What is meant by “non-state actors” as perpetrators of human rights abuses?
Often it means corporations. Sweatshops, polluting industries, mass evictions to make room for hydroelectric projects, and even murder and rape occur in commercial enterprises in countries where the government either turns its back or is actively complicit. Often the corporation involved is far richer than the country where it operates, which makes enforcement unfeasible and officials cheap to buy. Or the actor can be an individual or a community, as is the case with domestic violence, a human rights abuse on a very local scale. Valentine Doyle, Program Officer Lawson Valentine Foundation Non-state actors act autonomously from recognized governments. They may include armed paramilitary groups, insurgents, guerrillas, liberation movements, NGOs, corporations, educational institutions, private donors, religious organizations, the scientific community, private individuals, the media, etc. Their few shared characteristics result from their distinctly unofficial nature (compared with state
