75 MEPs back binding treaty on human rights

BRUSSELS – 75 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have urged the European Union to push forward with rules on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence in EU companies’ global supply chains. They are calling for the EU to join UN negotiations for a binding treaty on business and human rights which, they say, “reflects the EU’s own assessment that voluntary measures have failed to prevent companies from committing human rights violations and environmental harms, or hold them accountable for harm.”

European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, announced in spring that he will next year introduce legislation on mandatory sustainable due diligence for companies as part of the Commission’s 2021 work plan and the European Green Deal.

Reynders told EU lawmakers that DG Justice will launch a public consultation on the initiative before tabling the legislation in the first quarter of 2021.