on strategy and action rather than outlining what duties corporations have on a given issue.