27 Amendments of Ignazio CORRAO related to 2015/2315(INI)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 c (new)
Citation 13 c (new)
– having regard to the Council of Europe Recommendation to Member States on human rights and business adopted on 2 March 2016,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14
Citation 14
– having regard to the Commission Green Paper entitled ‘'Promoting a European framework for cCorporate sSocial rResponsibility’'7 and the definition of corporate social responsibility contained therein, __________________ 7, as well as its follow-up communications in 2006 and in 2011, __________________ 7 COM(2001)0366. http://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do? uri=COM:2001:0366:FIN:en:PDF
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas corporations are one of the major players in economic globalisation, financial services and international trade and are required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas a significant number of corporations operating in third countries are based in Europe, are owned by European corporations, have assets or goods in Europe or control other corporations in Europe; or receive investment or use the financial services of institutions in Europe; whereas there is a practice whereby European corporations outsource activities to local suppliers or use goods or services in their production chains that have been produced or provided by other corporations in countries where human rights standards are lower or enforcement and victim protection are legally or factually lacking;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas victims of human rights abuses involving European companies face multiple obstacles to access judicial remedies; including procedural obstacles on admissibility and disclosure of evidence, often prohibitive litigation costs, absence of clear liability standards for corporate involvement in human rights abuses, and lack of clarity on the application of EU rules of private international law in transnational civil litigation;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
Corporations and human rights
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
The international framework
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
Calls addressed to the corporations and their duty to respect human rights
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
Calls addressed to Member States and their duty to protect human rights
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the EU and its Member States to implement the UNGPs swiftly and robustly, in all areas falling under their respective competence, including by developing National Action Plans; deplores that, notwithstanding the Commission’s 20011 CSR communication, only a few Member States have adopted CSR statements or policies that mention human rights or have published their plans on business and human rights; and deplores that the EU has not published its plan; invites Member States to develop or review National Action Plans in line with the guidance provided by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights; calls for these plans to be developed on the basis of baseline assessments that identify gaps in laws, policies and practice and through meaningful stakeholder participation;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Recalls that recent legislative developments at national level, like the UK Modern Slavery Act Transparency in Supply Chains Clause and the French Bill on duty of care represent important steps towards mandatory human rights due diligence, and that the EU has already taken such steps in this direction (EU Timber Regulation, EU Non- Financial Reporting Directive, EC Proposal for a Conflict Minerals Regulation); calls on the Commission and Member States to build on these improvements and to keep moving towards the introduction of mandatory human rights due diligence;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15d. Stresses that mandatory human rights due diligence should follow the steps required in the UNGPs (identify, prevent/mitigate, remedy and account for). It should furthermore be guided by certain overarching principles related to the proactive identification of risks to human rights, the elaboration of rigorous and demonstrable action plans to prevent or mitigate these risks, adequate response to known abuses, and transparency; stresses that consultation with relevant actors should be ensured at all stages as well as disclosure of all relevant project or investment-specific information to affected stakeholders;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 f (new)
Paragraph 15 f (new)
15f. Calls on the EU and Member States to prioritise for immediate action the establishment of mandatory human rights due diligence for business enterprises which are owned or controlled by the State, receive substantial support and services from State agencies or European institutions; for businesses that provide goods or services to Member States or EU institutions through public procurement contracts, and enterprises which enjoy other commercial benefits and advantages; for business enterprises whose activities pose particularly high risks to human rights; business enterprises responsible for the delivery of privatised services that may impact upon the enjoyment of human rights;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Member States to compel companies that use raw materials or commodities that might originate in conflict-affected areas (for example, so- called conflict minerals) to disclose their sourcing and use of such materials; in particular calls on the Commission and Member States to support in the current legislative procedure on so-called conflict minerals mandatory supply chain due diligence requirements for companies throughout the minerals supply chain based on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Takes note with satisfaction that, as a result of the revision of the existing Accounting Directives (2014/95/EU) regarding the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information, large companies and groups will be required, as from 2017, to disclose information on policies, risks and results as regards their respect for human rights and related issues; urges the Member States to implement the Revised Accounting Directive by 6 December 2016transpose the Directive into national laws that are clear and comprehensive, requiring a wide range of companies within their jurisdiction to report on their human rights risks and impacts and due diligence procedures in accordance with international standards; calls on the Member States to include robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that companies are complying with the reporting requirements;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Commission to elaborate robust and clear guidance for companies on the new non-financial reporting requirements; recommends that this should include and elaborate on the minimum essential elements to disclose for an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the principal risks to, and impacts on, human rights of a company's activities and in a company's global value chain;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. Invites the Commission to undertake a thorough examination, in consultation with civil society, of existing barriers to justice in cases brought before Member State courts for alleged abuses to human rights committed by EU enterprises abroad; this assessment should be geared towards identifying and promoting the adoption of effective measures that remove or alleviate these barriers;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
Access to effective remedies
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that collective redress mechanisms, including for non-EU claimants for abuses committed outside of the EU, could potentially decrease the costs of litigation for victims of human rights infringements; welcomes the recommendation on collective redress adopted by the Commission9 and regrets that only a few Member States have complied with it; urges all Member States to comply with this recommendation; calls for common standards to allow associations to bring claims on behalf of alleged victims including for non-EU claimants for abuses committed outside of the EU; __________________ 9 OJ L 201, 26.7.2013, p. 60.
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)
Subheading (new)
Calls addressed to the Commission
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Requests that the Commission take all the necessary and possible steps as a matter of urgency to act in a holistic and coherent manner in order to introduce concrete rules on corporate responsiliability for human rights violationabuses in third countries;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. SRecalls the necessity to assess the possible human rights impacts of trade and investment agreements and to incorporate on this basis all the needed human rights clauses and safeguards able to mitigate and address identified risks of human rights impacts; urges to introduce in those agreements binding and enforceable clauses for all stakeholders (namely the EU, the states and the business enterprises) to respect international human rights law and standards and to set up monitoring, and remedies mechanisms able to efficiently prevent or deal with the human rights impacts of those agreements; strongly calls for the systematic inclusion in trade and investment agreements of rules on corporate liability for violations of human rights, to be implemented at national level, and of references to internationally recognised principles and guidelines;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for the extension of jurisdictional rules under the Brussels I Regulation11 to third country defendants in actions against parent companies domiciled or having substantive business or their main place of business in the Union; __________________ 11 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Al330 54
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls for improving access to evidence through enhanced procedures regarding the disclosure of evidence, as well as by reversing the burden of proof, so that it is down to the most well- resourced party to prove that it took all necessary due diligence steps to prevent abuses throughout its global operations;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Recalls that, when human rights violations are perpetrated by corporations, this action often involves personal criminal liability and calls for those responsible for such crimes to be prosecuted at whatever level; calls on Member States to address legal, procedural and practical obstacles that prevent prosecution authorities from investigating and prosecuting EU companies and their representatives involved in crimes linked to human rights abuses;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Recommends the creation of an ‘abuse- free’ product brandlabel at EU level, participation in which would be on a voluntary basis, monitored by an independent body governed by strict rules and endowed with powers of inspection, devoted to verifying and certifying that no abuse has been committed at any stage in the chain of production of the relevant good; the EU and its Member States would promote the label and could establish fiscal, economic or other advantages for the corporations that obtain and maintain it;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 c (new)
Paragraph 31 c (new)
31c. Invites the Commission and Member States to report annually on the steps taken to ensure effective protection of human rights in the context of business activity, the results achieved, the remaining gaps in protection and the recommended future actions to address these gaps;