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International Legal Instruments This Framework Is Anchored To

Per Principle 4, this framework treats international human rights law as the dominant standard rather than the law of any single jurisdiction. This list is the legal basis for the rules in prohibited-actions/within-company.md and the broader framework. It is illustrative, not exhaustive — adopters in specific sectors (finance, defense, extractives) should add sector-specific instruments.

Foundational human rights instruments

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948) — the foundational, non-binding statement of rights all other instruments elaborate on.
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) — binding on ratifying states; source for the framework's treatment of freedom of expression (Art. 19), privacy (Art. 17), and non-discrimination (Art. 26).
  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966) — binding on ratifying states; source for labor-related economic rights.

Business-specific standards

  • UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs, 2011) — the primary business-and-human-rights framework this document is built on. Three pillars: state duty to protect, corporate responsibility to respect (via human rights due diligence), and access to remedy. Unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011.
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (updated 2023) — the leading non-binding standard aligned with the UNGPs, with a National Contact Point grievance mechanism in each adhering state.
  • UN Global Compact — voluntary corporate commitment framework covering human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

Labor

  • ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) and its eight underlying core conventions, covering four principles:
  • Freedom of association and collective bargaining — C87, C98
  • Elimination of forced or compulsory labor — C29, C105
  • Abolition of child labor — C138, C182
  • Elimination of employment discrimination — C100, C111

Export control / dual-use technology

  • Wassenaar Arrangement — multilateral export-control regime covering conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, including surveillance tools.
  • EU Dual-Use Regulation (2021/821) — binding on EU member states; requires human rights impact consideration in licensing dual-use cyber-surveillance exports.

Enforcement / designation mechanisms referenced in GOVERNANCE.md

  • UN Security Council sanctions regimes
  • International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) — arrest warrants and convictions
  • UN Human Rights Council Commissions of Inquiry and Special Rapporteur mandates

Note on scope

This list deliberately excludes purely domestic statutes (e.g., a single country's data protection law) except where an instrument is genuinely multilateral or has been incorporated by reference into a binding international regime. See Principle 4 for why.