International human rights standards were originally written by states to create a framework and set of goals for governmental action and it was often argued that such standards did not apply to the private sector. For many, the obligations of businesses with respect to the subjects covered by international human rights standards were limited to compliance with applicable national laws, even if those laws failed to meet international standards. Certainly businesses can contribute to respecting and protecting human rights by complying with the laws and regulations established by states; however, as time has gone by ideas have changed, albeit slowly, and there is now growing support for the notion that while the primary duty to protect human rights remains with national governments, businesses also have responsibilities to respect human rights in their operations and voluntarily assume accountability and responsibility for the environmental and social impacts of their operational activities.
In its ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility, the International Organization for Standardization takes the position that organizations have the responsibility to respect human rights by identifying and responding to members of vulnerable groups within their sphere of influence, and that these responsibilities are independent of the duties and obligations of the state, which means that organizations must act regardless of whether the state is unable or unwilling to fulfill its duty to protect. Businesses have also been called upon to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals established by United Nations ("UN") such as access to basic services, participation in decision making, full and productive employment and decent work, reducing income inequality, ensuring equal opportunity, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Given the growing number of societal and political issues that can reasonably be placed under the rubric of human rights, and the apparent inability of governments to deal effectively with those issues, it would seem that attention will inevitably turn to how and when businesses will deploy their substantial resources to develop solutions.
This book is specifically concerned with businesses' duties and responsibilities relating to the human rights of older persons. Since 1948 there has been almost 20 declarations, principles, resolutions, plans of action and proclamations issued by the UN and its instrumentalities relating to aging, and the UN has identified aging as being among the most important global issues of the 21st Century; however, progress has been slow on drafting and adopting a comprehensive universal legal instrument relating specifically to the human rights of older persons. Nonetheless, issues relating to older persons have been integrated into the generic international human rights framework and emerging regional human rights legal systems (e.g., the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging, the UN Principles for Older Persons and the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons) and it has been recognized that the special circumstances of older persons should be taken into consideration when developing social and economic policies.
