Activities of Miguel URBÁN CRESPO related to 2023/2108(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on shaping the EU’s position on the UN binding instrument on business and human rights, in particular on access to remedy and the protection of victims
Opinions (1)
OPINION on shaping the EU’s position on the UN binding instrument on business and human rights, in particular on access to remedy and the protection of victims
Amendments (37)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that people in developing countries, especially indigenous and traditional communities, smallholders and other small-scale food producers, women, human rights defenders and worker, workers, minorities and other vulnerable groups, are disproportionally affected by the human, labour and environmental rights violations committed by TNCs, which often go unpunishedis further aggravated by corruption and which often go unpunished, as in the emblematic cases of Mariana and Brumadinho (Brazil), Rana Plaza (Bangladesh), Marikana (South Africa) or Chevron-Texaco (Ecuador), among many others; calls to promote transparency by requiring TNCs to disclose relevant information about their operations, impacts on human rights, and measures taken to address them and ensure access to justice with special focus on social dimension and minorities and other vulnerable groups, and an effective remedy for victims of human rights violations and abuses;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Council to adopt an ambitious mandate for the Commission to fully engage in the negotiations on the UN legally binding instrument on TNCs and human rights (LBI), in accordance with the objectives stipulated by UN Human Rights Council Resolution 26/9 of 14 July 2014, which mandates those negotiations; highlights that the negotiations, as well as the EU mandate should ensure cooperation with established and potential partners in the area of business and human rights and meaningful engagement with stakeholders impacted by the treaty, including international organisations, trade unions and other workers´ representatives and civil society organisations; stresses, furthermore, the need to adopt a gender-sensitive approach throughout the process, as human rights violations are not gender neutral and should not be treated as such; highlights the need to strengthen the EU's diplomacy and reputation as a credible partner and a human and environmental rights defender; stresses that to fulfil this purpose, the EU position must be based on the primacy of human rights and necessarily include strong enforcing and monitoring mechanisms (including reporting requirements and periodic reviews to ensure compliance), access to justice for those affected by human rights violations, and joint and several liability provisions for TNCs and their value chains that are different and independent from those of the states; calls the Commission to fully engage in the future negotiations for the UN binding treaty on business and human rights, with a broad substantive scope covering all internationally recognised human rights, including fundamental workers’ and trade union rights, as defined by relevant international labour standards and based on all relevant UN conventions; notes that the Member States should otherwise engage in the process individually;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to the updated draft legally binding instrument circulated by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEIGWG) on 31 July 2023 and to the revised third draft resulting from the eight session, both used as working documents during the ninth round of negotiations,
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraphs 4 and 4 a (new)
Paragraphs 4 and 4 a (new)
4. Stresses the importance that the scope of the LBI under negotiation covers all TNCs and other business enterprises of a transnational character, as established by Resolution 26/9, as well as their activities conducted through affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, suppliers, partnerships, joint venture and beneficial proprietorship; worries, however, that there are still many governance gaps that persist at the international level and calls to continue multilateral engagement to send a consistent signal to existing and potential cooperation partners; 4 a. Stresses the importance to include parent company-based extraterritorial regulation and access to justice for victims of transnational corporate human rights violations in the home state of transnational corporations; highlights, in particular, the need to define clear obligations for TNCs in relation to the eradication of child labour and forced labour from their supply chains and operations;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas the vast majority of the Global North-listed TNCs, which are often engaged in violations of human rights and/or environmental rights, which mostly occur in developing countries, had institutionalised sustainability committees and are signatories of the Global Compact, fail to disclose violations and hamper access to remedy, showing the very low effectiveness of voluntary and not mandatory programmes for CSR compliance;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that such an LBI, to effectively protect victims and guarantee access to justice, must include, among other things, free, prior and informed consent for activities developed in indigenous territories, the right to say no, the reversal of the burden of proof, mechanisms to assure extraterritorial jurisdiction, international cooperation obligations to enforce foreign judgments, the right to information and the right to full reparation.meaningful consultation and participation of affected individuals and communities in decision- making processes related to TNCs activities that may affect their lives and livelihoods, the right to say no, the reversal of the burden of proof, mechanisms to assure extraterritorial jurisdiction, such as the jurisdiction of necessity (forum necessitatis) and to forbid declining of jurisdiction (forum non conveniens), international cooperation obligations to enforce foreign judgments, the right to information and the right to full reparation; stresses that the right to full reparation refers both to the process of providing remedy to victims, their families or affected communities for negative human, labour or environmental rights violations suffered and the substantive outcomes that can counteract, or make good, the negative impact of violations; highlights that reparation must be adequate, effective, prompt, and should be proportional to the gravity of the violations and the harm suffered, in all cases adapted to the specific context and condition of the rightsholder;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Believes that in establishing human rights, environmental and climate- related due diligence obligations globally, the agreement strengthens the effectiveness of the upcoming EU CSDDD globally and create similarly high standards worldwide; underlines, in that respect, that CSDDD proposal should aim for a more comprehensive and inclusive approach; is convinced, moreover, that the UN treaty could make important provisions for improved legal protection for people affected, strengthening the EU directive;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
