More than 220 civil society and trade union organisations call on EU to end corporate abuse
On 23 February 2022, the European Commission released its proposal for a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. This directive could represent a landmark step forward in minimising the negative impacts of businesses on workers, communities and the environment worldwide. In response, over 220 NGOs and trade unions from around the world welcome the proposal as an essential and long-awaited step toward corporate accountability, responsible business conduct and access to justice.
However, the proposal contains significant flaws that risk preventing the directive from achieving the positive impact that people, planet, and climate urgently need. The undersigned human rights, labour and environmental organisations and networks call on the European Parliament and EU Member States to strengthen the text in line with what EU citizens, workers and communities affected by corporate abuses worldwide have vocally and publicly demanded.
The joint statement outlines our collective views on how to improve the proposal to guarantee that the law will effectively prevent corporate harm to human rights, the environment and climate; as well as provide victims of corporate abuse with access to effective remedies.
Download CSO_statement_CSDDD_EN.pdf — 3238 KB
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Open letter on gender inequality and discrimination in global value chains. 82 civil society organizations ask the EU to address the persistent gender inequalities that prevent many women and girls affected by the activities of European business from leading a safe and prosperous life, the CSDDD must ensure that European companies are compelled to change their own practices and business models, cover the costs of compliance to prevent harms and face the judicial and administrative consequences of failing to do so.
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CSO's call on EU to ensure gender responsive law on human rights due diligence On International Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) Day, 61 CSO's call on the EU Commissioners to ensure gender responsive law on human rights due diligence and corporate accountability. Today is a day to pay tribute to the women who defend human rights and the environment across the world. Gender-responsive corporate accountability and due diligence rules are urgently needed to properly address these deep-seated inequalities.
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Fashioning Justice: A call for mandatory and comprehensive human rights due diligence in the garment industry Our latest publication on mandatory human rights due diligence calls for concrete and comprehensive binding regulations which ensure responsible business conduct. We put the spotlight on brands’ unfair purchasing practices at the root of human rights violations, their reliance on the flawed social auditing system, the lack of occupational safety, gender inequality, poverty wages, persistent attacks freedom of association, the acute lack of value chain transparency and lack of effective remedy in cases of human rights violations which take place on a mass scale.
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Principal Elements of an EU mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence legislation All around the world, businesses are responsible for human rights abuses and environmental harm, as underscored by the recent COVID-19 crisis. Businesses must not be allowed to close their eyes to the impact of their business decisions on other actors in the chain. Voluntary measures have proved to be vastly insufficient, as recognised by the recent European Commission study on due diligence requirements through the supply chain.
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Respecting Rights or Ticking Boxes? Legislating Human Rights Due Diligence: Momentum to enact mandatory human rights due diligence (HRDD) legislation is building around the world. Such legislation is necessary to ensure corporations respect human rights and that victims of corporate abuse have access to justice and remedy. This paper identifies 12 key interpretations of the norms that legislators must get right when establishing HRDD obligations.
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Position paper on human rights due diligence In this paper from March 2016 Clean Clothes Campaign explains its position on human rights due diligence as explained in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP).
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Joint civil society response to the European Commission study into supply chain due diligence Nine civil society organisations and networks strongly welcome the findings from the European Commission’s study on due diligence requirements through the supply chain released in February 2020. Download the European Commission study on due diligence requirements through the supply chain at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/8ba0a8fd-4c83-11ea-b8b7-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.
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Civil society statement on the adoption of European Parliament Due Diligence & Corporate Accountability Legislative Report This report sends a strong signal to the European Commission on what key elements the European Parliament expects in the upcoming legislation. However, there is still room for the Commission to build on this report in the upcoming legislation.
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What if mandatory human rights due diligence had existed before Rana Plaza? The eighth anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse was a stark reminder of what can happen if workers’ rights are a matter of voluntary corporate commitments.