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Article

15 May 2008

Author:
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises, John Ruggie

[PDF] Clarifying the Concepts of “Sphere of influence” and “Complicity”

The concept of “sphere of influence” is considered too broad and ambiguous a concept to define the scope of due diligence required to fulfil the responsibility to respect, and the Special Representative sets out an alternative approach. In contrast, avoiding complicity is viewed as an essential ingredient in the due diligence carried out to respect rights because it describes a subset of the indirect ways in which companies can have an adverse effect on rights through their relationships.

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