A slew of campaign groups and NGOs have joined in an eleventh-hour call for EU policymakers to considerably bolster new laws set to impose mandatory human rights and sustainability due diligence. The rules will apply to companies based in the European Union.
One group this week demands that the due diligence law to apply to technology companies and include the full panoply of human rights, while another group calls for measures to strengthen access to justice for those who believe companies have breached their rights.
The calls come as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive is set to be considered by the competitiveness group of the European Council on 1 December. The European Parliament signed off on the existing form of the directive in mid November.
Among those calling for substantial amendments are the Digital Rights Foundation, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice.
Their letter on technology companies says: “The directive excludes a significant number of the most problematic technology company actors, activities and impacts from its scope… .”
Those calling for the scope of due diligence to embrace all human rights includes Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth Europe and Human Rights Watch, who argue many of the provisions set for discussion by the council “dramatically weaken the text” of the directive.
The directive imposes a mandatory responsibility on companies to undertake due diligence in their supply chains to root out human rights and sustainability abuses.
The measures aim to spread due diligence practices across the European Union, which has developed a patchwork of laws after some states imposed human rights checks on companies, while others held back. The move has been hailed as an “important step” as policymakers push EU firms to focus on sustainability.
At least 75 organisations signed the letter focused on tech companies. The letter’s signatories worry that tech firms producing contentious software risk being outside the reach of the new law.
Surveillance software omission
“Many high-impact technology companies,” says the letter, “especially those providing surveillance or facial recognition software (among others) will be omitted from the directive’s ambit under its current drafting, despite their profound potential to cause, contribute and to be linked to human rights harms.”
The letter also argues that the directive should apply to the “whole value chain”, as indicated by the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The second letter appeals for Council members to ignore calls to limit the scope of the directive.
“We ask you to reject any proposal that narrows the scope of rights and impacts that fall under the scope of future legislation,” says the letter. “To prevent a further erosion of the already inadequate list proposed by the Commission, member states must instead ensure that the full spectrum of human rights, the environment and the climate are adequately encompassed.”
For companies intimidated by the cost and work involved in human rights due diligence, there are encouraging signs. Research published in November reveals companies are increasing their attention on human rights, with those that manage the process at board level performing best.
The due diligence directive will undoubtedly be an improvement, but whether it goes as far as campaigners desire is another thing entirely. Laws like this tend to evolve: this new directive may be no different.