The Accountability Gap: How National Sovereignty Shields Corporations from Human Rights Enforcement in the Global South

The relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and human rights in the Global South has generated significant academic debate, yet one structural barrier is underdiscussed: national sovereignty. Frameworks like the International Labor Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the World Trade Organization's labour standards provisions set out clear expectations for how workers should be treated, but enforcement is left entirely to individual states, often resulting in poor implementation of such standards. Meaning, accountability relies on whether a government chooses to act, not on any binding external obligation. This paper argues that national sovereignty is the primary reason why global enforcement of corporate human rights standards consistently falls short in the Global South. Drawing on a qualitative literature review across economics, political science, and international law, it looks at three connected themes: the ongoing debate over whether MNCs actually help or harm workers in developing countries, the role domestic governance plays in shaping labour outcomes, and why existing international enforcement mechanisms keep failing in practice. The paper finds that enforcement gaps are not simply down to corporate misconduct or poorly designed frameworks. The deeper issue is that governments in the Global South frequently have strong economic incentives to attract foreign investment, which makes meaningful enforcement of labour and human rights standards politically and economically costly. Sovereignty, in this context, ends up functioning less as a protection for citizens and more as cover for governments avoiding external pressure and as a means to retain Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The paper concludes by considering what might actually change this, including binding treaty mechanisms and regional enforcement bodies, and whether any of these are realistic given the current international system.