COMECE contributes to EU consultation on mandatory due diligence

COMECE contributes to EU consultation on mandatory due diligence

COMECE welcomes EU’s proposed initiative to hold businesses liable for human rights violations and environmental harm throughout their supply chains, and calls for an ambitious approach in providing victims of corporate abuses with effective access to justice. The contribution (summary available here) was jointly elaborated with CIDSE, Pax Christi International and Justice & Peace Europe.

In their joint response to the recent EU consultation on Sustainable Corporate Governance, COMECE together with its partners encourage the European Union to adopt a legislation that will not only offer meaningful protection to vulnerable communities affected by harmful business activities, but also contribute to the promotion of the common good.

“Being faced with an unprecedented global crisis, we now need more than ever mandatory supply chain due diligence to stop corporate abuse and guarantee global solidarity”, stated H. Em. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, expressing support for an ambitious European due diligence legislation. 

According to COMECE and its partners, the future EU-wide rules should require all companies operating within the EU to map their supply chains in order to help identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for human rights violations and negative environmental impact. Such a legislation should also ensure that victims of corporate abuses have access to an effective remedy.

COMECE has engaged in several advocacy initiatives on “Business and Human Rights” and it looks forward to further contributing to a robust EU legislation on mandatory human rights and environmental  due diligence.

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Read a summary of the joint contribution to the EU public consultation

Photo: Ria Sopala / Pixabay