A d. whereas TNCs profit maximisation prospects, transaction cost and poor institutional framework are the prime causes to the human rights violations in the host countries;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
A e. whereas the victims of these human rights violations are predominantly poor and vulnerable populations;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that abuses of workers' rights by companies are on the rise worldwide and that according to ITUC Rights Index, 113 countries exclude workers from their right to establish or join a trade union, up from 106 in 2021, 87 % of countries violated the right to strike and four in five countries blocked collective bargaining;
Amendment 14 #
D. whereas the OEIGWG, which has been chaired by Ecuador since its inception, has, to date, held eight sessions and a number of regional and other consultations with stakeholders, including from civil society and the private sector; whereas, in July 2023, the Chair circulated an updated draft of the instrument ahead of the OEIGWG’s ninth session scheduled for 23-27 October 2023 which was contested by several UN Member States during the opening of the ninth session on 23 October; whereas, subsequently, the Chair proposed, and the plenary finally adopted, to use both this new updated draft as well as the previous third draft with comments from Member States as the working documents for the negotiations during the OEIGWG’s ninth session;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that people in developing countries, especially indigenous and traditional communities, smallholders and other small-scale food producers, women, human rights defenders and workers, are disproportionally affected by the human, labour and environmental rights violations committed by TNCs, which often go unpunished, as in the emblematic cases of Mariana and Brumadinho (Brazil), Rana Plaza (Bangladesh), Marikana (South Africa) or Chevron-Texaco (Ecuador), among many others;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas several EU Member States have recently adopted mandatory due diligence legislation, while a number of other Member States are considering following suit; whereas any national or EU due diligence legislation is not substitutive but complementary to the UN LBI;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Council to adopt an ambitious mandate for the Commission to fully engage in the negotiations on the UN legally binding instrument on TNCs and human rights (LBI), in accordance with the objectives stipulated by UN Human Rights Council Resolution 26/9 of 14 July 2014, which mandates those negotiations; notes that the Member States should otherwise engage in the process individually; stresses that to fulfil this purpose, the EU position must be based on the primacy of human rights and necessarily include strong enforcing and monitoring mechanisms, access to justice for those affected by human rights violations, and joint and several liability provisions for TNCs and their value chains that are different and independent from those of the states; notes that the Member States should otherwise engage in the process individually; calls the Commission to fully engage in the future negotiations for the UN binding treaty on business and human rights, with a broad substantive scope covering all internationally recognised human rights, including fundamental workers’ and trade union rights, as defined by relevant international labour standards and based on all relevant UN conventions;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance that the scope of the LBI under negotiation covers TNCs and other business enterprises of a transnational character, as established by Resolution 26/9; urges national and regional Parliaments to regulate all business activities in accordance with the principle of the primacy of human rights;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the overall level of enjoyment of human rights worldwide is inevitably contingent on the behaviour of corporations, given the current scale of globalisation and the internationalisation of business activities and value chains; stresses that the scope of any binding instrument must not be limited to forced labour and human trafficking in the supply chain but also covering human rights, trade unions’ and workers’ rights and the environment as main components;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Believes that the UN binding treaty should cover all business enterprises, regardless of size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure, including state-owned enterprises, financial institutions and investment funds, and activities conducted through affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, suppliers, partnerships, joint venture and beneficial proprietorship; stresses the importance to include parent company-based extraterritorial regulation and access to justice for victims of transnational corporate human rights violations in the home state of transnational corporations; calls to include a strong international monitoring and enforcement mechanism;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Strongly supports the full implementation, within and outside the EU, of the international standards on responsible business conduct to complement and strengthen the implementation of the UNGPs; recognizes that abuses of workers' rights by companies are on the rise worldwide including inside EU and that according to ITUC Rights Index, 113 countries exclude workers from their right to establish or join a trade union, up from 106 in 2021, 87 % of countries violated the right to strike and four in five countries blocked collective bargaining;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that such an LBI, to effectively protect victims and guarantee access to justice, must include, among other things, free, prior and informed consent for activities developed in indigenous territories, the right to say no, the reversal of the burden of proof, mechanisms to assure extraterritorial jurisdiction, such as the jurisdiction of necessity (forum necessitatis) and to forbid declining of jurisdiction (forum non conveniens), international cooperation obligations to enforce foreign judgments, the right to information and the right to full reparation.
