Civil call for human rights and environmental due diligence legislation

The signatories are urging for corporate accountability legislation because:

• Decades of voluntary “corporate social responsibility” initiatives have failed to adequately protect human rights and the environment as problems such as child labour and deforestation remain systemic to many sectors
• Globally forced labour is generating annual profits of $150 billion
• 321 human rights and environmental defenders were targeted and killed in 2018 – the highest on record; three quarters defending land, environmental or indigenous peoples’ rights, often in the context of extractive and mega-projects
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by corporate abuse
• Overall, European companies and companies operating in the EU are not doing enough to address human rights and environmental risks in their global value chains and operations
• The current situation is provoking regulatory calls from industry, as responsible business efforts remain systemically undermined, leaving responsible businesses at a competitive disadvantage and incentivizing a business race to the bottom

How should this be made reality:

• The legislation would embed into law already-existing international soft-law standards, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights & OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
• Such legislation would make corporate Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence mandatory; and has already been passed in countries such as France whilst subject to government commitment in Finland, Germany and Italy

The statement can be accessed here.