Human rights violations in Nordic public procurement

Projekt: Forskning

Projektinformation

Beskrivning

The UN guiding principles on business and human rights describe public procurement as a unique opportunity to promote awareness of and respect for human rights. In the same vein the Directive 2014/24/EU provides new impetus to the strategic importance of public procurement for achieving social development goals. The emerging academic literature focuses on legal aspects in particular the reach and scope of a human rights mandate as well as potential conflicts with non-discriminatory principles of free-trade agreements. Yet there is little conceptual and empirical knowledge how the state’s purchasing power translates into human rights promotion.

This research project addresses this gap with a conceptual and empirical analysis of supply chain risk management in Nordic public procurement. Four product categories have been identified as particularly important for supply chain social risk management: IT hardware, medical disposable products, medical instruments, and textiles. While the ultimate aim is to map entire supply chains and assess related human rights risks, the analytical focus will be on up-stream production moments in Asian developing countries.

The theoretical basis of this project draws from sustainable supply chain management, stakeholder theory, and the social amplification of risk. Research is practice-oriented with the aim to develop an open platform for social due diligence and risk assessment. The project is inter-disciplinary and combines qualitative methods with quantitative methods.
StatusSlutfört
Gällande start-/slutdatum2019/01/012021/12/31

Finansiering

  • Konkurrensverket