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the importance of the role of human rights defenders, groups and organisations and trade union activists, and the importance of explicitly including in the treaty the recognition of the right to defend human, enviroment and workers’ rights, explicitly referencing the right of defenders to be protected and free from intimidation and reprisals;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Believes that in establishing human rights, environmental and climate- related due diligence obligations globally, the agreement strengthens the effectiveness of the upcoming EU CSDDD globally and create similarly high standards worldwide; is convinced, moreover, that the UN treaty could make important provisions for improved legal protection for people affected, complementing the EU directive;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes, with concern, that many procedural, substantive and practical barriers persist regarding access to justice for victims, including difficulties in identifying the competent court, barriers related to jurisdictional standards, short statutory limitation periods, excessive evidentiary burdens, limited liability owing to the corporate veil, access to legal representation and information, as well as other inequalities between claimants and defendants; highlights that EU Companies that invest in a third country should assume the civil and criminal liability of crimes and offences they commit or that their leaders, their managers or the members of their bodies decision-makers – one-person or College; that this responsibility includes not only for committing directly an offence, but also for complicity, collaboration, instigation, incitement and/or concealment; that it is appropriate to ensure that both the legal entity and the individuals who committed the violation human rights can be brought to justice in the state of the European Union of which they are nationals; that it is appropriate to, in all cases, to establish a joint and several liability between entities contractors and subcontractors, so that, regardless of the nationality of the principal entity or, if applicable, subcontractor who commits the offence, victims will be able to sue against the main entity, whether it is in the country where the offence was committed, or in the principal entity's country of origin (where it is established);
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Strongly supports the work being carried out in the UN through the OEIGWG to develop the instrument; expresses its appreciation for the work of the successive Chairs from Ecuador in steering this complex endeavour and welcomes the supportive roltakes note of the discomfort expressed by several states from the Global South during the opening of the ninth session about the role and outcome of the ’‘Friends of the Chair’ group in regard to the updated draft proposal;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Chair of the OEIGWG and the UN member states to ensure that the negotiations are conducted in a transparent manner, with meaningful engagement with all stakeholders, including civil society, labour uniontrade unions and workers’ representatives and the private sector; insists, moreover, on the importance of ensuring active engagement from all regions, with a view to developing an effective instrument that reflects the global diversity of the legal, economic and political realities affecting human rights and that draws on best practices implemented at domestic and regional level; encourages regional human rights and economic organisations to help facilitate this universal engagement;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underscores that the latest normative developments at EU level on business and human rights have scarcely addressed access to justice and victims’ rights, which lie at the centre of the LBI as a core human rights treaty; stresses, in this regard, the complementary nature, objectives and scope of both normative tracks, which will operate at different levels; stresses that to fulfil its goals, the EU position must be based on the primacy of human rights and necessarily include: 1) strong enforcing and monitoring mechanisms, 2) access to justice for those affected by human rights violations, and 3) joint and several liability provisions for TNCs and their value chains that are different and independent from those of the States;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the EU should actively engage in the ongoing negotiations, in particular to further develop the draft LBI, while focusing on victims of business-related abuses committed by TNCs or by an enterprise participating in a global value chain conducted by a TNC, dismantling barriers to justice and effective remedy, and enhancing cooperation by drawing on international perspectives and best practices; considers that this engagement would ultimately contribute to securing better implementation and enforcement of human rights internationally, while equally contributing to an international level playing field and delivering a global instrument that is both widely supported and ratified among states across all regions, including but not limited to Europe, and that remains relevant in the face of constantly evolving business- related threats to human rights;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Stresses that the LBI under negotiation covers all TNCs and other business enterprises of a transnational character, as established by UN Resolution 26/9, and subsequently responsibility must apply across the entire value chain and that the EU should set an example in this regard; calls on the Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure, by appropriate judicial, administrative, legislative or other means, that victims in third countries have access to an effective remedy in the territory where the company's principal seat is located within the EU by the "lifting of the veil of legal personality", where an undertaking based in the Union owns, directs or controls companies responsible for human rights violations in third countries; considers that, in all cases, joint and several liability should be established between procuring and subcontracting entities, so that, regardless of the nationality of the subcontracting entity committing the crime, victims can take action against the principal entity, whether in the country where the crime was committed or in the country of origin of the principal entity (where it is established); calls on the Member States to take the necessary steps to measures needed to eliminate legal, practical and other barriers that could prevent access to a remedy, and to put in place the procedural channels appropriate to allow access to the justice of victims from third countries in both civil and criminal