Responsible Investment in Occupied Territories: Beyond the UN & OECD Principles

The discussion on responsible investment is not a recent one, insofar as a human rights approach to investment has always been at the center of interest to both academics and practitioners. Having in mind that responsible investment needs to be conflict-free and support good governance, it is of a particular interest to examine if and how the UN Principles of Responsible Investment of 2006 and the OECD Guidelines of 2011 may function in cases in which investing activities take place in occupied or otherwise disputed territories. Accordingly, the current chapter will focus on the influence of responsible investment principles in the context of negotiation of international investment agreements and the eventual implications from non-compliance with such principles. With various investment activities taking place in Western Sahara, this case is characteristic of the challenges posed by the implementation of responsible investment principles in disputed territories. Hence Western Sahara will serve as case study in this chapter.