Human Security Centre Human Rights and International Security Research

In the age of globalisation, corporate responsibility can be a highly contentious issue. On the one hand, corporations can create job opportunities, increase gross domestic product and overall quality of life in countries where they are officially incorporated. On the other hand, extraction of natural resources from developing countries often contributes to destabilisation of the official governmental structure and gross violations of Human Rights. The positive impacts of corporate activity in one state make corporate criminal responsibility in another state a politically sensitive issue.

June 2013 saw the second turnover in the Egyptian democratic transition when millions of people gathered on the streets of Cairo to demand an immediate resignation of the first democratically elected Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi. Morsi’s one year tenure was marked by increasing authoritarianism and islamisation, which were both reflected in the draft constitution introduced by the Morsi Government in November 2013 (the 2013 constitution).