Human rights performance is, in many ways, intertwined with large processes of globalisation. One feature of these processes, which has come to the attention of the human rights community over the last two decades, is the impact that multinational business enterprises may have on human rights around the globe. This volume argues that international businesses and the legislation that govern their behaviour represent a new frontier on the struggle for human rights. This frontier has borne witness to many victims, but there are also glimpses of hope and opportunities for expanding the respect and protection of human rights in the corporate sector at local, national, and global levels.

The volume aims to analyse key legal and social issues surrounding the advancement of human rights. The chapters evolve from an international conference organised on 27–28 June 2013 in Hanoi, hosted by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) with its co-organising partner the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) at the University of Oslo. The conference gathered scholars and practitioners from different regions of the world and from different academic disciplines.

We are very grateful for the support of the Vietnam Program at the NCHR and the generous financial support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. VASS has provided the project with strong support throughout, and we have benefitted greatly from fruitful research collaborations between our two institutions over the last seven years. At VASS, we are particularly indebted to the Vice Director of the International Cooperation Department, Tuyet Ahn Luu, for her logistical and overall support. At the NCHR we have indeed benefitted from the editorial assistance of Natasha Telson, and appreciate the keen support of Gisle Kvanvig and Mau Don Thi Nguyen of the Vietnam Programme. Finally, we would like to thank Tom Scheirs at Intersentia for his avid interest in driving the project forward.