Privatisation and Human Rights in the Age of

The growing influence of globalisation, the marked increase in world trade and the perceived necessity of improving their competitiveness in the world trade arena has led countries to reduce State intervention in the economy in order to allow the free market to operate. The privatisation of State provided services and unctions and of State owned enterprises fits within such a strategy. Debates on the effects of privatisation have been on-going for twenty years. They have mainly focused on the financial benefits of privatisation and on the propriety of transferring State powers to private hands. An analysis of whether privatisation has an effect on the enjoyment of human rights has, however, rarely if at all been carried out. This book attempts such an analysis. Is it possible to assess whether privatisation of certain State services or functions has a positive or negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights? Do international human rights obligations impose conditions on the privatisation of services? Can the State be held accountable for human rights violations caused by privatised service providers? Is a privatised service provider or enterprise accountable directly under human rights law? Do victims have remedies? And finally: is there a need for human rights law itself to change in order to adjust to the new division of responsibilities that the privatisation of human rights sensitive services entails? attempts such an analysis. Is it possible to assess whether privatisation of certain State services or functions has a positive or negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights? Do international human rights obligations impose conditions on the privatisation of services? Can the State be held accountable for human rights violations caused by privatised service providers? Is a privatised service provider or enterprise accountable directly under human rights law? Do victims have remedies? And finally: is there a need for human rights law itself to change in order to adjust to the new division of responsibilities that the privatisation of human rights sensitive services entails?

Koen De Feyter is the Chair of International Law at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), Faculty of Law, where he initiated the research group on law and development. He is the Convenor of the International research network on 'Localising human rights', that includes socio-legal field work in China, DRC and India.

Felipe Gómez Isa is Professor of Public International Law and researcher at the Pedro Arrupe Institute of Human Rights of the University of Deusto (Bilbao). He is National Director of the European Master in Human Rights and Democratization, EMA, organized by 41 European Universities in the framework of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization (EIUC, Venice, Italy). He is Spanish representative to the UN Working Group for the elaboration of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (New York, 1998 and 1999). He has been Visiting Professor in several European, Latin American, and Asian Universities.

that legitimate global governance demands that it does a great deal better

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Privatisation and Human Rights in the Age of Globalisation

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