Parliament takes action against corporate human rights abuses

The European Parliament has adopted an own initiative report requesting legislation to prevent and punish human rights abuses by businesses in third countries.

The report stresses that increasing globalisation and internationalisation of business activities and supply chains make the role that corporations play in ensuring respect for human rights crucial. This is evidenced by recent reports of international human rights violations by companies, for example in Malawi, where the coal and uranium mining operations of Eland Coal Mining Company, Malcoal, and Paladin Africa Limited caused serious problems with water, food, and housing for local residents, and in Uzbekistan, where Indorama Kokand Textile was found to have been using forced labour.

MEPs have therefore urged the Commission to propose binding and enforceable rules, sanctions and monitoring mechanisms for corporate human rights abuses.

In the report, MEPs also call on Member States and third countries to urgently adopt binding instruments devoted to the protection of human rights in business, specifically providing for thorough investigations into such abuses and stating that victims should have access to an effective remedy against corporations, which “pierce the veil of the legal personality” where corporations have complex structures.

The report additionally calls on companies directly to carry out human rights due diligence and create internal policies on such issues.

The report comes in the wake of the publishing on the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011, which are a set of guidelines for countries and companies to prevent, address and remedy human rights abuses committed in business operations. Unlike the EU legislation requested however, these guidelines are simply advisory.

Before its adoption, the report was debated in plenary, where MEPs generally supported the report and agreed on the importance of the issue at hand. Some MEPs wanted the report to go further in its scope; Caterina Chinnici MEP (Italy, Alliance of the Socialists and Democrats) said that she regretted that the rights of children had not been sufficiently taken into consideration whilst Notis Marias MEP (Greece, European Conservatives and Reformists) that something should be done to deal with human dumping and that companies should be punished for not respecting workers’ rights.

Likewise, Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete was in agreement regarding the importance of the issue and stated that the European External Action Force (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic service, should focus on creating dialogues on human rights and increasing financial support and take these into account during trade negotiations.

The ball is now in the Commission’s court to consider putting forward a proposal on the issue. There is however no obligation on it to do so. 

The European Parliament has adopted an own initiative report requesting legislation to prevent and punish human rights abuses by businesses in third countries.