matters;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States, in the meantime, to coordinate their positions ahead of the negotiations, so as to defend a strong, common and clear EU position in line with the original UN Resolution 26/9 that initiated the ongoing negotiations on the LBI; expects the European External Action Service and the Commission, in particular the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva, to play a proactive and constructive role in this process;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Calls for the creation of a Public Supervisory Agency of European transnational corporations, which would be responsible for analysing and monitoring the practices conducted by European based TNCs and other business enterprises of a transnational character in regards with human rights; stresses that this Public Supervisory Agency of European TNCs should go hand in hand with annual public vigilance plans at EU and national level and should at least include the following aspects: a mapping of risk; procedures to regularly assess how subsidiaries, suppliers, and subcontractors are performing against this risk mapping; measures to prevent and mitigate serious violations; a functioning alert mechanism that collects reporting of existing or actual risks, developed in partnership with trade union organizations; monitoring mechanisms to evaluate implementation and effectiveness of measures implemented; requests that this Agency makes its findings public and submits them regularly to the European Parliament;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. WelcomesTakes note of the updated draft LBI, published in July 2023, and considers that it offers a solid and promising basis for advancing negotiations, while also recognising the need for improvementof the numerous critics deployed by the African group and other UN Member States from the Global South questioning the transparency, legitimacy and contents of this new document and supporting Ivory Coast’s proposal of recovering the third revised draft with comments from the UN Member States resulting from the eight session as the working document for the 2023 ninth session;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Supports a broad scope for the LBI, which aims to cover all business enterprises, including transnational business activities and state-owned enterprises; considers that allowing states parties the flexibility to differentiate, under their domestic legislation, how business enterp of a transnational character participating in global value and supply chains, with special focus on transnational business activities and state-owned enterprises, as well as their activities conducted through affiliates, subsidiarises discharge the prevention obligations under the LBI, would provide important leeway for national adaptation and would be consistent with the universal scope of the UNGPs, agents, suppliers, partnerships, joint venture and beneficial proprietorship;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Regrets the fact that, among other relevant elements included in the UN Resolution 26/9, several references to the environment and climate change were removed from the scope of the LBI in the latest draft; considers that the EU and the Member States should strive for the environmental and climate impact of business activities to be included within the scope of the LBI;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that the LBI should provide for an ambitious, comprehensive, responsive and compulsory framework for the prevention of human rights abuses by corporations; notes, in this regard, that allowing states parties the flexibility to adapt their preventive frameworks to their own legal systems would be a key factor in securing broad adherence to the LBI, provided the main goals, the primacy of human rights, the binding core elements and the scope of the instrument remain unchanged through these national transpositions;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that the obligation for companies to undertake regular human rights impact assessments prior to and throughout operations, and to take into account the needs of those at heightened risk, constitute particularly important elements for the LBI prevention framework, including by integrating a gender perspective, but also by taking into account issues concerning groups at risk of vulnerability or marginalisation, as indigenous and traditional communities, minorities and human rights and environmental defenders;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. Underlines that such an LBI, to effectively protect victims and guarantee access to justice, must include, among others, free, prior and informed consent for activities developed in indigenous territories, meaningful consultation and participation of affected individuals and communities in decision-making processes related to TNCs activities that may affect their lives and livelihoods, the right to say no, the reversal of the burden of proof, mechanisms to assure extraterritorial jurisdiction, such as the jurisdiction of necessity (forum necessitatis) and to forbid declining of jurisdiction (forum non conveniens), international cooperation obligations to enforce foreign judgments, the right to information and the right to full reparation; stresses that the right to full reparation refers both to the process of providing remedy to victims, their families or affected communities for negative human, labour or environmental rights violations suffered, as well as the substantive outcomes that can counteract, or make good, the negative impact of violations; highlights that reparation must be adequate, effective, prompt, and should be proportional to the gravity of the violations and the harm suffered, in all cases adapted to the specific context and condition of the rights-holder;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Insists that the LBI should address the practical and procedural obstacles faced by victims of corporate abuse when seeking justice; stresses the importance of the role of human rights defenders, groups and organisations and trade union activists, and the importance of explicitly including in the treaty the recognition of the right to defend human, environment and workers’ rights, explicitly referencing the right of defenders to be protected and free from intimidation and reprisals;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30 a. Calls on the Council to adopt an ambitious mandate for the Commission to fully engage in the negotiations on the UN LBI on TNCs and human rights, in accordance with the objectives stipulated by UN Human Rights Council Resolution 26/9 of 14 July 2014, which mandates those negotiations; notes that the Member States should otherwise engage in the process individually under this same basis;