Activities of Michèle RIVASI related to 2020/2129(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on corporate due diligence and corporate accountability
Amendments (12)
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that the full enjoyment of human rights, including the right to life, health, food and water, depend on biodiversity, which is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well- being is intimately linked;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that there is strong need for a mandatory, harmonised framework at Union level to ensure a level playing field for business and welcomes the Commission’s ongoing work on legislation requiring that Union companies conduct due diligence on respect for human rights and environmental obligations throughout their supply chains, including those related to biodiversity, throughout their supply chains, in accordance with existing international due diligence standards, notably the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct and the UN Convention against Corruption;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to apply a human rights-based approach to the future legislation which shall be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated respecting the core human rights principles of transparency and access to information, inclusion and non-discrimination with a special focus on the most vulnerable; in particular, stresses that the due diligence obligations must be gender-responsive;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls that states have obligations to adopt legal and institutional frameworks that effectively protect against environmental harm that interferes with the enjoyment of human rights; highlights that those obligations apply to biodiversity, as an integral part of the environment; accordingly, calls on the Union and its Member States to regulate harm to biodiversity from private actors as well as government agencies; stresses that it should include obligations to protect their communal property right in the territory and the natural resources they have traditionally used; more broadly, is convinced that climate change mitigation and adaptation must form part of business due diligence obligations;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SExpresses its deep concern regarding the human rights’ impact of business activities in developing countries, particularly extractive industries, large- scale agri-business acquisitions and development projects on indigenous peoples, local communities and human rights and environmental defenders; stresses that the global failure to protect biodiversity affects particularly indigenous people and others who closely depend on nature for their material and cultural needs; stresses that all human rights should be covered by the future legislation; in particular, considers that emphasis should be placed on workers and trade union rights, women, children or indigenous people and local communities (notably their rights to Free, Prior and Informed Consent); stresses that full alignment with existing legal obligations and standards at European and international level should be sought; is of the opinion that the legislation should address all types of human rights abuses, including the violation of the right to a healthy environment;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that the obligation to respect and protect human rights, the environment and to avoid the risk of corruption should be embedded throughout whole global value chains, products, services and business relationships and apply equally to financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is of the opinion that the future legislation should establish mandatory and effective corporate due diligence processes covering financial institutions, companies’ activities and their business relationships, including their supply and subcontracting chains;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Expresses the opinion that the future legislation should establish a comprehensive system of liability that includes administrative, civil and criminal liability, and a sanctioning mechanism to enforce compliance with the new legislation and ensure enforcement, including through penalties and sanctions of all natur, such as exclusion from public procurement, and sanctions of all nature; in addition, urges the Union and its Member States to make the fight against environmental crime an overriding strategic political priority in international judicial cooperation and for institutions and Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, notably by promoting compliance with multilateral environmental agreements through the adoption of criminal sanctions, exchange of best practices and by promoting the enlargement of the scope of the International Criminal Court to cover criminal acts that would amount to ecocide;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that access to effective remedy is crucial; considers that the legislation should oblige companies to have an effective grievance mechanism that should be transparent, accessible, predictable, safe, trustworthy and accountable, including in export processing zones, which are often characterised by exemptions from labour laws and taxes and face severe problems related to decent work and trade union restrictions; considers, in addition, that such mechanism should provide for effective judicial remedies to victims of human rights violations, environmental damage and corruption abuses, individually and through collective actions; believes that special protection should be provided to human rights defenders and its lawyers;
Amendment 118 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is convinced that it is crucial to make the sustainable development chapters of free trade agreements more enforceable and that the new legislation should explore ways of integrating the due diligence requirements into those chapters.Recalls the principle of policy coherence for development, requiring that the objectives of development cooperation be taken into account in policies that are likely to affect developing countries; stresses that corporate due diligence across the entire value chain should be at the heart of the forthcoming Union trade policy review; emphasises the importance of mainstreaming and enforcing social, environmental and human rights due diligence obligations within all new and existing trade mechanisms such as free trade agreements, investment agreements, economic partnership agreements or generalised schemes of preferences; stresses that those trade instruments should include strong enforcement mechanisms such as withdrawal from preferential access in case of non- compliance; is convinced that it is crucial to make the sustainable development chapters of free trade agreements more binding and enforceable through effective monitoring and sanctions mechanisms that allow individuals and communities, outside or within the Union, to seek redress;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Warns against developing a double standard policy regarding the rights and obligations of corporations in investment and trade treaties; recalls that there is a profound asymmetry between transnational corporations’ rights and obligations, particularly in investment protection treaties, where investors are being granted broad rights, such as “fair and equitable treatment”, that are not matched by enforceable obligations in terms of compliance with human rights, labour and environmental law; strongly believes that a binding and enforceable UN treaty on business and human rights which would ensure access to justice for victims of human rights violations and provide mechanisms for redress and accountability for the communities affected, could address such imbalance; reiterates once more the importance of the Union being actively involved in the process of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights and of upholding the primacy of human rights over trade interests;
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Commission to actively work within the WTO in order to promote multilateral rules for sustainable management of global value chains, including mandatory supply chain due diligence, in the garment sector as a first step;