The book makes clear the necessity to address corporate obligations towards socio-economic rights by evaluating the responsibility of corporations in three major dramatic events of the past centuries. The first one is the role that corporations played in the processes of slave trading and colonialism. While national share of responsibility is often pointed out, equally often is the role corporations played overlooked. Slave trade was mainly conducted by private merchants who formed chartered corporations with the approval of states. Moreover, some of these corporations were charged with the administration of colonized territories, as it was the case of India under the management of the East India Company. Evidence suggests that under the auspices of the trade companies, severe violations of human rights occurred. While some claims have been made to make corporations responsible for their misdeeds at the time, little has been achieved. It seems clear that lack of governmental control allowed for this to happen. While we should avoid presentisms, for the nature of those corporations is different than that of current corporations and human rights barely existed at the time, this is an example that evidences the stained historical record of corporations and the necessity to apply measures to ensure their compliance with human rights.
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