10 Amendments of Frances FITZGERALD related to 2020/2129(INL)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, the environment and good governance and should not cause or contribute to causing any adverse impacts in this regard;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the OECD has shown that companies which took proactive steps to address the risks related to the COVID-19 crisis in a way that mitigates adverse impacts on workers and supply chains are likely to build more long-term value and resilience, improving their viability in the short term and their prospects for recovery in the medium to long term;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas, according to a Commission study on due diligence in the supply chain, only 37% of business respondents currently conduct environmental and human rights due diligence, and only 16% cover the entire supply chain;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights a large number of human rights defenders are under threat because they raise concern about adverse human rights impacts of business operations;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas due diligence is primarily a preventative mechanism and companies should be first and foremost required to identify risks or adverse impacts and adopt policies and measures to address them; whereas in situation where an undertaking causes or contributes to an adverse impact it should provide for a remedy and should be subject to corporate accountability for such impacts; whereas corporate accountability, including for harm linked to an undertaking’s operations, is necessary to ensure that undertakings are incentivised to undertake due diligence and for due diligence to be effective;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas violations of human rights and environmental standards remain widespread in global supply and value chains; whereas voluntary measures have proven insufficient and therefore further measures are essential in order to increase levels of responsible business conduct and enhance confidence in the internal market, including amongst investors and consumers;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses the proven benefits for companies of having effective responsible business conduct practices in place, which include better risk-management, lower cost of capital, overall better financial performance, and enhanced competitiveness;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that the future legislation should be informed by a gender analysis and take into account the specific needs of women and girls; considers that companies must take into account the gender impact of their activities through a gender-responsive human rights due diligence process;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers that there should be active involvement in the due diligence process of those affected such as the trade unions and worker’s representatives but also local communities and human rights defenders in the developing countries; furthermore, considers that consultations with indigenous peoples must be undertaken in accordance the internationally agreed standards of ongoing free, prior and informed consent;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Believes that there should be a clear obligation for companies and investors to identify and assess actual and potential risks (including gender sensitive assessments), act upon the findings in order to cease and prevent negative impacts and communicate how impacts have been addressed;