BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS / Šturma, Mozetic (eds)

the impact of business activities and operations on children’s rights arising from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols. The general comment considers the relationship between State obligations regarding business activities and the general principles of the Convention, defines the general nature and scope of State obligations with regards to children’s rights and the business sector, examines the scope of obligations where impact of business activities on children’s rights is the most significant and recommends a framework for implementation. 58 Among the specific contexts, the general comments also refer to businesses operating in emergencies and conflict situations where there may be a greater risk of abuse of children’s rights, including child labour and child soldiers. Home States of business enterprises should require that the enterprises undertake stringer child-rights due diligence to address potential risks of harming the Convention rights, and at the same time, the States should provide businesses with guidance and information. 59 With respect to transnational feature of corporate operations and extraterritorial jurisdiction, the CRC Committee examines obligations of host and home states of transnational corporations. Host States must ensure adequate regulations and institutional frameworks that ensures that corporations do not adversely affect the rights of the child. Home States have also obligations if there is a reasonable link between the State and the conduct concerned. Such link exists when a business enterprise has its centre of activity, is registered or domiciled or has its main place of business or substantial business activities in the State concerned. The framework for implementations suggests legislative, regulatory and enforcement measures, including specific suggestions concerning children’s rights due diligence by business enterprises, remedial, policy, collaboration, coordination and monitoring measures. 60 Conclusion Treaty bodies pay increasingly attention to protection of the rights under their respective treaty against harmful impact of corporate activities. They provide guidance to States on how to prevent and address corporate abuses in concluding observations, general comments and decisions in individual cases. In an absence of a specific treaty on business and human rights, such guidance is useful and welcome development. In particular, two specific general comments on State obligations in the context of business activities shed more light on some contentious issues, such as extraterritorial obligations, and offered detailed recommendations on measures to be taken primarily by the State parties but subsequently also by the business enterprises. Decisions in individual cases can also inform policy decisions by both States and business enterprises to ensure compliance with human rights treaties provisions. Recommendations contained in concluding observations seem to comprise increasingly more business related measures, such as risk assessment, due diligence and disclosure policy recommendations. Along with the general comments, the concluding observations tend to reflect developments in business and human rights agenda, especially the United Nations Guiding Principles

58 Ibid, paragraph 11. 59 Ibid, paragraphs 49-52. 60 Ibid, paragraphs 53-86.

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